Chapter 2: The Man Behind the Door
Daniel Cross stood in the doorway holding a black leather folder.
He was forty years old, tall, broad-shouldered, and usually impeccably dressed.
I'd known him for almost seven years.
He and Marcus had built their commercial property business together. They attended conferences, traveled for meetings, and occasionally spent weekends playing golf.
Daniel had even helped Marcus choose my engagement ring.
But there was something I had never understood about their friendship.
Marcus never allowed Daniel to enter his private office.
Not even when they were discussing business.
Now Daniel was standing in our living room, looking directly at Vanessa.
"Daniel?"" I whispered.
He gave me a brief nod.
"Nia.""
Marcus stepped toward him.
"What are you doing here?""
Daniel glanced at the folder.
"Finishing something we should have dealt with a long time ago.""
"This is a family matter.""
Daniel let out a humorless laugh.
"Is that what we're calling it?""
Vanessa looked between the two men.
"Daniel, you said you weren't coming.""
The room went silent.
I slowly turned toward her.
"You know each other?""
She closed her eyes.
Marcus grabbed her wrist.
"Vanessa, don't.""
She pulled away.
"Don't touch me!""
Daniel placed the folder on the coffee table, directly beside the medical report.
"Perhaps everyone should sit down.""
Nobody moved.
I looked at Daniel.
"Why are you here?""
He studied my face.
Then he answered quietly.
"Because there's something you deserve to know about your husband's business, your marriage, and the child Vanessa is carrying.""
Marcus lunged toward the folder.
Daniel moved it out of reach.
"Don't.""
"Give me that.""
"No.""
Marcus's voice became dangerously low.
"You have no idea what you're doing.""
Daniel opened the folder.
Inside were printed emails, bank transfers, photographs, and several documents bearing Marcus's signature.
I recognized the signature immediately.
It was the same one he'd used on our mortgage paperwork.
Daniel removed a photograph and placed it on the table.
It showed Marcus and Vanessa standing outside a hotel.
They were kissing.
The date printed on the photograph was eight months earlier.
My stomach tightened.
Daniel placed another photograph beside it.
This one showed Vanessa entering Marcus's private office.
Then came a third.
A bank transfer.
$18,000.
Recipient: Vanessa Reed.
My eyes moved across the page.
"What is this?""
Daniel answered before Marcus could.
"Payments from a company account. Marcus has been transferring money to Vanessa for almost a year.""
Marcus laughed bitterly.
"You're seriously going to pretend you're innocent?""
Daniel didn't react.
"I'm not pretending anything.""
Vanessa crossed her arms.
"Daniel, please don't.""
He looked at her.
"You told me you wanted the truth.""
Marcus turned sharply.
"Don't bring him into this.""
I felt the room tilt.
I looked at Vanessa.
Then Daniel.
Then Marcus.
"Why are you paying her?""
Marcus shoved his hands into his pockets.
"She's been helping with some administrative work.""
I looked at the hotel photograph.
"Administrative work?""
He glared at me.
"Don't be ridiculous.""
Daniel turned another page.
"There's something else.""
He removed a printed email.
The subject line read:
*RE: THE BENNETT ACCOUNT*
I frowned.
"What account?""
Daniel slid it toward me.
The email was dated fourteen months earlier.
It was from Marcus to an accountant.
One sentence had been highlighted.
Keep Nia's name on the original property records until the refinancing is complete. I'll transfer ownership afterward.
I read it twice.
Then a third time.
"Marcus, what is this?""
He reached for the paper.
"That has nothing to do with this.""
"Whose property?""
"Our business property.""
"Then why is my name on it?""
He looked away.
Daniel answered.
"Because Marcus used your income and credit history to secure financing for a development project. The paperwork lists you as a guarantor.""
I stared at him.
"That's impossible. I never signed anything.""
Daniel opened another section of the folder.
"That's why I brought copies.""
My hands began to shake.
The signature on the document looked like mine.
But it wasn't.
I knew how I signed my name.
I knew the way I crossed the final letter in Bennett.
This signature was too smooth.
Someone had copied it.
I looked at Marcus.
"Did you forge my signature?""
He rubbed his face.
"You're making assumptions.""
"Did you?""
"That project was going to make us millions!""
I stepped backward.
"That wasn't my question.""
He slammed his palm against the table.
"I did what I had to do!""
Vanessa flinched.
Daniel remained still.
I looked down at the documents.
My husband had cheated on me.
He had lied about his fertility results.
And apparently, he had used my identity to secure business financing without my knowledge.
But there was still one question.
I pointed toward the medical report.
"Daniel, you knew about Marcus's condition?""
He nodded.
"Yes.""
"How?""
Marcus's face went pale.
Daniel looked at him.
"Because I was there when he received the first results.""
I turned toward my husband.
"You told me the doctor said everything was normal.""
Marcus said nothing.
Daniel continued.
"He didn't want you to know. He was terrified that you'd leave him if you discovered the truth.""
I almost laughed.
"Instead, he let me believe I was the problem.""
Daniel lowered his eyes.
"I'm sorry.""
I wasn't ready to accept an apology.
Not from him.
Not from anyone.
I turned toward Vanessa.
"How long have you known about his medical condition?""
She looked at Marcus.
He shook his head.
"Vanessa, don't answer.""
But she did.
"Since January.""
The date made my blood run cold.
January.
That was when Marcus had accompanied me to a fertility consultation and complained to the doctor that I was becoming obsessed with having children.
He had held my hand in the parking lot afterward.
He had told me we would keep trying.
I remembered crying against his chest.
Now I wondered whether he had been comforting me or simply making sure I remained useful.
I looked at Vanessa.
"Did he tell you the baby was his?""
She nodded.
"He said the doctors had made a mistake.""
"And you believed him?""
Her lips trembled.
"He showed me another report.""
Marcus suddenly turned toward her.
"Stop talking!""
Daniel placed his hands on the table.
"Marcus, you should let her finish.""
Vanessa took a breath.
"He said he'd had a procedure. That the problem had been corrected.""
I looked at Marcus.
"You had surgery?""
He didn't answer.
Daniel opened the folder again.
"There was no surgery.""
Marcus's face tightened.
"How would you know?""
"Because I helped arrange the original medical appointment.""
Daniel removed a final sheet of paper.
It was a laboratory authorization form.
Two names were printed near the bottom.
Marcus Bennett.
Daniel Cross.
My eyes moved between them.
I didn't understand.
Then I noticed the date.
The same date Vanessa had mentioned.
I looked at Daniel.
"What is this?""
He hesitated.
Then he said something that made every hair on my arms stand up.
"Marcus didn't tell you the whole story about the pregnancy because he wasn't the only man who had reason to believe he could be the father.""
I looked at Vanessa.
She was crying now.
Marcus stood completely still.
And Daniel slowly turned the document around.
May you like
At the top, beneath the laboratory's name, were the words:
*DONOR SPECIMEN AUTHORIZATION.*
