Chapter 6: What Marcus Hid
The apartment became painfully quiet.
Even the hum of the refrigerator seemed too loud.
Aaliyah held the photograph between both hands.
“Dad.””
Marcus didn't answer.
She took one step toward him.
“Who took this?””
“I don't know.””
“You're looking at it like you do.””
“I said I don't know.””
“No.””
Her voice shook.
“You said the picture shouldn't exist.””
Marcus looked at her.
“That isn't the same thing.””
“It is when you're hiding something.””
Brianna stood near the wall.
Tasha had tears in her eyes.
Lieutenant Harris watched Marcus carefully.
“Mr. Carter,” he said, “if you know something relevant, now would be the time.””
Marcus stared at the photograph.
Then he sat down.
For the first time since Aaliyah could remember, her father looked old.
Not tired.
Not stressed.
Old.
He rubbed both hands over his face.
“Six months ago,” he said, “Professor Reed came to my office.””
Aaliyah waited.
“He told me he had evidence that someone inside the university was selling student records.””
“What does that have to do with me?””
“He said your name had appeared in the records.””
Aaliyah's heart pounded.
“What records?””
“Financial records.””
“Scholarship records?””
Marcus nodded.
“I asked him to explain.””
“And?””
“He couldn't.””
“Then why did you meet him?””
“Because he claimed someone was using my company to move money through the university.””
Dana, who had arrived with another security officer, stepped forward.
“Did he show you evidence?””
Marcus nodded.
“Documents.””
“Originals?”” Dana asked.
“No. Copies.””
Aaliyah looked at the photograph.
“And the complaint?””
Marcus shook his head.
“I didn't know about the complaint.””
“But it's on your desk.””
“I know.””
“Then why?””
“I didn't put it there.””
Aaliyah stared at him.
“You're telling me someone walked into your office, put a forged complaint on your desk, photographed it, and left?””
“I don't know what happened.””
“Dad!””
Marcus stood abruptly.
“I am telling you the truth!””
The room fell silent.
Aaliyah flinched.
Marcus immediately lowered his voice.
“I'm sorry.””
She looked away.
He took a breath.
“I should have told you.””
“Yes.””
“I thought I could handle it.””
“You couldn't.””
“No.””
He looked at the photograph.
“I couldn't.””
Dana crossed her arms.
“Why did you keep it secret?””
Marcus hesitated.
“Because Reed told me someone was watching my family.””
Aaliyah's chest tightened.
“You knew?””
“I suspected.””
“And you still let me walk around campus?””
“I thought the threat was connected to the company.””
Aaliyah laughed bitterly.
“It was connected to me.””
“I know.””
“You don't get to decide what I can handle.””
Marcus looked at his daughter.
“No.””
She wiped her eyes.
“You always taught me to tell the truth.””
“I know.””
“And now you're asking me to believe you while you keep secrets.””
“I know.””
She looked at him.
“What did Reed want?””
Marcus was silent.
Dana answered.
“He wanted money.””
Marcus nodded.
“How much?””
“Two hundred thousand dollars.””
Brianna gasped.
Aaliyah stared.
“Why?””
“He said if I didn't pay, he would release documents suggesting your scholarship was fraudulent.””
“But there was no fraud.””
“I knew that.””
“Then why would you pay him?””
“I didn't.””
Aaliyah looked confused.
“Then what happened?””
“I told him to leave.””
Marcus's voice hardened.
“I told him I would report him.””
“And did you?””
“No.””
Aaliyah stared.
“Why?””
“Because the next morning, you received an anonymous threat.””
He reached into his jacket.
Pulled out his phone.
Opened an old message.
Then handed it to her.
Aaliyah read it.
*Tell Marcus to stay quiet, or his daughter loses everything.*
Her fingers went numb.
“This was sent six months ago?””
“Yes.””
“And you never told me.””
“I wanted you safe.””
“I wasn't safe.””
Marcus's face crumpled.
“I know.””
The words landed harder than shouting.
Aaliyah handed back the phone.
Then she looked at Brianna.
“You said Reed gave you a folder.””
“Yes.””
“Did he say why?””
“He said it contained everything needed to prove you were getting special treatment.””
“Did you believe him?””
“At first.””
“And later?””
Brianna shook her head.
“I started noticing things.””
“What things?””
“Numbers that didn't match.””
Dana stepped closer.
“What numbers?””
“Scholarship payments.””
Brianna looked at Marcus.
“Some students received money from a fund connected to Carter & Associates.””
Marcus frowned.
“That wasn't my company.””
“I know.””
“What do you mean?””
“There was another company.””
“What company?””
Brianna hesitated.
“Carter Holdings.””
Marcus went completely still.
Aaliyah noticed.
“Dad?””
Marcus whispered, “That company doesn't exist anymore.””
Brianna shook her head.
“It exists.””
Dana's eyes narrowed.
“Where?””
“In Delaware.””
Marcus stared at her.
“Who owns it?””
Brianna looked at Aaliyah.
Then she said,
“That's the problem.””
Aaliyah waited.
Brianna's voice dropped.
“The registered owner is Marcus Carter.””
Marcus stepped backward.
“No.””
Brianna opened her phone.
“I saw the filing.””
“That's impossible.””
“You told me the company doesn't exist.””
“It doesn't.””
“Then someone is using your identity.””
Marcus looked at Dana.
“Get me the corporate records.””
Dana nodded.
“I'll make the call.””
Aaliyah suddenly remembered something.
“The signature.””
Everyone looked at her.
“What if it wasn't forged?””
Marcus frowned.
“What?””
“What if they didn't forge your signature?””
She looked at the complaint.
“What if they copied it?””
Marcus stared.
Aaliyah continued.
“Dad, you sign things for your company all the time.””
“Yes.””
“Someone could have gotten an old document.””
Marcus's face changed.
“They wouldn't need to forge anything.””
Dana nodded slowly.
“They could have digitally extracted your signature.””
Harris said, “That would explain why the university believed it was legitimate.””
Aaliyah felt a chill.
“So whoever did this had access to Dad's documents.””
Marcus looked at her.
“And possibly mine.””
Silence.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
Everyone stared at it.
Marcus answered.
“Hello?””
No one spoke.
Then a distorted voice said,
“You should have stayed quiet.””
Marcus's face hardened.
“Who are you?””
A pause.
“You still don't understand.””
“Tell me.””
“You think this is about your daughter.””
Aaliyah's blood ran cold.
The voice continued.
“It isn't.””
Marcus gripped the phone.
“Then what is it about?””
“Your company.””
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
“My company has nothing to do with this.””
The caller laughed.
“That's what you told yourself six months ago.””
Marcus stood.
“Who are you?””
“You're asking the wrong question.””
“Then what's the right one?””
The voice lowered.
“Ask who had access to your office on the night the scholarship records disappeared.””
The call ended.
Marcus slowly lowered the phone.
Aaliyah looked at him.
“Who had access?””
He didn't answer.
“Dad?””
His eyes moved toward her.
Then toward Dana.
Then toward the photograph.
“I changed the locks six months ago.””
Aaliyah's voice was barely audible.
“Why?””
Marcus swallowed.
“Because someone broke into my office.””
“And you never told me?””
“No.””
“Who was there?””
Marcus stared at the floor.
Then he said the one thing Aaliyah had been dreading.
“Someone I trusted.””
Aaliyah waited.
“Who?””
Marcus looked at her.
Before he could answer, Dana's phone rang.
She listened for five seconds.
Then her face went pale.
“Marcus…”
“What?””
“They found the company records.””
“Where?””
“Online.””
“And?””
Dana looked directly at Aaliyah.
“The Delaware company is real.””
Marcus's expression hardened.
“Who's listed as the beneficiary?””
Dana didn't answer.
“Dana.””
She slowly turned the phone around.
Aaliyah read the name.
Her heart stopped.
Because the beneficiary wasn't Marcus.
It wasn't Professor Reed.
It wasn't Brianna.
It wasn't anyone from the university.
It was *Aaliyah Carter.*
And beneath her name was a transfer date.
Six months earlier.
The exact day the first complaint had been filed.
Aaliyah looked at her father.
“Dad…”
Marcus stared at the screen.
Then his phone buzzed one more time.
May you like
A new message appeared.
*Now you know why they chose her.*