Chapter 4 - The Deadline After the WeddingMarcus refused to answer.
That frightened Ashley more than any confession.
She had known him for five years.
She knew his evasions.
When embarrassed, he overexplained.
When angry, he became precise.
When cornered, he asked for time.
Now he said only, “This isn’t the place.”
Ashley looked around the bridal suite.
“My wedding is apparently not the place to discuss why my marriage matters to your finances?”
“Ashley.”
“Answer.”
Evelyn entered behind him.
“Marcus, what deadline?”
His eyes flashed toward her.
“Nothing illegal.”
Nobody had asked whether it was illegal.
That made Simone’s stomach tighten.
Evelyn noticed too.
“Interesting choice of words.”
Marcus sat.
For the first time, he looked smaller than the tuxedo.
“Reed Development has a loan.”
Ashley frowned.
“You told me it had no active debt.”
“I told you operations were dormant.”
“That is not the same sentence.”
“No.”
“How much?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Two hundred eighty thousand.”
Ashley stared.
Evelyn whispered, “Jesus.”
“What is the collateral?” Ashley asked.
Marcus rubbed his hands together.
“A warehouse property.”
“Which property?”
“West End.”
Ashley knew it.
An old brick building Marcus had purchased four years earlier intending to convert it into event studios.
The project stalled.
She had believed it was sold.
“The loan matures Monday.”
Ashley’s face changed.
“Two days from now?”
“Yes.”
“What does our wedding have to do with it?”
Marcus looked at Evelyn.
Then Ashley.
“My lender approved a refinance package.”
“And?”
“They calculated combined household liquidity.”
Ashley stopped breathing for a moment.
“You submitted my assets.”
“As prospective marital household assets.”
“Without telling me?”
“It was a preliminary application.”
“Did you sign anything in my name?”
“No.”
The speed of the answer made Simone suspicious.
Ashley noticed too.
“Did you upload my financial statements?”
Marcus looked down.
Evelyn stood.
“Those statements are confidential company records.”
“I had access.”
“That does not mean authorization.”
Marcus’s voice sharpened.
“I was going to tell Ashley after the wedding.”
Ashley laughed.
The sound was almost a sob.
“After.”
Marcus looked toward her.
“I knew you’d panic.”
“I am not panicking.”
“You know what I mean.”
“No.”
Her eyes filled.
“I know exactly what you mean. You knew I would say no.”
He said nothing.
“So you planned to marry me first.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“What was it like?”
“I needed forty-eight hours.”
“For what?”
“To close.”
Ashley stared at him.
The wedding was Saturday.
The loan refinance was Monday.
Marriage certificate processing would not even necessarily be immediate.
But lenders could consider executed marital documents, combined statements, and spousal guarantees if Marcus had represented them that way.
She felt sick.
“Was I supposed to guarantee the loan?”
Marcus did not answer.
Evelyn whispered, “Oh, hell no.”
Simone looked between them.
Her own sixteen-hundred-dollar payments suddenly seemed like droplets in a much larger pool.
Marcus stood.
“I did not plan to steal from anybody.”
Simone snapped, “Stop using the word plan like outcomes don’t count.”
He looked at her.
“I loved you.”
Ashley flinched.
Simone’s face twisted.
“Don’t.”
“I did.”
“Don’t make that part of your defense.”
“It isn’t.”
“You’re wearing a tuxedo.”
Marcus looked toward the floor.
Ashley asked, “Did you love me?”
He lifted his head.
“Yes.”
She laughed through tears.
“That answer might be worse.”
Marcus moved toward her.
She stepped back.
“Do not touch me.”
He stopped.
Ashley’s phone rang.
Monica from Bennett Hospitality.
Ashley put the call on speaker.
“I pulled eighteen months.”
“Tell me.”
Monica sounded uncomfortable.
“There are fourteen payments to Carter Bespoke Cakes.”
Simone’s eyes widened.
“Fourteen?”
She had only done three Bennett-affiliated events.
Ashley asked, “Total?”
Keyboard clicks.
“One hundred six thousand four hundred dollars.”
Nobody spoke.
Simone gripped the vanity.
“No.”
Monica continued.
“I checked the vendor onboarding packet. There’s a W-9. Insurance certificate. Banking instructions.”
Simone whispered, “What bank?”
Monica read the last four digits.
Simone shook her head.
“That isn’t mine.”
Ashley looked at Marcus.
“What account is it?”
He said nothing.
Monica continued.
“Ashley, there’s something else.”
“What?”
“Some invoices have Simone Carter’s signature.”
Simone turned sharply.
“I never signed them.”
Marcus stepped toward the door.
Evelyn blocked him.
“Where are you going?”
“I need my phone.”
Ashley stared.
“Renee has your phone?”
“No.”
“Then where is it?”
Marcus hesitated.
“My car.”
Simone’s skin went cold.
Marcus had been holding a phone thirty minutes earlier.
She had seen it in his tuxedo pocket when she arrived.
“What happened to the phone you had at the altar?”
Marcus looked at her.
“What phone?”
“The black one.”
Ashley’s head turned.
“His phone is silver.”
Marcus became completely still.
And the two women understood at the same time.
There was another device.
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Another account.
Another version of Marcus’s life.
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