Chapter 9: The Son Who Inherited His Father's Crimes
Marcus's face went white.
For the first time, he had no immediate answer.
Claire stood beside the desk, breathing hard, while my mother clutched my arm.
“That's a lie,” Marcus finally said.
Claire shook her head.
“I saw the security records. Arthur entered the office using a key issued to you.””
“I was a teenager.””
“You were twenty-two.””
He took a step toward her.
“You have no idea what you're talking about.””
“I know you visited Richard the night he died. I know you removed a file from his desk the following morning. And I know your father paid someone to destroy the original security footage.””
I looked at Marcus.
“Did you give your father the key?””
He rubbed his forehead.
“I gave him access to the building. That's all.””
“Why?””
“He said he needed to retrieve company documents.””
“What documents?””
“The financial records.””
“Did you know he intended to confront my father?””
Marcus hesitated.
“Yes.””
My mother made a small sound.
I felt the room tilt around me.
“You knew your father was going to confront Richard, and you helped him get inside?””
“I didn't know what would happen!””
“Did you know Dad was sick that night?””
“No.””
“Did you know he was going to die?””
Marcus slammed his hand against the desk.
“No!””
The room fell silent.
His breathing was ragged, his eyes fixed on mine.
“I didn't know he was going to die,” he repeated.
“I swear to you, Nia. Whatever you think of me, I didn't plan that.””
I wanted to believe him.
Not because he deserved my trust, but because the alternative meant that the man I had loved for four years might have been connected to my father's death from the beginning.
I looked toward Claire.
“What happened that night?””
She took a slow breath.
“Richard called me at 10:15 p.m. He said Arthur had come to the house and demanded the original ledger. Richard refused to give it to him.””
“Was Marcus there?””
“I didn't see him. But I heard another voice in the background.””
“Whose?””
Claire looked at Marcus.
“His.””
Marcus shook his head.
“You can't prove that.””
“I don't need to prove it to Nia. I need to tell her what I heard.””
Claire opened a smaller folder and removed a handwritten note.
“Richard asked me to meet him at the office the following morning. He said he had discovered that Arthur had used your name to create a false ownership claim against the trust.””
“My name?””
“Yes. Someone had filed documents suggesting that you had agreed to transfer your future interest in the property to Vance Meridian Holdings.””
I stared at Marcus.
He looked away.
“You used my identity?””
“I never forged your signature.””
“That wasn't my question.””
He said nothing.
Claire continued.
“Richard believed someone was trying to create a legal basis for taking control of the trust before Nia could access it. He wanted to expose the scheme, but he needed the original ledger to prove where the money had gone.””
Daniel had told me the trust could not be accessed without satisfying certain conditions.
Now I understood why Marcus had been so desperate to obtain the documents.
He wasn't merely after my mother's house.
He wanted control of the money my father had hidden.
“How much of the trust was he trying to take?”” I asked.
Claire named the amount.
My knees weakened.
It was nearly the entire fund.
Marcus stepped toward me.
“Nia, you have to understand. My father spent years trying to recover what he believed Richard owed him. I was caught in the middle.””
“You were not caught in the middle. You were building a company around my mother's property.””
“I thought I could settle the dispute before it destroyed both our families.””
“By marrying me?””
His expression crumpled.
“At first, yes.””
The honesty of that answer hurt more than another lie would have.
“And later?””
He stared at me.
“Later, I loved you.””
I shook my head.
“You don't get to turn love into an excuse for betrayal.””
He lowered his voice.
“I was going to tell you everything after the wedding.””
“After the wedding, when you had access to my family's affairs and my mother had signed away her authority?””
He didn't answer.
I stepped backward.
“Get away from me.””
Marcus looked toward my mother.
“Evelyn, tell her why you signed the documents. Tell her you knew the property would be part of the agreement.””
Mom lifted her tear-streaked face.
“I knew you wanted to review the records. I didn't know you planned to transfer anything.””
“That's not what you told me.””
“Because you lied to me!””
Her voice rang through the room.
We all stared at her.
Mom straightened.
For the first time since I had seen her crying in the bridal suite, she looked angry instead of afraid.
“You told me you wanted to protect Nia. You said you wanted to honor Richard's memory. I believed you because I wanted to believe the man my daughter loved would never hurt her.””
Marcus's jaw tightened.
“Your signature is on the agreement.””
“And I will tell the truth about why I signed it.””
He stared at her.
“You'd risk losing your house?””
Mom wiped her cheeks.
“I'd rather lose every brick than let you use it to destroy my daughter.””
Something inside me loosened.
I took her hand.
“We'll fight for the house together.””
Marcus looked at us, then at Claire's folder.
“You don't understand. If the ledger becomes public, my father will come after everyone involved.””
“Then he can explain himself to the authorities,” I said.
Marcus laughed bitterly.
“You think the authorities can protect you from a man who has spent eleven years making sure no one can prove what he did?””
Claire reached into her bag.
“That's why I kept this.””
She removed a small digital recorder.
Marcus froze.
“What is that?””
“A backup of the recording I made the night Richard died.””
Claire pressed a button.
Static filled the room.
Then a man's voice emerged.
Arthur Vance.
“You should have given me the ledger, Richard.””
My father's voice followed.
“I won't let you destroy my family.””
A chair scraped against the floor.
Then Arthur spoke again.
“You don't have a family anymore. Your wife has already helped me, and your daughter will be mine once the documents are signed.””
Mom covered her mouth.
The recording continued.
“You're wrong,” my father replied.
“Nia will never belong to you.””
There was a crash.
A sharp gasp.
Then Arthur's voice, suddenly low and urgent.
“Marcus, get the car. Now.””
The recording ended.
Nobody moved.
I turned toward Marcus.
He looked as though he might collapse.
“You were there,” I whispered.
He shook his head.
“I didn't know he was going to hurt Richard.””
“But you were there.””
He covered his face with both hands.
“I heard them arguing. I heard something fall. When I went inside, your father was on the floor.””
My mother began sobbing.
“What did you do?””
Marcus lowered his hands.
“I panicked. My father told me to get the car. He said Richard had suffered a medical episode and that we needed to leave before the police arrived.””
“And you believed him?””
“I wanted to believe him.””
I stared at him.
“You left my father dying on the floor.””
His eyes filled with tears.
“I was twenty-two. I was terrified.””
“So was I,” I whispered.
“I was seventeen, and I lost my father. I spent eleven years believing he died because his heart failed him.””
Marcus took a step toward me.
“I am sorry.””
I stepped away.
“No. You're sorry the truth is finally coming out.””
Claire put the recorder into my hands.
“This is enough to reopen the investigation. The ledger, the financial records, and this recording can establish a timeline.””
Daniel's voice suddenly came through my phone.
“Nia, I heard everything. I've contacted the authorities. Stay where you are.””
I looked at Marcus.
For a moment, he seemed ready to surrender.
Then his phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
Arthur Vance.
He answered without speaking.
His father's voice was loud enough for us to hear.
“Did you get the letter?””
Marcus closed his eyes.
“No.””
A pause.
Then Arthur's voice turned cold.
“Then listen carefully. If you want your mother to survive the night, you'll do exactly what I tell you.””
Marcus went completely still.
I stared at him.
His mother.
The woman I had never met.
The woman he had always claimed was dead.
And now, apparently, she was alive.
Arthur continued.
“Bring me the ledger before midnight, or I'll make sure you never see her again.””
Marcus lowered the phone.
For the first time, he looked at me without anger or calculation.
He looked like a frightened son.
Then he whispered, “My father has been lying to me, too.””
Outside the office, sirens began to rise.
And before the police could reach us, Marcus told me the one thing that changed everything.
“Arthur didn't kill your father to get the money.””
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He looked at the recorder in my hands.
“He killed him because Richard knew where my mother was buried.””
