Chapter 6: The Second Application
Marcus stood perfectly still.
The woman on the phone waited for his response.
“What do you mean, a second application?””
“I'm sorry, Mr. Williams. We have another enrollment application listing you as the financial sponsor.””
“Whose application?””
The woman checked her records.
“It's for a student named Noah Cole.””
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
“Noah?””
Tasha suddenly stood.
“Hang up.””
Marcus turned toward her.
“What?””
“Hang up the phone, Marcus.””
Robert stepped closer.
“Let him finish.””
The woman continued.
“According to the application, Noah is scheduled to begin classes next term. The financial sponsor section contains your name and signature.””
Marcus's voice became almost inaudible.
“I have never met a Noah Cole.””
There was a brief pause.
“Understood, sir. Would you like us to suspend the sponsorship authorization while we investigate?””
“Yes.””
“Very well. We will place the application on hold pending verification.””
Marcus ended the call.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then he looked at Tasha.
“Who is Noah?””
Tasha's eyes filled with tears.
“He's Darren's nephew.””
Darren immediately looked up.
“Tasha!””
Marcus turned toward him.
“Your nephew?””
Darren nodded slowly.
“My sister's son.””
Marcus looked back at Tasha.
“So you were planning to pay for two children?””
“I wasn't planning anything yet!””
“Then why is my name on another application?””
Tasha pressed her hands against her temples.
“Because I was trying to secure their places before the deadline.””
“With my money?””
“With the money we have as a family!””
Marcus shook his head.
“That's not the same thing.””
Robert picked up the documents.
He spread them across the coffee table.
There were two school applications, the five-hundred-dollar receipt, the three-hundred-dollar payment confirmation, and several bank statements.
The pink backpacks suddenly seemed almost insignificant compared with the paperwork surrounding them.
Robert pointed toward the applications.
“Marcus, look at the dates.””
Marcus leaned forward.
The first application had been submitted eight months earlier.
The second had been submitted three weeks ago.
The date was the same day Marcus transferred the five hundred dollars.
Robert looked at Tasha.
“So the money came in, and you immediately started making payments for someone else's family?””
Tasha shook her head.
“It's not someone else's family. Darren is my friend.””
Marcus stared at her.
“Your friend?””
Tasha hesitated.
Darren looked uncomfortable.
“Marcus, I think there are things you should know before you make assumptions.””
Marcus turned.
“Then tell me.””
Darren glanced at Tasha.
She shook her head.
But Darren continued.
“Tasha has been helping me for a long time. I lost my job last year, and she offered to help with Ethan's expenses. She said you were comfortable financially.””
Marcus gave a bitter laugh.
“Comfortable?””
He pulled a chair away from the dining table.
“I work six days a week. I take extra shifts. I skip holidays because I want my children to have a better life.””
He looked at Isaiah.
“And I sent money home because I trusted the person looking after them.””
Tasha started crying.
“Marcus, I never wanted to hurt you.””
“But you did.””
“I was trying to help people.””
“Why didn't you ask me?””
“You would have said no!””
Marcus stared at her.
The answer had come too quickly.
He looked toward Robert.
“Did you hear that?””
Robert nodded.
“She already knew you wouldn't agree.””
Tasha wiped her cheeks.
“I knew you'd get angry because you always put Isaiah first.””
Marcus's face changed.
“What did you just say?””
She hesitated.
“I mean, you always worry about him more.””
“He's my son.””
“And Jordan and Ava are my daughters!””
“I never said they weren't.””
“You send money for Isaiah constantly. You buy him things whenever you visit. You call him every night. What about my girls?””
Marcus looked genuinely confused.
“I have never stopped you from asking me what they need.””
“You don't understand.””
“No, Tasha. I don't.””
He turned toward Jordan's new backpack on the sofa.
“Those bags cost more than I planned to spend on all three children combined.””
Tasha said nothing.
Marcus continued.
“I wasn't expecting designer brands. I wasn't expecting matching accessories. I just wanted each child to have what they needed.””
He walked toward the old camouflage backpack.
He picked it up.
The broken zipper caught on the fabric.
Marcus ran his thumb across the torn shoulder strap.
Then he looked at Isaiah.
“Did you carry this all last year?””
Isaiah nodded.
“Even when it rained?””
“Yes, Dad.””
Marcus opened the bag.
Inside was the torn notebook and the small collection of pencils.
He found Isaiah's handwritten list.
Backpack.
Pencils.
Blue notebooks.
Lunch box.
Water bottle.
He read it silently.
Then he noticed something written at the very bottom.
Please don't make Mommy angry.
Marcus stared at the words.
His son watched him nervously.
“Dad?””
Marcus crouched.
“Why did you write that?””
Isaiah shrugged.
“Because Mommy gets upset when I ask about school things.””
Marcus held the list against his chest.
He looked toward Tasha.
“Is that what you've made him feel?””
Tasha began sobbing.
“I never told him to write that!””
“But you made him afraid to ask.””
She covered her face.
Robert stepped closer.
“That's the part you keep avoiding. You're defending the money, the receipts, the paperwork. But have you asked yourself what this has done to that little boy?””
Tasha lowered her hands.
“I'm sorry.””
Isaiah looked at her.
For a moment, everyone waited.
Then he quietly asked, “Are you still angry with me?””
Tasha shook her head.
“No, sweetheart.””
“Can I have a blue backpack now?””
Marcus's face crumpled.
He pulled his son close.
“Of course you can.””
Isaiah nodded.
“Can I have one with pockets?””
Marcus kissed his forehead.
“As many pockets as you want.””
Robert looked away.
He had seen grown men lose arguments.
He had seen families fall apart.
But watching a child ask permission for something so ordinary was something he would never forget.
Marcus stood and turned toward Tasha.
“I'm freezing the household transfer account until we review everything.””
Tasha looked horrified.
“You can't do that!””
“I can stop sending money into an account I no longer trust.””
“What about the girls?””
“I will make sure Jordan and Ava have everything they need. I'll pay their school expenses directly if necessary.””
“And what about me?””
Marcus looked at her for a long moment.
“Right now, I'm more concerned about the children.””
Tasha sank into the sofa.
Darren picked up his envelope.
“I should go.””
Marcus looked at him.
“Yes. You should.””
Darren paused near the door.
“I'm sorry about the misunderstanding.””
Marcus didn't respond.
Darren left.
The front door closed.
For the first time that morning, the living room was quiet.
Marcus picked up his phone.
He opened his banking application and began reviewing the transactions one by one.
Then he stopped.
There was a transfer he hadn't noticed earlier.
It was dated just two days before the five-hundred-dollar payment.
The amount was $1,200.
The recipient wasn't Darren.
It wasn't the school.
And it wasn't Tasha's usual shopping account.
Marcus tapped the transaction.
The recipient's name appeared.
*Williams Family Trust.*
He frowned.
“Dad?””
Robert stepped closer.
“What is it?””
Marcus turned the screen around.
“Do you recognize this account?””
Robert examined it.
His expression changed immediately.
“Where did you get that name?””
Marcus scrolled down.
The transaction description contained a reference number and a note.
*Beneficiary: Isaiah Williams.*
Marcus stared at it.
“That's impossible.””
Robert's voice became quiet.
“No, son. It's not.””
Tasha suddenly stood.
“Marcus, don't open that account.””
He turned toward her.
“Why?””
She shook her head.
“Please. Just leave it alone.””
Marcus looked at the screen again.
Then he noticed the date of the account's creation.
It had been opened eleven years earlier.
Before he married Tasha.
Before Jordan and Ava were born.
Before anyone in the family had ever heard the name Darren Cole.
Robert slowly sat down.
“Your mother and I opened that account when Isaiah was born.””
Marcus looked at him.
“What?””
Robert nodded.
“We put money aside for his future. Your mother wanted him to have something that would belong to him no matter what happened.””
Marcus swallowed.
“But Mom died six years ago.””
“I know.””
Robert looked toward Tasha.
“And I thought the account was still untouched.””
Tasha's face had turned completely white.
Marcus tapped the account history.
The balance appeared.
Then he scrolled down.
A withdrawal had been made three weeks earlier.
The amount was $18,000.
Marcus slowly lifted his eyes.
“Tasha.””
She didn't answer.
He turned the phone toward her.
May you like
“Why did you withdraw eighteen thousand dollars from my son's trust?””
And this time, even Robert had no idea what she was going to say.
