Chapter 6: My Brother's Secret
I couldn't speak.
Caleb's words seemed to hang in the air long after the call ended.
I looked at Jasmine.
Then at Marcus.
Neither of them said anything.
Finally, I pressed the phone against my ear.
“What do you mean you hoped I would never find out?””
Caleb exhaled.
“Not over the phone.””
“Caleb, what did you do?””
“I didn't steal anything.””
“Then why is your name on a document connected to Marcus's father's missing money?””
He went quiet.
I heard the familiar sounds of his garage in the background.
A metal tool clattered.
Someone shouted.
Then Caleb lowered his voice.
“Can you come here?””
“I'm already dealing with enough. Just tell me.””
“Nia, please. I need to explain this properly.””
I closed my eyes.
“I'm coming.””
Caleb's garage was on the outskirts of town.
A faded blue sign hung above the entrance.
The smell of engine oil and warm metal filled the air.
He stood beside an old pickup truck when I arrived.
His work shirt was stained with grease.
His hands were shaking.
Jasmine stayed near the car.
Marcus had insisted on coming, but I hadn't invited him.
He followed us anyway.
Caleb looked at him.
“What is he doing here?””
I answered before Marcus could.
“He knows enough to be involved.””
Caleb shook his head.
“Great.””
I stepped closer.
“Start talking.””
Caleb wiped his hands with a rag.
“About three years ago, Diane contacted me.””
My stomach tightened.
“Why?””
“She said she needed help.””
“With what?””
“Setting up a small company.””
I stared at him.
“You're a mechanic.””
“I know.””
“Then why would Diane ask you to set up a company?””
He looked down.
“She told me it was for a business partnership. She said she wanted to invest in a property renovation project, but she didn't want the company connected directly to the Hayes family.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“Why not?””
Caleb looked at him.
“She said your father didn't approve of the investment.””
Marcus frowned.
“My father never mentioned a renovation project.””
“I didn't know that.””
I folded my arms.
“What did she ask you to do?””
“She offered to pay me five thousand dollars to register a company and let her handle the paperwork.””
I felt sick.
“And you agreed?””
Caleb's eyes filled.
“I was behind on rent. The garage was failing. I had bills piling up.””
“You could have told me.””
“I know.””
“You could have asked me for help.””
“I didn't want to be another problem for you.””
I looked away.
That was Caleb.
Always trying to handle everything alone.
Even when he was making terrible decisions.
He continued.
“She said I wouldn't have to manage anything. Just sign the registration documents and provide my identification.””
“Did you?””
He nodded.
“Did you sign financial authorizations?””
“I signed some paperwork. But she said it was all standard business registration.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“How much money went through that company?””
Caleb looked at him.
“I don't know.””
“Guess.””
“I don't know!””
His voice cracked.
Then he opened a metal cabinet and pulled out a folder.
“I kept these because something didn't feel right.””
He handed it to me.
Inside were copies of bank statements, registration forms, and several payment confirmations.
I flipped through them.
The first few pages showed small deposits.
Then the amounts increased.
Twenty thousand.
Seventy-five thousand.
One hundred and forty thousand.
I stopped at the final page.
A transfer of $385,000.
The same amount shown in Robert's documents.
I looked at Caleb.
“Did you receive this money?””
He shook his head quickly.
“No. It went into the company account. I never touched it.””
“Where did it go?””
“Diane transferred it out.””
“To whom?””
He pointed at a line near the bottom.
A private investment company.
I read the name.
Then looked up.
“Who owns this?””
Caleb swallowed.
“That's what I was trying to find out.””
Marcus grabbed the document.
“That's my mother's company.””
Caleb nodded.
“I know.””
I looked at my brother.
“Why didn't you tell me when you found out?””
“Because Diane threatened me.””
My stomach tightened.
“What?””
He removed his phone and opened an old message.
It was from an unknown number.
*You will keep your mouth shut about the company. If you talk, I'll make sure your sister's marriage ends before it begins.*
I stared at the screen.
“When did you get this?””
“Six months ago.””
The same period when Diane had begun pressuring Marcus to reconsider our wedding.
I felt my chest tighten.
“She threatened you using me?””
Caleb nodded.
“She said you were about to become part of the family, and she didn't want unnecessary problems.””
Marcus looked furious.
“Why didn't you come to me?””
Caleb laughed bitterly.
“Because I knew you'd tell your mother.””
Marcus flinched.
I couldn't blame Caleb for that.
For years, Marcus had treated his mother's words as unquestionable truth.
And now we were discovering that she had used that trust to build an entire financial arrangement.
I looked through the documents again.
Something caught my attention.
A recurring payment.
Every month, the company transferred money to a personal account.
The account holder's name wasn't Diane.
It wasn't Marcus.
It wasn't Caleb.
It belonged to someone named *Eleanor Price*.
I looked at Caleb.
“Who is Eleanor Price?””
He shook his head.
“Never heard of her.””
Marcus stared at the page.
Then his face changed.
“Wait.””
“What?”” I asked.
He leaned closer.
“Eleanor was Dad's personal assistant.””
I looked up.
“Your father had an assistant?””
“For years. She handled his appointments, correspondence, travel arrangements.””
I looked at the transfer dates.
The payments had started almost four years ago.
The same year Robert began questioning the missing money.
“Do you know where she is now?”” I asked.
Marcus nodded slowly.
“She left the company shortly before Dad died.””
“Why?””
He looked at me.
“Mom said she had been stealing.””
My stomach dropped.
“Did anyone investigate?””
“No.””
“Why not?””
“Mom said Dad had already settled it.””
I stared at him.
“Marcus, do you hear yourself?””
He looked down.
I continued.
“Every time someone disappears, your mother gives you an explanation, and you accept it.””
He didn't defend himself.
Instead, he took out his phone.
“I'm calling Mr. Bennett.””
Before he could dial, Caleb's phone rang.
An unknown number.
He looked at the screen.
Then at me.
“It's the same number.””
I gestured for him to answer.
He hesitated.
Then put it on speaker.
“Hello?””
A woman's voice came through.
“Caleb, I understand you've been asking questions.””
My brother went pale.
I stepped closer.
“Who is this?””
The woman paused.
Then laughed softly.
“Oh. Nia.””
My blood ran cold.
“You know me?””
“Of course. Diane has told me quite a lot about you.””
I grabbed the phone.
“Who are you?””
“Someone who would strongly advise you to stop looking into the Hayes accounts.””
I glanced at Marcus.
He was staring at the phone.
“Eleanor?”” he whispered.
The woman laughed again.
“Hello, Marcus.””
He went completely still.
“Where have you been?””
“Somewhere safe.””
“Did you steal my father's money?””
Her voice became colder.
“Your father knew exactly what was happening.””
Marcus shook his head.
“That's impossible.””
“Ask your mother.””
I tightened my grip on the phone.
“Why did you call my brother?””
“Because he has something that belongs to me.””
“What?””
“A flash drive.””
Caleb looked at the metal cabinet.
Then slowly turned toward us.
I followed his gaze.
“What flash drive?””
Eleanor continued.
“Diane gave him a set of documents when she registered that company. One of those documents contains a password. I need it.””
Caleb whispered, “I don't have anything like that.””
There was a brief silence.
Then Eleanor said:
“Check the envelope Robert left in the cabinet.””
My heart stopped.
I looked at the documents in my hand.
We hadn't examined every page.
I quickly searched through the folder.
At the bottom was a sealed white envelope.
Inside was a tiny black flash drive.
And a handwritten note.
If Eleanor contacts you, do not trust anything she says.
I looked at the phone.
“Eleanor, why do you want this?””
Her voice suddenly lost its calm.
“Because that drive contains the original recordings.””
“What recordings?””
“The ones that prove Diane didn't act alone.””
I felt a chill run down my spine.
“Who else was involved?””
Eleanor paused.
Then she answered.
“Your husband, Nia.””
Marcus stepped backward.
“No.””
Eleanor continued.
“Ask him about the night he visited his father's office. Ask him why he left with a folder and came back without it.””
Marcus's face drained of color.
I turned toward him.
“Marcus?””
He shook his head.
“I don't remember.””
Eleanor laughed quietly.
“Of course you don't.””
Then she added:
“But I do.””
The call ended.
Nobody moved.
I looked at Marcus.
“Did you visit your father's office the night before he died?””
He stared at the floor.
Then, slowly, he nodded.
“Yes.””
My heart pounded.
“Why?””
He swallowed.
“Because Mom told me Dad wanted to change his will.””
I stepped closer.
“What did you take?””
His eyes filled with tears.
“A folder.””
“What was inside?””
He looked at me.
And whispered:
“I don't know. But when I got home, there was blood on my sleeve.””
My hand flew to my mouth.
Caleb backed away.
Jasmine gasped.
Marcus began shaking his head.
“I swear I didn't hurt him.””
I stared at the man I had married only hours earlier.
Then I looked down at the flash drive in my hand.
May you like
For the first time, I wasn't wondering whether Diane had destroyed my marriage.
I was wondering whether the man I had married had been hiding something far more terrible than betrayal.
