Chapter 5: The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Nia couldn't move.
The gray-haired man stood beside the SUV with one hand resting on the open passenger door.
He looked older than the photographs she remembered from childhood.
But there was something familiar in his face.
The shape of his jaw.
The crease beside his eyes.
The way he stood with his shoulders slightly forward.
Nia's heart began pounding.
“Who are you?””
The man looked directly at her.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he spoke.
“Your father.””
Nia stopped breathing.
Tasha stepped outside.
“What?””
The man took one step forward.
“Nia.””
She shook her head.
“No.””
Her mother appeared behind her.
The moment she saw the man, she covered her mouth.
“Marcus.””
The man's eyes softened.
“Hello, Evelyn.””
Nia looked at her mother.
“Mom?””
Her mother collapsed into the doorway.
Tasha caught her.
Nia couldn't take her eyes off the man.
“You're dead.””
“I was supposed to be.””
“What does that mean?””
Darius came around the SUV.
“Enough.””
Nia turned toward him.
His cheek was still swollen.
But he wasn't smiling anymore.
“You lied to me,” she said.
Darius shrugged.
“About what?””
“My father.””
He looked at Marcus.
Then back at Nia.
“You never asked enough questions.””
Nia stepped backward.
Marcus's voice was calm.
“Darius, don't.””
Darius laughed.
“You're really going to lecture me?””
Marcus stared at him.
“You've become exactly what I feared.””
Denise stepped between them.
“Darius, go.””
He looked at his mother.
“You gave me his files.””
“I know.””
“You told me he was dead.””
“I know.””
“And now you're protecting him?””
Denise's face crumpled.
“I was wrong.””
Darius's jaw tightened.
Nia looked at Marcus.
“You let me believe you were dead.””
Marcus nodded.
“Yes.””
“For twenty years?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
His eyes lowered.
“Because I thought it was the only way to keep you safe.””
Nia laughed through tears.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
Marcus took another step.
“I made mistakes.””
“You made me mourn you.””
“I know.””
“I stood at your funeral.””
His face tightened.
“I know.””
“You weren't there.””
“I was.””
Nia stared.
“What?””
“I watched from across the cemetery.””
Her hand covered her mouth.
“You watched me bury an empty coffin?””
Marcus closed his eyes.
“Yes.””
Tasha whispered, “Why?””
Marcus looked at her.
“Because the people who wanted me dead were watching.””
Darius scoffed.
“They weren't.””
Marcus turned.
“You weren't there.””
“I know exactly what happened.””
“No.””
Marcus's voice sharpened.
“You know what your mother told you.””
Darius stepped forward.
“And you know what you did to my father.””
Nia looked between them.
“What happened?””
Nobody answered.
Nia raised her voice.
“What happened?””
Marcus finally spoke.
“Your father-in-law was stealing from our development company.””
Denise closed her eyes.
Marcus continued.
“He had debts. Gambling debts. Loans from dangerous people. He started moving company money to cover them.””
Darius shook his head.
“You're lying.””
Marcus looked at him.
“Ask your mother.””
Darius turned.
Denise couldn't meet his eyes.
“Mom?””
She whispered, “It's true.””
Darius's face changed.
“No.””
“I didn't know at first.””
“You knew?””
“Not everything.””
“But you knew.””
Denise began crying.
Marcus continued.
“When I discovered the missing money, I confronted him.””
Nia asked, “And then?””
“He threatened me.””
“With what?””
“Your life.””
Nia's stomach turned.
Marcus looked directly at her.
“He said if I went to the police, you would disappear.””
Darius scoffed.
“That makes no sense.””
Marcus looked at him.
“Your father was capable of terrible things.””
“And you weren't?””
“No.””
Marcus's voice was steady.
“But I made one terrible decision.””
Nia whispered, “You disappeared.””
“Yes.””
“And let everyone think you were dead.””
“Yes.””
“Why did you buy the house?””
Marcus glanced at the notebook in Nia's hand.
“Because I knew I might never get to raise you.””
Nia's eyes filled.
“I put the property into a trust for you.””
Darius stepped forward.
“That's impossible.””
“It isn't.””
“You didn't own that property.””
Marcus smiled sadly.
“I did.””
Darius turned to Denise.
“You told me it belonged to us.””
“I was wrong.””
“You said the trust had expired.””
“It didn't.””
Darius's face hardened.
“Then why did I sign those documents?””
Marcus answered.
“Because you didn't read them.””
Nia looked down at the paperwork.
The transfer.
The signatures.
The clause about marriage dissolution.
She suddenly understood.
“You were trying to transfer the house.””
Marcus nodded.
“To Nia.””
Darius laughed bitterly.
“She was supposed to sign the final paperwork.””
Nia looked at him.
“What paperwork?””
Darius's expression changed.
He said nothing.
Nia stepped closer.
“You planned this.””
“No.””
“You knew I would leave tonight.””
“I knew you'd eventually leave.””
“And you needed me to sign something before I did.””
Darius looked away.
Tasha stepped forward.
“What was in that folder?””
Darius didn't answer.
Denise whispered, “The release.””
Nia turned.
“What release?””
Denise's shoulders sagged.
“A document stating Nia voluntarily surrendered all claims to the property.””
Nia's mouth fell open.
“And you wanted me to sign it?””
Darius said nothing.
“You were going to make me sign away my own house.””
“It wasn't yours.””
Marcus's voice cut through the night.
“It was always hers.””
Darius's eyes flashed.
He lunged toward Nia.
Marcus stepped between them.
“Don't.””
Darius stopped.
For the first time, Nia saw fear in his eyes.
Not fear of Marcus.
Fear of what Marcus knew.
Nia looked at her father.
“What else is in the notebook?””
Marcus looked at the cover.
“Enough to destroy Darius.””
Darius laughed.
“You think a twenty-year-old notebook can destroy me?””
Marcus reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a small flash drive.
“This can.””
Darius went pale.
Nia stared.
“What is that?””
“Copies of the original financial records.””
“Where did you get them?””
“From the person who helped me disappear.””
Darius stepped backward.
“No.””
Marcus nodded.
“Yes.””
Darius turned toward the SUV.
Nia followed him with her eyes.
“Where are you going?””
He stopped.
Then looked over his shoulder.
“You're going to regret choosing them.””
Nia held his gaze.
“I already regret choosing you.””
Darius's face twisted.
He climbed into the SUV.
The vehicle sped away.
Nia stood frozen.
Then she turned to Marcus.
“You came back tonight because of him.””
“No.””
“Then why?””
Marcus looked at her.
“Because he found the last piece.””
“What piece?””
Marcus's expression became grim.
“The one thing I spent twenty years making sure nobody could find.””
He looked toward the house.
“The original deed.””
Nia frowned.
“I thought the trust protected it.””
“It did.””
“Then where is it?””
Marcus's eyes settled on the attic window.
“Your mother kept it.””
Nia turned toward the house.
“Mom?””
Her mother looked terrified.
“I didn't keep it.””
Marcus's face changed.
“What?””
Evelyn shook her head.
“I gave it to Denise.””
Denise whispered, “I never received it.””
Everyone stared at one another.
Then Tasha's phone buzzed.
She looked down.
Her face went white.
“Nia.””
“What?””
Tasha turned the screen toward her.
A photograph.
It showed the attic of Nia's house.
And on the floor was the old wooden trunk her father had used before his death.
The trunk was open.
Someone had photographed it from above.
Under the image was a message:
*Looking for this?*
A second message arrived.
*Come alone, Nia.*
May you like
Then another.
*Your father won't be there to save you this time.*