Chapter 16 - The Seven Thousand
Andre finally sent Nia the transfer receipt.
Seven thousand dollars wired to Calvin Wells four months earlier.
Memo:
Project participation.
Nia forwarded it to Rachel.
Then she added the amount to her spreadsheet.
Rachel called.
“Before you count this as separate from the transfers we already traced, verify whether the money came through one of those earlier withdrawals.”
They traced it.
The seven thousand originated from the eight thousand five hundred dollars Denise had temporarily held.
The trail was now clear.
Joint savings.
DW Consulting.
Andre’s personal account.
Calvin.
Three layers.
Nia stared at the diagram she had built.
“Why route it through his mother?”
Rachel answered cautiously.
“Ask Andre.”
Nia did.
He admitted the truth.
“I didn’t want you seeing Calvin’s name.”
“Why?”
“Because you know how I feel about him.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It would’ve started questions.”
“Yes.”
“That I wasn’t ready to answer.”
Nia laughed softly.
“So you hid the transfer to avoid explaining why you were hiding the relationship.”
Andre said nothing.
“What happened to the money?”
“Calvin says the Charlotte group used it for due diligence.”
“Do you have documents?”
“No.”
“Contract?”
“No.”
“Subscription agreement?”
“No.”
“Nondisclosure?”
“No.”
“Anything?”
“Texts.”
Nia closed her eyes.
“Andre, you sent seven thousand dollars to the father who abandoned you based on texts.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“What was it like?”
“He introduced me to two men.”
“Names?”
Andre provided them.
Nia forwarded the names to Rachel rather than investigating herself.
That afternoon, Rachel’s paralegal found lawsuits involving one of the men over failed real estate syndications.
Not necessarily fraud.
But enough to make the lack of formal documents alarming.
Nia felt anger and pity collide.
Andre had risked household money not merely because he was greedy.
He had been emotionally vulnerable to the exact person who created his deepest wound.
That made his behavior understandable.
Not acceptable.
Nia called him.
“Did Calvin know where the seven thousand came from?”
“No.”
“Did he know you planned to use home equity?”
“Yes.”
She closed her eyes.
“What did he say?”
Andre hesitated.
“He said that was what equity was for.”
Nia nearly laughed.
Of course he did.
“Did he know I hadn’t agreed?”
“I didn’t discuss you.”
“That means yes.”
Andre became defensive.
“I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“Nia, I know I messed up.”
It was the first time he used the phrase without qualification.
She remained silent.
“I thought if one thing worked,” he continued, “the gym, the duplex, Charlotte—anything—then I could replace the money before it mattered.”
Nia gripped the phone.
“Replace.”
“Yes.”
“You knew it wasn’t yours to move.”
“I knew you’d object.”
“That is not the same thing.”
“It felt the same.”
“To you.”
Silence.
Andre whispered, “Yes.”
Nia sat on the edge of the bed.
“What were you going to tell me if Charlotte succeeded?”
“I don’t know.”
“If the gym succeeded?”
“I would’ve told you.”
“When?”
“After.”
“After what?”
“After it was safe.”
Nia finally understood the architecture of his thinking.
He wanted the freedom to make unilateral decisions while preserving the benefits of partnership until success made permission irrelevant.
“And if it failed?”
Andre said nothing.
She answered for him.
“I would have absorbed the loss.”
“That wasn’t the plan.”
“No one plans failure.”
Andre breathed heavily.
“I’m sorry.”
Nia’s eyes filled.
She had wanted those words.
Now they felt insufficient.
“Sorry for what?”
“For lying.”
“What else?”
“For moving money.”
“What else?”
“For making you feel like we didn’t have enough.”
Her throat tightened.
“What else?”
Andre’s voice broke.
“For using Maya’s expenses to make the budget work while I kept funding things.”
Nia covered her mouth.
He finally understood the ugliest part.
“What else?”
A long silence.
“For telling Keisha things about you that weren’t true.”
“What else?”
“For using Malik as the reason.”
Nia cried silently.
Andre did too.
Neither spoke for nearly a minute.
Then Nia asked the question she had avoided.
“Do you want this marriage?”
Andre answered immediately.
“Yes.”
“Or do you want the version where I stay while you get to keep everything you built in secret?”
He did not answer immediately.
That hesitation became its own answer.
Nia ended the call.
That evening, Rachel emailed.
They had located the Charlotte entity.
It existed.
But Calvin Wells was not listed as an investor.
He was listed as a paid referral consultant.
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Andre had believed his father was joining him.
Instead, Calvin may have been paid for bringing him into the deal.
