Chapter 13 - The Benefit of Not KnowingThe account held fifty-three thousand dollars.
Marcus had never withdrawn from it.
That fact mattered legally.
Emotionally, it mattered less.
He sat in the conference room staring at statements showing his own name.
“When was it opened?”
Adrian answered.
“Five years ago.”
“Before Dad died.”
“Six months before.”
“Who was custodian?”
“Denise.”
Marcus leaned back.
Tasha asked the obvious question.
“Why create it?”
Adrian shrugged.
“Could have been intended as an emergency reserve for Marcus.”
“With company money?”
“Potentially company money. We need full tracing.”
Nia watched Marcus carefully.
He looked ashamed.
“You didn’t know,” she said.
Marcus laughed without humor.
“That didn’t save you when your name was on an account.”
Nia felt the hit.
Not because he meant it cruelly.
Because he was right.
Evidence was humiliating when your name appeared beside actions you did not commit.
Marcus had experienced it for fifteen minutes.
Nia had lived under suspicion for months.
He understood now.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
Nia sighed.
“Again.”
“I know.”
“You’re turning sorry into punctuation.”
He nodded.
“What should I say?”
“Nothing.”
Marcus looked down.
“Sit with it.”
So he did.
Rachel Benton spoke from the conference-room monitor.
“From a corporate standpoint, we need a formal forensic engagement, insurer notification, preservation of records, and likely a demand that Denise account for related-party transactions.”
Marcus asked, “Criminal?”
“Potentially. That isn’t solely our decision. Depending on findings, banks, insurers, auditors, or law enforcement may become involved.”
Nia stiffened.
Marcus looked at her.
“You okay?”
“No.”
That seemed to surprise him.
Nia folded her arms.
“I wanted to know where the money went. I didn’t picture your mother being arrested.”
Rachel said gently, “We are nowhere near predicting outcomes.”
Marcus nodded.
“What happens now?”
“We protect the company.”
He looked at Nia.
The phrase hit them both.
Protection.
Again.
Who counted as family when protection became necessary?
After the meeting, Tasha drove Nia home.
Marcus followed separately to see Noah.
While Tasha prepared dinner, Marcus sat on the floor beside the bassinet.
Nia watched from the couch.
Noah opened his eyes.
Marcus leaned closer.
“Hey, little man.”
Noah stared at him with the indifferent concentration of a newborn.
Marcus smiled.
Nia looked away.
“You can hold him.”
Marcus glanced over.
“You sure?”
“He’s your son.”
The words were simple.
Marcus felt them.
He lifted Noah gently.
The baby settled against his chest.
After several minutes Marcus said, “I froze the household transfer because Mom told me you could clean out the account.”
Nia closed her eyes.
“We already talked about that.”
“I know. There’s more.”
She looked at him.
“I also changed the password on the investment portal.”
“What investment portal?”
“Our brokerage account.”
Nia stared.
“You never told me.”
“No.”
“How much?”
“About twenty-eight thousand.”
“When did you restore my access?”
“This morning.”
Nia laughed once, stunned.
“So even after Noah was proven yours?”
“I forgot about it.”
“That is not better.”
“I know.”
Tasha appeared in the kitchen doorway.
Marcus continued.
“I want you to know everything I did.”
Nia rubbed her forehead.
“Why now?”
“Because every new truth from my mother keeps arriving in pieces.”
He looked down at Noah.
“I don’t want to do that to you.”
Nia’s anger eased by a fraction.
“Anything else?”
Marcus hesitated.
Her face changed.
“Marcus.”
“I spoke with a divorce attorney.”
Silence.
“When?”
“Two weeks before Noah was born.”
Nia stared at him.
Tasha looked ready to throw him out.
Marcus continued before either spoke.
“One consultation. I told him I suspected an affair and possible paternity issue.”
Nia’s breathing became shallow.
“Did your mother know?”
“Yes.”
“Did she recommend him?”
“Yes.”
Nia stood.
Her postpartum body protested.
She did not care.
“You planned a divorce while asking me what curtains I wanted in the nursery.”
“I was scared.”
“Stop using fear like it erased intention.”
“I’m not.”
“You came home from a divorce attorney and rubbed my stomach.”
Marcus’s eyes filled.
“I hated myself.”
“Not enough to tell me.”
“No.”
Nia turned away.
He remained seated, holding Noah securely.
“I’m telling you now because you deserve the whole timeline.”
Nia wiped her face.
Tasha stepped beside her.
After a long silence, Nia asked, “Did you file anything?”
“No.”
“Did you move assets?”
“No. I froze access temporarily.”
“You keep saying temporarily like betrayal has a timer.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
Noah stirred.
Marcus automatically rocked him.
The tenderness made the room hurt.
Nia looked at him.
“Leave after he falls asleep.”
Marcus nodded.
When Noah finally settled, Marcus placed him carefully into the bassinet.
He picked up his keys.
At the door, Nia spoke.
“Marcus.”
He turned.
“Thank you for telling me.”
Hope flashed across his face.
Nia stopped it.
“That does not mean I forgive it.”
“I know.”
He left.
Tasha locked the door behind him.
Nia stood there breathing.
Then her phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
Ask Marcus what his mother offered the divorce lawyer before Noah was born.
Nia stared.
A second message arrived.
A photograph.
Denise, entering a law office.
Carrying a folder.
The date stamp was eight days before Nia went into labor.
Nia’s blood ran cold.
Because Marcus had already said his consultation happened two weeks earlier.
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Which meant Denise had gone back.
Without him.
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