Chapter 8: The Father Who Came Back Too Late
Thomas Bennett's address led to a modest brick house in Decatur, less than thirty minutes from the wedding venue.
David insisted on accompanying Tiana.
She protested at first. She didn't want him to feel responsible for solving her family's problems, especially after discovering how deeply Brooke's decisions had entangled their lives.
But David refused to let her drive alone while she was struggling to keep her hands steady.
They left the ballroom in separate cars after arranging for Denise to preserve the security footage and secure the documents.
Brooke remained behind with the venue manager, waiting for the police.
Neither David nor Tiana said much during the drive.
Atlanta's streets glowed beneath the late-night traffic lights. Restaurants were closing, rideshare vehicles pulled away from curbs, and couples in evening clothes crossed intersections beneath the amber glow of streetlamps.
Tiana watched the city pass through her window.
She had driven these roads hundreds of times.
She had taken Marcus to job interviews, helped him move apartments, and picked him up from late shifts when his car broke down.
She had never imagined that one day she'd drive across the city searching for answers about his death.
David called Michael again.
The attorney confirmed that the documents would be forwarded to investigators and warned them not to confront anyone in a way that might put them at risk.
“Whatever Thomas knows,” Michael said, “we need to get the information lawfully. Don't take documents from his house, and don't make accusations you can't support.””
David thanked him and ended the call.
When they arrived, Tiana remained in the car for nearly a minute.
Thomas's house looked smaller than she remembered. The front porch needed repainting, and a narrow strip of grass had grown around the driveway.
A light burned in the living room.
“He lives here?”” David asked.
“I think so.””
“Do you want me to go to the door first?””
Tiana shook her head.
“No. I've spent two years wondering why he barely reacted when Marcus died. I want to ask him myself.””
They walked up the path together.
Tiana knocked.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then a shadow moved behind the curtain.
The door opened.
Thomas Bennett stood in the doorway wearing a gray cardigan and dark trousers. His hair had gone almost entirely silver, and his face looked thinner than Tiana remembered.
He stared at his daughter.
“Tiana?””
She didn't embrace him.
She didn't ask how he'd been.
She held up the photograph.
“Tell me why you were with Marcus six weeks before he died.””
Thomas's eyes moved to the picture.
The change in his expression was immediate.
He stepped backward.
“Where did you get that?””
“Answer me.””
Thomas glanced toward David.
“Who is he?””
“David Harris.””
Thomas's face lost color.
For a moment, he looked as if he might close the door.
Instead, he opened it wider.
“Come inside.””
Tiana hesitated.
Then she entered, with David following.
The living room smelled of coffee and old furniture. Family photographs lined a shelf above the television, but there were none of Tiana and Marcus together. A framed picture of Thomas standing beside a younger woman occupied the center of the mantel.
Tiana recognized the woman as their mother.
She had died when Tiana was twenty-three.
Thomas had left shortly afterward.
He had never explained why.
Tiana stood in the middle of the room.
“Did you know Ryan?””
Thomas looked at her.
“Yes.””
“Did you know Brooke?””
“Yes.””
“Did you know David's identity was used to open financial accounts?””
Thomas sat down slowly.
David stepped forward.
“I never authorized any transactions involving your business. If my information was used, I want to know how it happened.””
Thomas rubbed his hands together.
“I didn't steal your identity.””
“Then who did?””
Thomas looked at Tiana.
“Marcus.””
She recoiled.
“No.””
“He was working with Ryan.””
“My brother would never do that.””
“He wasn't the same person at the end.””
Tiana's eyes filled with tears.
“You don't get to tell me who my brother was. You weren't there when he couldn't pay his electric bill. You weren't there when he spent Christmas alone because he couldn't afford the bus ticket home. You weren't there when I identified his body.””
Thomas looked down.
“I know.””
“No, you don't.””
Her voice cracked.
“You came to his funeral, stood beside me, and told everyone you barely knew what he'd been doing. You let me believe he was alone. And now I find out you were meeting him behind my back?””
Thomas covered his face.
“I was trying to protect you.””
Tiana laughed bitterly.
“From what? The truth?””
He didn't answer.
David pulled out a chair and sat opposite him.
“Start at the beginning.””
Thomas stared at the photograph.
“Ryan approached me four years ago. He wanted investors for an event-planning company. I put in some money, but I wasn't the only one. Marcus became involved later.””
“Why?”” Tiana asked.
“He believed he could build something of his own. He was tired of working jobs that barely paid enough to live.””
“That doesn't explain the accounts.””
Thomas nodded.
“Ryan used investor money to cover expenses that had nothing to do with the company. When the business started failing, he began moving money between accounts to keep creditors from discovering how much had disappeared.””
David leaned forward.
“And my account?””
Thomas looked at him.
“I knew you were Marcus's friend.””
David frowned.
“I'd never met Marcus.””
“You met him once, years ago. At a community fundraiser in Atlanta. You were volunteering with a group that helped people find work.””
David searched his memory.
He vaguely remembered a crowded community center, folding tables, and dozens of people signing up for job referrals. He'd been helping his employer collect applications.
He couldn't remember Marcus.
Thomas continued.
“Ryan got hold of some personal information from the people who attended. He used it to create accounts and move money.””
David's face hardened.
“You're telling me he collected people's information at a community fundraiser?””
Thomas nodded.
“Marcus discovered it. He wanted to report Ryan, but Ryan threatened to blame him for everything.””
Tiana shook her head.
“Why didn't Marcus come to me?””
“Because he was ashamed. He'd already signed documents he didn't fully understand. He thought the police would see his name and assume he was involved.””
David's hands tightened on his knees.
“Did Marcus use my identification?””
Thomas hesitated.
“He told me he had helped Ryan open an account using information Ryan supplied. He claimed he didn't know where the information came from.””
“That doesn't answer the question.””
“I don't know whether he personally used your identification.””
Tiana stared at her father.
“You knew he was being threatened.””
Thomas nodded.
“And you did nothing?””
“I tried to help him.””
“How?””
“I gave him money to leave Atlanta. I told him to go somewhere Ryan couldn't find him.””
Tiana's mouth fell open.
“When?””
“November.””
The month Marcus died.
“What day?””
Thomas closed his eyes.
“November seventeenth.””
Tiana gripped the edge of the table.
Two days before Marcus died.
“Where did he go?””
“I don't know. He said he was going to meet someone who could help him expose Ryan.””
“Who?””
Thomas shook his head.
“He never told me.””
Tiana stepped away from the table.
“You gave my brother money, sent him away, and never told me?””
“I thought he'd call you when it was safe.””
“He died two days later!””
Thomas began to cry.
“I didn't know that would happen.””
“Did you see him after the seventeenth?””
“No.””
“Did you contact the police?””
“I called the hospital when I heard he'd died. I went to the funeral.””
“That isn't what I asked.””
Thomas looked at her.
“No. I didn't contact the police.””
Tiana stared at him in disbelief.
David rose from his chair.
“Mr. Bennett, did you know that Brooke had documents suggesting Marcus authorized a financial transaction?””
Thomas's face changed.
“What documents?””
“Records showing his name connected to an account.””
Thomas stood so abruptly that his chair scraped across the floor.
“Where are those records?””
“Why does that matter?””
Thomas looked toward the window.
Then he lowered his voice.
“Because if Ryan knows those records still exist, he'll come looking for them.””
A car door slammed outside.
Everyone froze.
Thomas moved to the window and peered through the curtain.
A dark sedan sat at the curb.
Its headlights were off.
Tiana approached the window, her pulse pounding.
“Who is that?””
Thomas stepped away from the glass.
“I don't know.””
David reached for his phone.
The sedan's engine started.
Before it pulled away, its headlights flashed across the living room.
For one brief moment, Tiana saw the driver.
A man with dark hair.
A familiar face.
Thomas stumbled backward.
“Oh, God.””
David looked at him.
“Who was that?””
Thomas's voice barely carried across the room.
“Ryan.””
Tiana turned toward the door.
“I'm calling the police.””
“Wait,” Thomas said.
She spun around.
“What now?””
He stared at her, his eyes filled with fear.
“Ryan isn't the person you should be most worried about.””
David stepped closer.
“Who is?””
Thomas reached for the photograph on the table and turned it over again.
“There was another person at that meeting with Marcus. Someone who knew about the accounts, the money, and the threats.””
He looked at David.
“Someone who was supposed to keep Marcus safe.””
Tiana felt a terrible coldness settle over her.
“Who?””
Thomas's lips trembled.
Then he whispered a name.
“Michael Reed.””
David went completely still.
His attorney.
The man who had called the wedding venue.
The man who had discovered the suspicious signature.
The man who had warned them to preserve the evidence.
Tiana stared at David.
“Your attorney knew my brother?””
David shook his head slowly.
“Not that I knew.””
Thomas looked toward the window again.
“Michael wasn't just Ryan's attorney. He helped prepare the original financial documents.””
David's phone began to ring.
Michael Reed's name appeared on the screen.
David answered.
“Michael, we need to talk.””
The attorney's voice came through, tight and urgent.
“David, listen carefully. Do not give those documents to anyone until I arrive.””
David looked at Thomas.
“Why?””
There was a long silence.
Then Michael said something that made David's blood run cold.
“Because the signature on the account authorization isn't the only signature that was forged.””
He paused.
“The original records contain a second name.””
David tightened his grip on the phone.
“Whose?””
May you like
Michael's answer came in a whisper.
“Yours.””
