Chapter 6: Vanessa Knew Where the Money Went
The figure on the screen refused to make sense.
One hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars.
The transaction document showed a transfer from an account associated with Marcus's property management company to a business registered under Vanessa Cole's name.
I read the page twice, then enlarged the image until the small print blurred.
There was a reference number, a date, and a description that read consulting and asset disposition services.
Nothing on the page proved the transfer was improper. Businesses paid consultants every day. Property companies sold assets, hired contractors, and moved money between accounts.
But the date matched the week of the hotel photograph.
And someone had gone to the trouble of sending me the document on the day I was supposed to marry Marcus.
I looked toward the office door.
My mother sat in the chair beside me, one hand resting on her purse. Elaine, the wedding planner, had stepped into the hallway to coordinate the cancellation discreetly.
“Who sent it?”” my mother asked.
“I don't know.””
“Does it say where the money went?””
I shook my head.
“Only that it was transferred to a company registered under Vanessa's name.””
My mother studied the screen.
“Do you think she was helping him?””
“I don't know what to think.””
That was the truth, and I was beginning to hate how often I had to say it.
For three years, I had believed Marcus was a man who wanted to build something lasting. He spoke about responsibility, loyalty, and the importance of keeping your word. When he proposed, he told me he wanted a marriage where neither person had to be afraid of the other person's secrets.
I had believed him because his words sounded like the kind of man I wanted to marry.
Now I wondered how much of that confidence had come from knowing I wouldn't ask the right questions.
My phone vibrated again.
This time, it was a text from an unknown number.
*VANESSA IS STILL AT THE VENUE. DON'T LET HER LEAVE WITHOUT ASKING ABOUT THE TRANSFER.*
I showed my mother.
She frowned.
“Whoever is sending these messages knows an awful lot about Marcus.””
“Or wants me to believe they do.””
“That's true.””
I appreciated that she didn't immediately assume the sender was trying to help us. My mother had always taught me that a warning could be genuine, manipulative, or both.
I couldn't trust the messages.
But I couldn't ignore the evidence, either.
“I need to speak to Vanessa,” I said.
My mother stood.
“Then I'm coming with you.””
We found her in the bridal suite.
She had removed her plum jacket and was sitting on the low upholstered bench, trying to gather the remaining pieces of her blonde extension into a small handbag. The scissors had been moved away from the vanity, and the gray hair clippings still scattered across the carpet had been swept into a neat pile by a member of the venue staff.
Vanessa looked up when we entered.
Her expression hardened immediately.
“If you're here to cut anything else, I'm leaving.””
“I won't touch you,” I said.
She glanced at my mother.
For the first time, she seemed uncertain about how to behave in front of her.
“Mrs. Brooks,” she murmured.
My mother didn't answer.
I placed my phone on the vanity and turned the screen toward Vanessa.
“Do you know what this is?””
She looked at the transaction document.
For one brief moment, the color drained from her face.
Then she looked away.
“No.””
“You haven't even read it.””
“I said I don't know.””
I watched her carefully.
“Your name is on it.””
Vanessa's fingers tightened around her handbag.
“Where did you get that?””
“Someone sent it to me.””
“Who?””
“I don't know.””
She let out a nervous breath and stood.
“This is private business information. You shouldn't have it.””
“That's interesting. You were comfortable helping Marcus put my name on a loan application, but now you're concerned about privacy?””
Her mouth opened.
Then she closed it.
My mother stepped closer to the vanity.
“Vanessa, I want you to understand something. You came into this room and cut my hair while I asked you to stop. You watched Marcus dismiss me, and you helped him make my daughter feel unreasonable for protecting me.””
Vanessa looked down.
“I already said I was sorry.””
“No,” my mother replied.
“You said you were sorry when you thought you might lose something.””
The words landed quietly.
Vanessa swallowed.
I picked up my phone.
“Did Marcus transfer money to your company?””
She shook her head.
“I'm not discussing his business with you.””
“Then tell me why your name is on the transaction.””
“I told you, I don't know.””
I stared at her.
“Look at me.””
She reluctantly raised her eyes.
“If you genuinely had nothing to do with this, say so clearly.””
Her lips trembled.
“I didn't steal anything.””
The room went silent.
I hadn't used the word steal.
Vanessa seemed to realize it a second too late.
I felt a chill move through me.
“Why did you say that?””
She shook her head.
“I didn't mean—”
“Why did you say you didn't steal anything when I only asked whether Marcus transferred money to your company?””
Vanessa looked toward the door.
I stepped away from it, leaving her a clear path out.
“You can leave if you want,” I said.
“But I'm going to preserve this document, and I'm going to ask a lawyer to review the financial paperwork with my name on it. If there is a legitimate explanation for this transfer, I'll listen to it when I'm ready.””
She looked at me, breathing quickly.
“You don't understand what you're getting into.””
“Then explain it.””
She pressed both hands against the sides of her handbag.
“Marcus said you wouldn't be involved.””
My heart began pounding.
“Involved in what?””
She glanced at my mother, then back at me.
“He said the company was restructuring. He said the money was part of a legitimate arrangement, and that everything would be settled before the wedding.””
“Why would the wedding matter?””
“Because—”
She stopped.
I waited.
Vanessa shook her head.
“I can't.””
“Can't, or won't?””
“You think you're the only person Marcus has lied to?””
The question surprised me.
I stared at her.
“Are you saying he lied to you, too?””
Her eyes filled with tears, but she didn't answer.
For a moment, the anger in her face seemed to collapse beneath something more complicated. Fear, perhaps. Or regret. I couldn't tell whether she was frightened of Marcus, of the financial arrangement, or of what might happen if she admitted what she knew.
I didn't mistake her distress for innocence.
She had still cut my mother's hair. She had still kissed my fiancé. She had still stood beside him while he tried to silence me.
Whatever Marcus had done, Vanessa had made her own choices.
But I needed the truth more than I needed another argument.
I lowered my voice.
“Did you know he was going to marry me today?””
She nodded.
“Did you know he had put my signature on that loan document?””
Her eyes widened.
“No.””
It was the first answer she had given without hesitation.
I believed that she was genuinely shocked by that question.
I wasn't yet prepared to believe anything else.
“Then tell me what you do know.””
Vanessa sat back down.
For several seconds, she stared at the floor. When she finally spoke, her voice was barely audible.
“Marcus told me he had a buyer for one of the properties his company managed. He said the sale would solve the cash-flow problems. He asked me to set up a consulting company so he could route certain payments through it.””
“Why your company?””
“He said it was easier because I wasn't involved in the property management business directly.””
“And you agreed?””
She looked at me.
“I thought it was legitimate.””
“Did you receive the money?””
She nodded slowly.
“Yes.””
“How much?””
“One hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars.””
My stomach tightened.
“What did you do with it?””
“Some of it went to business expenses. Some went to an account Marcus told me to use for the property transaction.””
“Whose account?””
She looked away.
“I don't know who ultimately owned it.””
I took a slow breath.
“Did you keep any of the money?””
“A fee. He said it was payment for my work.””
“How much?””
“Fifteen thousand.””
My mother closed her eyes briefly.
I felt sick.
Fifteen thousand dollars was more than my mother had saved in years of careful budgeting. Vanessa had received it while I was arranging table settings, paying deposits, and believing the man I loved was building an honest future.
“Did you know the transfer was connected to a loan?”” I asked.
“No.””
“Did you know he was using my signature?””
“No!””
Her answer came out so sharply that she startled herself.
She pressed her fingers against her forehead.
“He never told me about that. I swear to you.””
I believed she hadn't known about the forged signature.
That didn't make her blameless.
I picked up my phone.
“I'm going to preserve this conversation and the documents. I'm not asking you to destroy anything, and I'm not going to promise you that there won't be consequences. If you have records showing what happened to the money, keep them. Don't alter anything.””
Vanessa nodded, her eyes fixed on the carpet.
I turned toward the door.
“Danielle.””
I stopped.
She was looking at me with an expression I couldn't quite understand.
“Marcus didn't start this with me,” she said.
I slowly turned back.
“What does that mean?””
She looked toward the vanity mirror, where her reflection appeared pale and unfamiliar beneath the soft lights.
“He told me he was already separated from someone when we first met. He said he was trying to untangle himself from a relationship that had become complicated.””
My pulse quickened.
“Who?””
She hesitated.
“I don't know her name.””
“Then what do you know?””
Vanessa took a shaky breath.
“He showed me a photograph of a woman. He said she'd helped him get his company started, and that he still owed her money. He said the whole thing was in the past.””
I stared at her.
Marcus had never mentioned a woman who helped establish his company.
He had told me he started it with a small business loan and years of hard work. He had talked about the first property he managed, the sleepless nights, and the contracts he nearly lost.
He had never mentioned owing a woman money.
“What happened to her?”” I asked.
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don't know. He stopped talking about her.””
“When?””
“About a year ago.””
My phone vibrated in my hand.
An incoming call.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?””
A man's voice spoke quietly.
“Danielle Brooks?””
“Yes.””
“My name is Robert Hayes. I'm an attorney, and I've been trying to reach you because I represent someone who believes Marcus Reed has been using her identity in connection with his business.””
I gripped the phone.
“Who do you represent?””
There was a pause.
Then he said a name I had never heard before.
“Her name is Camille Foster. And if the documents you've found today are authentic, your situation may be connected to hers.””
I looked at Vanessa.
She had gone completely still.
For the first time, she seemed to understand that Marcus's secrets might extend far beyond an affair and a questionable business transfer.
May you like
And as Robert continued speaking, I realized that the man I had nearly married might have been hiding an entire chapter of his life from me.
One that began long before he ever put a ring on my finger.
