Chapter 10 - The First TimeEvelyn did not deny it.
Ashley confronted her that evening.
“Marcus says Dad knew he used Bennett money before.”
Her mother sat in the den of the house Ashley grew up in.
For a long time, she said nothing.
Ashley felt tears rise.
“Please don’t make me drag this out of you.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“Seven thousand dollars.”
“When?”
“Four years ago.”
“What happened?”
“Marcus charged personal expenses to a project account.”
“Accidentally?”
“No.”
Ashley stared.
“What expenses?”
“Reed Development permits. Contractor retainers.”
“He stole company money.”
“He repaid it.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Evelyn stood.
“Your father handled it.”
“How?”
“He confronted Marcus. Marcus admitted it. Charles treated it as an unauthorized advance.”
Ashley laughed.
“You renamed theft.”
“We protected the company.”
“No. You protected Marcus.”
“We protected you.”
Ashley stared at her.
There was that word again.
Evelyn continued.
“You were in love.”
“So you let me stay in love with information missing.”
“We believed he had learned.”
“Why?”
“Because he paid it back.”
Ashley shook her head.
“Repayment isn’t character development.”
Evelyn flinched.
Ashley’s anger turned toward her father, a man she could no longer confront.
“Dad knew.”
“Yes.”
“And then lent him one hundred fifty thousand dollars anyway.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Evelyn whispered, “Your father saw himself in Marcus.”
Ashley stopped.
Charles Bennett had grown up poor.
He talked constantly about hunger.
About being underestimated.
About entering hotel lobbies through service doors before eventually owning them.
Marcus had grown up with a single mother and unstable housing.
Charles admired his ambition.
“He thought Marcus was hungry,” Evelyn said.
“He was.”
“Yes.”
“But Dad confused hunger with integrity.”
Evelyn’s eyes filled.
“So did I.”
Ashley sat.
“Did Dad ever plan to tell me?”
“I don’t know.”
“That means no.”
Evelyn did not argue.
Across town, Simone dealt with consequences of another kind.
The viral video had crossed two million views.
Her bakery’s social media accounts exploded.
Some comments praised her.
Some mocked Ashley.
Some accused Simone of knowingly sleeping with an engaged man.
A popular gossip page posted a photograph of Simone and Marcus from a charity gala, claiming the relationship had been public.
It had not.
Simone lost two wedding clients in forty-eight hours.
One bride emailed:
Given the controversy, we no longer feel comfortable associating our wedding with your company.
Keisha was furious.
“They’re punishing you?”
“They’re scared.”
“Of what?”
“Drama.”
Simone sat at her desk.
The irony was unbearable.
She had built a business around perfect days.
Now her name meant ruined wedding.
Her phone rang.
Danielle.
“We found another problem.”
Simone closed her eyes.
“Of course.”
“The merchant processor is temporarily holding seventeen thousand dollars in pending deposits.”
“What?”
“They flagged the account because of disputed transaction history.”
“That’s payroll.”
“I know.”
“I have weddings next weekend.”
“I know.”
“How long?”
“They said review could take thirty days.”
Simone stood.
“No. I can’t survive thirty days.”
“We’re appealing.”
“I have six employees.”
“Simone.”
“I cannot tell people they don’t get paid because my boyfriend committed fraud through my company.”
Danielle waited.
Then said, “How much cash reserve do you have?”
“Maybe nine thousand.”
“Enough for one payroll?”
“Yes.”
“Pay employees first.”
“What about rent?”
“We deal with it.”
After hanging up, Simone sat alone.
Marcus had not merely broken her heart.
He had infected the machinery of her life.
Her housing.
Her business.
Her reputation.
Even the mixer.
She stared at the bakery floor until Keisha approached.
“You need to go home.”
Simone laughed.
“My home is leased to the woman he was supposed to marry.”
“Okay.”
Keisha pulled up a chair.
“Then you need to go to the apartment where your bed is.”
Simone finally smiled.
A little.
Then her phone buzzed.
A bank notification.
DEPOSIT: $25,000.00
Simone stared.
Sender:
REED DEVELOPMENT LLC.
Memo:
REPAYMENT.
Her blood went cold.
Keisha saw it.
“He sent you money?”
Simone immediately called Danielle.
“Marcus just transferred twenty-five thousand dollars into my account.”
“Do not touch it.”
“What is he doing?”
May you like
![92 The Girl They Called Broke Was a Billionaire’s Daughter—But Her Father’s Arrival Exposed a Secret Powerful People Had Buried for Years]](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_590/2026/11/clone-0-0915d882-53d7-4d17-b43a-a010ca1a1068.webp)
Danielle’s answer came without hesitation.
“Trying to change the story of the money before someone else tells it.”
Related Stories
