Chapter 9: The Venue
Marcus stared at the photograph.
“The wedding venue?””
Richard nodded.
“Why would they keep him there?””
“Because your father knows what happened to the money.””
Marcus looked toward Aaliyah.
“What money?””
Richard's eyes moved to her.
“The forty thousand.””
Marcus frowned.
“I thought that was wedding spending.””
“No.””
Richard shook his head.
“That money was used to locate your father.””
Marcus's face tightened.
“Then why was Darius receiving it?””
Darius answered quietly.
“Because I was paying informants.””
Marcus looked at him.
“You knew my father was alive?””
“I suspected.””
Richard snapped, “You knew.””
Darius turned.
“And you didn't?””
Richard's jaw tightened.
Marcus stepped between them.
“Enough.””
He looked at Richard.
“Start from the beginning.””
Richard took a breath.
“Your father discovered that someone inside his company was stealing millions.””
“Who?””
“We never identified them.””
“But you suspected someone.””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
Richard hesitated.
“Evelyn.””
Evelyn gasped.
Marcus turned.
“My mother?””
“No,” Richard said.
“Your mother.””
Marcus froze.
Richard continued.
“She was investigating the same theft.””
Marcus shook his head.
“My mother was a schoolteacher.””
“That was the cover.””
Marcus stared.
Richard reached into his coat again.
He pulled out a thin folder.
Inside were copies of bank records.
Names.
Dates.
Transfers.
Marcus scanned the pages.
One account appeared repeatedly.
*Brooks Family Holdings.*
Another name was attached.
*Evelyn Brooks.*
Marcus looked at Evelyn.
She sank into a chair.
“I didn't steal anything.””
Richard nodded.
“I know.””
“Then why was my name on the account?””
“Because your sister used your identity.””
Marcus frowned.
“My mother had a sister?””
Evelyn began shaking.
“She died years ago.””
Richard looked at Marcus.
“No.””
Marcus's eyes widened.
“She didn't.””
Richard shook his head.
“She disappeared.””
Evelyn covered her face.
Marcus stared at her.
“You knew?””
“I knew she was involved.””
“With Dad?””
“With everyone.””
Marcus felt the pieces shifting.
His mother.
Evelyn.
Darius.
The money.
The wedding.
None of them were separate.
They were branches of the same secret.
Marcus looked at Aaliyah.
“Why did you agree to marry me?””
Aaliyah's eyes filled with tears.
“Because I loved you.””
“And?””
She swallowed.
“And because your father asked me to stay close to you.””
Marcus's face went blank.
“What?””
“I didn't know why at first.””
“When did you find out?””
“After he disappeared.””
“So the engagement was part of his plan?””
“No.””
She shook her head.
“The engagement became part of it.””
Marcus stepped away.
“You were supposed to marry me.””
“Yes.””
“But you were also supposed to stop me from marrying you.””
Aaliyah started crying.
“I didn't know how to do both.””
Marcus stared at her.
Then Richard said something that silenced everyone.
“Because there was never supposed to be a wedding.””
Marcus turned.
“What?””
Richard looked at him.
“The wedding invitation was the bait.””
“For who?””
“Your father.””
Marcus's heart pounded.
Richard continued.
“He knew you were getting married. Whoever was watching him knew too. The plan was to force him out of hiding.””
Marcus looked toward the front door.
“And it worked.””
Richard nodded.
“He came back.””
“Where?””
“The venue.””
Darius grabbed his jacket.
“We leave now.””
Marcus picked up the photograph.
“No.””
Darius looked at him.
“What?””
“We don't run.””
Richard stared at him.
“Marcus, listen to me. The people inside that venue are not amateurs.””
Marcus looked at Aaliyah.
“Then we make them think the wedding is still happening.””
Aaliyah understood.
Her eyes widened.
“You want to go there?””
“Yes.””
“That's insane.””
“Maybe.””
Marcus picked up the black folder.
“But if my father is alive, I'm bringing him home.””
Evelyn stood.
“Marcus, there's something else.””
He turned.
“What?””
She reached into her pocket.
She pulled out a small envelope.
“I found this in your father's office the night he disappeared.””
Marcus took it.
His name was written on the front.
He opened it.
Inside was a single wedding photograph.
But it wasn't his.
It showed his father standing beside Marcus's mother.
Behind them was a church.
And standing in the background was a little girl.
Marcus stared at her.
He knew that face.
Aaliyah.
But she was only about eight years old.
Marcus slowly turned toward her.
“You knew my father when you were a child.””
Aaliyah began crying.
“Yes.””
“What did he tell you?””
She couldn't speak.
Marcus looked at the photograph again.
There was a handwritten note beneath it.
*She is the only person who knows where I hid the evidence.*
Marcus looked at Aaliyah.
“Where is it?””
Aaliyah whispered four words.
“In the wedding ring.””
Marcus's blood ran cold.
The ring he had given her was already on her finger.
And suddenly, from somewhere outside the house, his phone rang.
May you like
The caller ID showed a number Marcus hadn't seen since childhood.
*Mom.*
