Chapter 7 - Chanel’s Investment
LuxeCircle Capital had an office address.
That was the first thing Tiana checked Monday morning.
Suite 804.
A glass tower in downtown Atlanta.
She drove there expecting answers.
Instead she found a receptionist for a coworking company.
“LuxeCircle?” the receptionist repeated.
“Yes.”
She searched her computer.
“They rented a virtual office package.”
Tiana felt sick.
“So they don’t have an office here?”
“They receive mail here.”
“Can I speak to someone?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Darius Coleman?”
The receptionist shook her head.
“I don’t recognize the name.”
Tiana stepped outside and immediately called Chanel.
This time Chanel answered.
“Hey.”
“Where is Darius?”
“Why?”
“I went to LuxeCircle’s office.”
Silence.
“Tiana, why would you do that?”
“Because they owe me eighteen thousand dollars.”
“They owe everybody.”
The casual answer stopped her.
“What does that mean?”
“It means there were delays.”
“You knew?”
“I knew there were issues.”
“For how long?”
Chanel sighed.
“Can we not do this over the phone?”
“Answer me.”
“A few weeks.”
“You told me Friday everything was fine.”
“I didn’t want you panicking.”
Tiana laughed bitterly.
“You didn’t want me panicking?”
“Darius says a property sale got delayed.”
“What property?”
“Miami.”
“Address?”
“What?”
“What is the address of the property?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then how do you know there’s a property?”
Chanel’s voice sharpened.
“Why are you coming at me?”
“Because I gave them twelve thousand dollars.”
“And I put in more than that.”
Tiana stopped.
“You invested?”
“Of course.”
“How much?”
“That’s private.”
“You brought me into this.”
“And you made your own choice.”
The sentence sounded suspiciously rehearsed.
Tiana leaned against her car.
“Where is Darius?”
“He’s traveling.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’re engaged to him.”
“So?”
“So you don’t know where your fiancé is?”
Another silence.
Tiana’s anxiety deepened.
“Chanel.”
“He went to Dallas.”
“For what?”
“Meetings.”
“With LuxeCircle?”
“Yes.”
“Give me his number.”
“You have it.”
“He blocked me.”
That produced a longer silence.
“Tee, listen. Don’t do anything dramatic.”
“Like what?”
“Police. Lawyers. Posting online.”
“Why would that be dramatic?”
“Because once people start throwing around words like fraud, investors panic and everybody loses.”
Investors.
Not friends.
Not family.
Investors.
Tiana heard Marcus’s voice in her mind.
Did you verify ownership? Registration?
“No,” she said.
“What?”
“I’m filing a report with my bank.”
“Tiana.”
“And I’m talking to an attorney.”
“Tiana, stop.”
“Why?”
Chanel’s voice dropped.
“Because Marcus is connected to this too.”
Everything inside Tiana went still.
“What did you say?”
“I’m trying to tell you this is complicated.”
“How is Marcus connected?”
“He isn’t. Not exactly.”
“Then why did you say his name?”
Chanel muttered something under her breath.
“Chanel.”
“Darius wanted you to talk to Marcus.”
“About what?”
“Investing.”
Tiana almost laughed.
“Marcus never invested.”
“I know.”
“Then he’s not connected.”
“Darius built some projections assuming Northline might.”
Tiana straightened.
“What projections?”
“It was just pitch material.”
“Did he use Marcus’s company name?”
Silence.
Tiana’s heartbeat accelerated.
“Did he?”
“Yes.”
“Without permission?”
“I don’t know.”
“You do know.”
“Tiana, it wasn’t public.”
“Send it to me.”
“I can’t.”
“Send me everything.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re angry.”
“I’m beyond angry.”
Chanel sighed.
“Your relationship is already falling apart. Don’t make this worse.”
Tiana’s voice became quiet.
“My relationship?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
“The video.”
“No. You said already.”
Another pause.
Tiana suddenly understood.
“You’ve been talking to Darius about Marcus.”
“Obviously.”
“How much?”
“Tee—”
“How much?”
Chanel did not answer.
Tiana hung up.
Then she called Nia.
Nia answered on the first ring.
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
“I need the Birthday Queens chat.”
“You left that group months ago.”
“I know.”
“What are you looking for?”
“Anything Chanel said about Marcus, Northline, investments, his money, his business.”
Nia became silent.
“Tiana.”
“What?”
“There is something.”
Tiana’s stomach dropped.
“What?”
“I didn’t understand it at the time.”
“Send it.”
A minute later, screenshots appeared.
Three months old.
Chanel:
Darius says Marcus is sitting on way more money than Tee knows.
Someone replied:
How would Darius know?
Chanel:
Public records. Northline bought half that block by Jefferson. Quiet men always be the richest lol.
Another message:
Get Tee to make him invest before they get married.
Chanel responded:
Working on it.
Then one final line.
Marcus is the quiet account. He just doesn’t know it yet.
Tiana stared at those words until they blurred.
The old-car humiliation suddenly seemed smaller.
The twelve thousand dollars suddenly seemed different.
She had thought Chanel wanted her to become wealthy.
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)
Now she wondered whether Chanel and Darius had simply needed a pathway to Marcus.
And Tiana had unknowingly opened the door.
