Chapter 5: The Secret Behind the Green Dress
“Brielle said Loretta had given her permission to buy whatever she needed for the wedding.””
Vanessa's words hung in the kitchen.
Marcus looked at the photograph again.
His mother's name was clearly visible on the black card beside Brielle's hand. The date displayed at the top of Vanessa's screen was unmistakable.
Three weeks earlier.
The same week Loretta had called Marcus to ask whether he could help her understand a strange notification from her bank.
At the time, she had described it as a small charge she didn't recognize.
He had told her to call the bank.
She had laughed softly and said she would handle it.
Now he remembered something else.
That evening, Brielle had arrived at his apartment carrying a designer shopping bag and kissed him before he could ask where she'd been.
She'd told him she'd found a dress on sale.
A dress she had described as an investment in their future.
Marcus looked at her.
“Three weeks ago, you told me that dress was a gift from your aunt.””
Brielle lifted her chin.
“I never said that.””
“You absolutely did.””
“I said my aunt helped me find it.””
“You said she helped you pay for it.””
“Marcus, I don't remember every conversation we've ever had!””
Vanessa shook her head.
“Brielle, stop. I was there. You told the saleswoman that Loretta wouldn't mind because the family was practically yours already.””
Brielle turned on her.
“Why are you doing this to me?””
“Because you're lying.””
The words came out quietly.
That made them worse.
Brielle stared at Vanessa as though she had just betrayed her in a way no amount of money could repair.
“You're my best friend.””
“And Loretta is a person, Brielle. She's not a bank account.””
A guest near the living room doorway murmured, “Good Lord.””
Brielle snatched a clean towel from the counter and pressed it against her dress.
“Everybody needs to calm down. I made a mistake. That's all.””
Marcus looked at the receipt in his hand.
“Using somebody else's card without permission isn't a little mistake.””
“I was going to pay her back!””
Loretta raised her head.
“When?””
Brielle froze.
Loretta stood slowly, bracing one hand against the kitchen island.
“When were you going to pay me back, Brielle?””
Brielle's eyes darted toward Marcus.
“I don't know. When things settled down.””
“What things?””
“The wedding! The house! Everything we're trying to build together!””
Loretta stared at her.
“I live on a fixed income. I saved that money for emergencies.””
Brielle's expression hardened.
“You have a retirement account, don't you?””
Marcus stepped forward.
“Watch yourself.””
“I'm asking a question!””
“No. You're trying to justify spending her money because you think she can afford it.””
Brielle threw the towel onto the counter.
“Fine! Yes, I used the card. But it's not like I took money from a stranger. We're family.””
“We're not married yet,” Marcus replied.
She flinched.
He continued.
“And even if we were, my mother's money wouldn't belong to you.””
Brielle looked toward the guests.
“This is humiliating.””
Loretta's voice was barely above a whisper.
“Yes. It is.””
For the first time, Brielle had no immediate answer.
Then Marcus's phone vibrated.
A message appeared from the bank's fraud department. He had initiated a fraud inquiry while Vanessa was speaking, and the bank had sent an automated acknowledgment requesting confirmation from the account holder.
He looked at his mother.
“Mom, did you ever authorize any other purchases?””
Loretta shook her head.
“Not that I know of.””
Brielle's face changed.
It was subtle, but Marcus noticed it immediately.
Her fingers tightened around the towel. Her gaze shifted to the phone in his hand, then toward the doorway leading to the hallway.
Marcus followed her eyes.
“Why are you looking at the door?””
“I'm not.””
“You just did.””
“I'm standing in a kitchen with half your family accusing me of stealing. Excuse me for wanting to leave.””
“You can leave whenever you want. But first, I need you to answer one question.””
“What?””
“Where is the card?””
Brielle swallowed.
“I told you. I returned it.””
“Not the replacement card. The original.””
“I don't know!””
Loretta closed her eyes.
“Marcus, there was something else.””
He turned immediately.
“What is it, Mom?””
She reached into her handbag with trembling fingers and pulled out a folded sheet of paper.
“I found this in my mailbox yesterday.””
Marcus took it.
It was a bank notification confirming that a replacement card had been issued after suspicious activity had been reported.
The account number matched Loretta's.
But the address printed beneath the account holder's name wasn't Loretta's home.
It was Marcus's house.
He frowned.
“Mom, why would the bank send your replacement card here?””
“I don't know. I didn't ask them to.””
Brielle suddenly stepped forward.
“Give me that paper.””
Marcus moved it out of reach.
“Why?””
“Because it's private!””
“It's my mother's bank notification.””
“Exactly. It's between her and the bank.””
“Then you shouldn't have a problem explaining why the address is wrong.””
Brielle stared at him.
For several seconds, the only sound was the steady drip of water from her dress onto the floor.
Then she said something that made Vanessa turn pale.
“I didn't order the replacement card.””
Marcus looked at the notification again.
“Then who did?””
Brielle's eyes filled with tears.
“I don't know.””
She sounded convincing.
Almost.
Then Loretta noticed a small detail printed at the bottom of the notification.
A delivery confirmation.
She leaned closer, squinting at the paper.
“Marcus,” she whispered.
“Look at the date.””
He did.
The replacement card had been delivered to his house on a Tuesday morning.
A day when he had been at work.
A day when Brielle had told him she'd stayed home to organize their wedding paperwork.
He slowly lifted his eyes toward her.
“You were here that morning.””
Brielle wiped her face.
“Yes.””
“Were you alone?””
She didn't answer.
Marcus took a step toward her.
“Brielle, were you alone in my house when that card arrived?””
Her lips trembled.
Then her eyes shifted toward the hallway again.
Vanessa followed her gaze.
“Oh, my God,” Vanessa whispered.
Marcus turned toward the hallway.
At the far end, the door to his home office stood slightly open.
He knew he had closed it before the party.
He also knew the only person who had asked him for the office key that morning was Brielle.
He started walking.
Behind him, Brielle screamed his name.
“Marcus, don't open that door!””
He stopped.
Slowly, he turned around.
“Why?””
Brielle stood soaked and shaking, tears running down her face.
May you like
For the first time since he'd met her, she looked less like a woman afraid of losing her fiancé and more like someone terrified of what he might discover.
And Marcus realized the dress was no longer the biggest problem in the house.
