Chapter 7: The Ex-Girlfriend Who Had Receipts
Nia pressed the call button, and every woman in Tasha's kitchen went silent.
The phone rang once.
Twice.
On the third ring, a woman answered.
“Hello?””
Nia glanced at Tasha before speaking.
“Hi. My name is Nia. I think you just texted my friend Tasha about Marcus.””
A pause followed.
Then the woman exhaled sharply.
“Finally.””
Tasha stepped closer to the phone.
“This is Tasha. Who are you?””
“Monique.””
The name felt strange coming from the woman's own mouth. Marcus had spoken about Monique several times during their relationship, always with the same dismissive tone.
According to him, Monique was an ex who couldn't accept that their relationship was over. She called too much. She showed up uninvited. She had supposedly spread rumors about him because she wanted him back.
Tasha had believed him.
Now she wished she could go back and hear those stories again with fresh ears.
“Marcus told me you were obsessed with him,” Tasha said.
Monique laughed once, without humor.
“Of course he did.””
“He said you kept trying to get back together with him.””
“Did he tell you why we broke up?””
“He said you were controlling.””
Another silence.
Then Monique said, “I gave that man almost thirty thousand dollars, and when I asked him to pay me back, he told everybody I was crazy.””
Brielle sat down heavily.
Camille whispered, “Oh, my God.””
Tasha gripped the counter.
“Thirty thousand?””
“Twenty-eight thousand, four hundred dollars, to be exact. I have the transfers, the receipts, and the messages where he promised to repay me.””
“Why did you give him that much money?””
“Because he told me he was starting a business. He said he needed help getting equipment and paying a deposit on a small commercial space. He showed me documents.
He talked about expansion plans. He made it sound legitimate.””
“Was it?””
“No.””
Monique's answer came so quickly that Tasha felt another chill.
“How do you know?””
“Because I eventually contacted the company whose name he used. They had never heard of him.””
Tasha looked at Brielle.
Brielle had both hands pressed against her mouth.
“Did you report him?”” Tasha asked.
“I tried to resolve it privately first. He promised to repay me. Then he blocked me. When I started asking mutual friends for help, he told everyone I was harassing him.””
Monique paused.
“Then I saw him posting pictures with you.””
Tasha swallowed.
“What did you do?””
“I messaged him. I asked why he was publicly dating someone else when he still owed me money. He told me you knew about the debt and had agreed to help him pay it back.””
Tasha's knees weakened.
“What?””
“He said you were helping him organize his finances. He told me he had explained everything to you.””
“I never knew you existed until he told me you were crazy.””
“I figured.””
Monique's voice grew quieter.
“That's why I messaged Brielle, too. I found her profile after seeing her in a picture with him. She was wearing a bracelet I'd seen before.””
Brielle leaned toward the phone.
“You messaged me last week?””
“Yes. You didn't respond.””
Brielle looked devastated.
“I thought you were somebody he used to date who wanted to cause trouble.””
“I know. That's what he told me you'd think.””
Tasha closed her eyes.
Marcus hadn't merely lied about different women.
He had used each woman's ignorance to protect the version of himself he wanted the others to believe.
He told Tasha that Monique was obsessed.
He told Brielle that Tasha was an ex who couldn't let go.
And he told Monique that Tasha was helping him repay a debt she had never even heard about.
“Monique,” Tasha said, opening her eyes, “why did you contact us tonight?””
“Because I received a message from Marcus this afternoon.””
“What did it say?””
“He asked me to tell Brielle to stop contacting his family. He said he would repay me next week if I stopped interfering in his relationship.””
Brielle let out a small, broken sound.
“He promised me the same thing.””
“How much did you lend him?”” Monique asked.
Brielle wiped her cheeks.
“Twenty thousand.””
Monique went quiet.
Then she said, “He told me he was borrowing money from an investor.””
Tasha leaned against the counter.
The numbers were becoming difficult to process. Nearly fifty thousand dollars between two women, and potentially more people they didn't know about.
“Where did the money go?”” Tasha asked.
“I don't know,” Monique replied.
“That's what I've been trying to find out.””
Nia looked at the phone.
“Do you have proof of the transfers?””
“Yes. Everything.””
“Can you send it to Tasha?””
“I can. But I need you all to understand something. I'm not trying to get revenge on Marcus. I want my money back, and I don't want him doing this to somebody else.””
Tasha nodded, even though Monique couldn't see her.
“I understand.””
“Do you?”” Monique asked.
“Because I know what he's going to tell you. He's going to say I lied. He's going to say Brielle is bitter.
He's going to say Nia has been trying to steal him. He'll make you feel like the only person who knows the truth is the person who benefits from it.””
Nia's expression hardened.
“That sounds familiar.””
Monique continued.
“Don't let him convince you that every woman in his life is crazy. At some point, you have to ask why all these women have the same story about the same man.””
Tasha felt tears fill her eyes.
“I accused my best friend of trying to steal him.””
On the other end, Monique was silent for a moment.
Then she said, “I'm sorry.””
Tasha shook her head.
“You didn't do anything to me.””
“No, but I know what it feels like to realize you've been defending somebody who never deserved it.””
The words settled over the kitchen.
For the first time that night, Tasha felt something besides humiliation.
She felt understood.
Monique promised to send the records and ended the call.
A few seconds later, Tasha's phone began filling with notifications.
Bank transfer confirmations.
Screenshots of text messages.
A photograph of a handwritten agreement Marcus had signed.
Then another file appeared.
It was a screenshot of a message dated nearly a year earlier.
*Marcus: I need you to trust me. Once the money comes through, everything is going to change for us.*
Monique had replied:
*Monique: You said that last month.*
Marcus's response was chillingly familiar.
*Marcus: Why do you always assume the worst about me? You're supposed to be the one person who believes in me.*
Tasha stared at the screen.
She had heard almost the same words.
Different circumstances. Different arguments. The same manipulation.
Camille pulled out a chair and sat down.
“Baby, I think you need to call somebody who understands financial fraud.””
Tasha nodded.
“We should all keep copies of everything.””
Nia agreed.
“And nobody should send him another dollar, no matter what he says.””
Brielle looked up.
“He told me he needed another five thousand by Monday.””
Everyone turned toward her.
“For what?”” Tasha asked.
“He said he had an opportunity to buy into a company. If he didn't pay by Monday, he'd lose his investment.””
Monique's latest message arrived.
It contained a screenshot of another conversation.
*Marcus: I can repay you Friday. I just need one last favor.*
Tasha looked at Brielle.
“He told you he needed money for an investment. He told Monique he needed money for a business. What did he tell you the twenty thousand was for?””
Brielle hesitated.
“He said he was paying off a personal debt so he could qualify for a business loan.””
Tasha stared at her.
“Did he show you any documents?””
“Yes.””
“Do you still have them?””
Brielle nodded slowly.
“I have everything.””
“Then save it all somewhere he can't access.””
Brielle took out her phone and began forwarding the documents to her email.
For several minutes, the women worked in silence. They saved screenshots, wrote down dates, and compared the stories Marcus had told each of them.
The details were disturbingly consistent.
He had always been close to a breakthrough.
He had always needed just a little more time.
He had always been misunderstood by the people who questioned him.
And he had always promised that the next payment, the next opportunity, or the next conversation would make everything right.
Then Tasha noticed something in Monique's records.
A bank transfer dated four months earlier.
The recipient wasn't Marcus.
It was a company called *M&K Strategic Ventures LLC*.
Tasha enlarged the image.
“Does anybody know this company?””
Danielle shook her head.
Brielle leaned over.
“No.””
Nia searched the name on her phone, then frowned.
“There are two companies with similar names. I can't tell which one this is.””
Tasha looked at the transfer again.
The amount was $7,500.
Beside it, Monique had written a note:
Marcus said this would secure the equipment deposit.
Tasha felt a memory stir.
A few months earlier, Marcus had asked her to help him prepare a presentation for a business opportunity. He had shown her a logo and a few pages of financial projections.
She remembered the name on the document.
M&K Strategic Ventures.
“He showed me something with this name,” Tasha whispered.
Nia looked up.
“When?””
“Back in August. He said he was working with a partner. He asked me to proofread the presentation because I work with spreadsheets all day.””
“Did you see any bank information?”” Camille asked.
“No. Just the proposal.””
Tasha opened her old messages and searched for the company name.
A document appeared.
She tapped it.
The first page displayed the company logo, a description of its supposed business operations, and a list of projected expenses.
The second page contained a table of anticipated investors.
Tasha scanned the names.
Then she stopped.
At the bottom of the table was a name she recognized.
*Tasha Williams — Initial Capital Commitment: $15,000.*
Her mouth went dry.
“I never gave him fifteen thousand dollars.””
Nia moved beside her.
“Maybe it's a projection.””
Tasha scrolled down.
There was a signature at the bottom of the page.
Her name.
Her signature.
Or something that looked almost exactly like it.
Brielle stared at the screen.
“Did you sign that?””
“No.””
Tasha opened the document properties.
The file had been created on Marcus's laptop and sent to her months earlier. She remembered opening it, making a few spelling corrections, and sending it back.
But she had never signed it.
She had never agreed to invest.
And yet, the document listed her as a financial contributor.
Camille stepped closer.
“Could he have copied your signature from another document?””
Tasha looked at the screen.
“I don't know.””
Her phone buzzed.
A new message from Marcus appeared.
*Marcus: I know you're talking to Monique. Don't make this worse than it has to be.*
Tasha felt her blood run cold.
He knew.
Somehow, he already knew.
Another message followed.
*Marcus: You need to delete that business proposal and stop sending people my private documents.*
Tasha stared at the screen.
She hadn't told him she had found the proposal.
She hadn't even mentioned it to anyone outside the kitchen.
Nia looked at the message, then at Tasha.
“How does he know what you're looking at?””
Tasha slowly raised her eyes.
Then she remembered something else.
Months earlier, Marcus had asked to use her laptop because his had supposedly stopped working. He had sat at her kitchen table for nearly an hour, installing updates and transferring files.
She had given him her password without thinking.
She had never changed it.
Tasha opened her account settings with trembling fingers.
A device she didn't recognize appeared in the list of recent sessions.
It had accessed her account earlier that evening.
At 8:31 p.m.
Tasha's birthday party had been in full swing.
Marcus had been outside her apartment building at that time, according to the location he had shared with her earlier.
She stared at the timestamp.
Then her eyes moved to the document again.
Somebody had accessed her account.
Somebody knew she had the file.
And somebody was trying to make sure she deleted it.
Tasha looked at Nia.
“I'm changing every password I have.””
“Do it,” Nia replied.
Tasha began securing her accounts, while Camille helped Brielle organize the financial records.
Then a new email arrived from Monique.
The subject line read:
*THE PERSON MARCUS WAS REALLY WORKING WITH.*
Tasha opened it.
The message contained one paragraph.
I found out who owns M&K Strategic Ventures. It's not Marcus. It's somebody he's been using as a front. Tasha, please call me before you confront him again.
Below the message was a photograph of a business registration document.
Tasha zoomed in on the name listed as the managing member.
Her hands went numb.
Because the person who supposedly owned the company wasn't Marcus.
It was someone she knew.
Someone who had been at her birthday party that evening.
Someone who had hugged her, wished her well, and told her how happy they were to see her finally settling down.
Tasha looked up from the phone.
Across the room, Camille was speaking quietly with Danielle.
Nia was helping Brielle save the documents.
Everyone seemed ordinary.
Everyone seemed familiar.
But suddenly, Tasha couldn't stop wondering whether Marcus had been the only person hiding something from her.
She turned the phone toward Nia.
Nia read the name.
Her face changed.
“Tasha,” she whispered.
“Tell me that's a mistake.””
Tasha shook her head.
May you like
Because the name on the registration document belonged to her own cousin.
Camille.