Chapter 2: The Name at the Bottom of the Form
“Tell me this isn't what I think it is.””
Derek's voice was low, but the anger underneath it made the room feel smaller.
Nia stood beside the office doorway, staring at the document spread across his palm. Sunlight streamed through the large window, illuminating the old registration papers, the printed sale form, and the dark line drawn directly through her name.
Her full legal name was still visible beneath the ink.
NIA RENEE CARTER.
Someone had tried to erase her from the transaction without bothering to hide that she had ever been there.
“What is that?”” Nia asked.
Derek looked up.
“Your vehicle's registration and a bill of sale.””
Her stomach dropped.
“No.””
He turned the paper toward her.
“Yes.””
Nia stepped forward and took the edge of the document. Her fingers began to tremble as she read the description of the silver sedan, its vehicle identification number, and the recorded sale price.
Everything matched.
The car she had saved for.
The car she had insured.
The car she had been told was stolen.
It hadn't disappeared.
Someone had sold it.
Without asking her.
Without telling her.
And now someone had used the money to put Kayla behind the wheel of a luxury SUV.
Nia looked at Monica.
“You sold my car?””
Monica stood near the desk, her shoulders straight and her chin lifted.
“Lower your voice.””
“You sold my car!””
“I said lower your voice, Nia.””
Derek placed the registration papers on the desk with a sharp slap.
“Monica, answer her.””
Monica exhaled through her nose.
“The vehicle wasn't being used.””
Nia stared at her.
“I was using it every day before it disappeared!””
“You were taking the bus for a few weeks. You managed.””
“I was taking two buses to work! I was late twice because I couldn't get there on time!””
“You're eighteen,” Monica replied.
“You can learn to manage without a car.””
Nia's eyes burned.
“Then why does Kayla need a brand-new SUV?””
Monica glanced toward the doorway.
“Kayla has different needs.””
“What needs? She doesn't even have a job!””
Derek raised a hand.
“Both of you, stop.””
He picked up the sale form again, studying the signature at the bottom.
His expression shifted from anger to something colder.
“Monica.””
She looked at him.
“Whose signature is this?””
Monica said nothing.
“I'm asking you a question.””
“You can see the signature.””
“I'm asking because I want to hear you say it.””
Monica moved closer to the desk.
“I handled the transaction.””
“Did you sign this?””
“I had authorization.””
“From whom?””
Her eyes flicked toward Nia.
That single glance told Nia more than any answer could have.
“From me?”” Nia whispered.
Monica didn't respond.
“Did you forge my signature?””
“Don't use that word.””
“Then give me another one!””
Nia shoved the paper toward Monica.
“Show me where I agreed to sell my car. Show me the message where I gave you permission. Show me anything that proves I knew about this.””
Monica folded her arms.
“I was protecting the family.””
“From my car?””
“From a financial situation you don't understand.””
Derek leaned forward, bracing both hands against the desk.
“Then explain it to me.””
For a moment, Monica appeared ready to answer.
Instead, she reached for the sale form.
Derek pulled it away.
“Don't touch it.””
“It's a family document.””
“It has my daughter's name on it.””
“And I've already told you that I had authorization.””
“From whom?”” he demanded again.
Monica's composure cracked.
“From someone who understood what was at stake!””
Silence fell over the office.
Nia looked at her father.
Derek slowly straightened.
“What exactly was at stake?””
Monica's lips parted, then closed.
From the living room came the faint sound of Kayla laughing at something on her phone. The normality of the sound made the scene in the office feel almost unreal.
Nia wiped her cheek with the sleeve of her hoodie.
“Dad, I need you to understand something. I didn't lend her my car. I didn't give Monica permission to sell it. I didn't sign anything.””
“I believe you,” Derek said.
Monica looked sharply at him.
“You're taking her word over mine?””
“I'm looking at a document with our daughter's name crossed out and your signature at the bottom.””
“You don't know the circumstances.””
“Then tell me the circumstances!””
Monica stepped back from the desk.
For a second, Nia thought her stepmother might finally confess.
Instead, Monica reached into her handbag and removed her phone.
“I need to make a call.””
Derek pointed toward the door.
“You're not leaving this room until we understand what happened.””
Monica laughed once, without humor.
“You cannot control me, Derek.””
“No. But I can ask why my daughter has been lied to for three weeks.””
Monica's face hardened.
“Maybe you should ask why she was so determined to keep that car in the first place.””
Nia frowned.
“What is that supposed to mean?””
Monica looked directly at her.
“Your mother left you more than you think.””
The words landed like a slap.
Nia went still.
Her biological mother had died when she was twelve. The memories that remained were small and precious: a warm hand smoothing her braids, the smell of vanilla lotion, and a voice singing softly while washing dishes.
Nia rarely spoke about her.
Monica knew that.
She also knew exactly where to strike.
“My mother has nothing to do with this,” Nia said.
“Are you sure?””
Derek stepped between them.
“Don't bring her mother into this.””
“I'm telling the truth.””
“No,” Derek replied.
“You're changing the subject.””
He turned back to the sale form and began examining the lower portion.
The buyer's name was printed in bold capital letters.
Derek stopped breathing for a moment.
Nia noticed immediately.
“Dad?””
He brought the paper closer to the window.
His eyes moved across the name once.
Then again.
The color drained from his face.
“Leonard Cole,” he whispered.
Monica's phone slipped slightly in her hand.
Derek looked up at her.
“Leonard Cole?””
Monica's mouth tightened.
Nia glanced between them.
“Who is Leonard Cole?””
Derek didn't answer.
He was staring at the signature at the bottom of the form as if it had suddenly revealed something much worse than a stolen car.
Nia touched his arm.
“Dad, who is he?””
Derek finally looked at her.
“Someone who's been calling this house for weeks.””
Monica took a hurried step toward him.
“Derek, put that paper down.””
He ignored her.
“Why did you sell her car to him?””
“It's not what you think.””
“Then tell me what it is!””
Monica's eyes darted toward the hallway.
For the first time, she looked frightened.
Not embarrassed.
Not angry.
Frightened.
Then the house phone rang.
One sharp ring.
A second.
A third.
All three turned toward the sound coming from the living room.
Derek walked out of the office, still holding the sale form. Nia followed so closely that her shoulder brushed his arm.
The cordless handset sat on its charging base beside the front window.
Its screen lit up with an incoming call.
*LEONARD COLE*
Derek stopped.
Monica appeared in the hallway behind them.
Her voice came out as barely more than a whisper.
“Don't answer it.””
Derek looked over his shoulder.
“Why?””
The phone continued ringing.
Monica shook her head, her eyes filling with panic.
“Please, Derek. You don't know what he wants.””
Derek turned back toward the phone.
Then he looked down at the sale form, at the crossed-out name, and at the signature he had believed he could recognize.
His jaw tightened.
He reached for the handset.
And just before his fingers closed around it, Monica said something that made Nia's blood run cold.
“Because Leonard Cole isn't the man who bought your daughter's car.””
Derek froze.
The phone rang again.
May you like
Monica stared at the glowing screen.
“He's the man who told me to sell it.””
