Chapter 5: The Witness
The crowd turned.
A Black woman in a navy dress stepped out from between two tables.
Marcus recognized her immediately.
His mother.
“Mom?””
Elaine stopped beneath the chandelier.
Her face was wet with tears.
Vanessa backed away.
Derek stared at Elaine.
Maya lowered her phone.
Marcus walked toward his mother.
“What are you doing here?””
Elaine looked at Vanessa.
“I came because she called me.””
Marcus turned.
“Vanessa called you?””
Elaine nodded.
“Yesterday.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I never called you.””
Elaine’s expression hardened.
“You did.””
“No, I didn't.””
“You told me you were afraid Marcus would find out.””
Marcus looked from one woman to the other.
“Find out what?””
Elaine looked at Derek.
Then Maya.
Finally, she faced her son.
“I knew something was wrong before you proposed.””
Marcus stared.
“You knew?””
“I suspected.””
“And you said nothing?””
“I tried.””
Elaine pulled a folded envelope from her purse.
“I received this two weeks ago.””
She handed it to Marcus.
He opened it.
Inside were printed photographs.
Vanessa entering a hotel.
Vanessa sitting with Derek.
Vanessa holding hands with him.
And one photograph that made Marcus's stomach drop.
Vanessa was standing outside a bank.
Beside her was Elaine.
Marcus looked up.
“When was this?””
Elaine whispered, “Three days before your engagement.””
Vanessa's voice cracked.
“That picture doesn't mean anything.””
Marcus turned toward her.
“You were meeting my mother?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“She wanted to talk.””
Elaine interrupted.
“You asked me to help you access Marcus's trust.””
Silence.
Marcus looked at his mother.
“My trust?””
Elaine nodded.
“You told me you needed emergency money.””
Vanessa wiped her cheeks.
“I did.””
“For what?””
Vanessa didn't answer.
Derek did.
“For the debt.””
Vanessa shot him a furious look.
“You promised never to tell him.””
“You promised me half.””
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
“What debt?””
Derek stepped closer.
“Three hundred thousand dollars.””
A wave of whispers spread through the ballroom.
Marcus stared at Vanessa.
“Three hundred thousand?””
“It wasn't mine.””
“Whose was it?””
Vanessa looked toward the floor.
Derek answered.
“Mine.””
Marcus shook his head.
“So you were marrying me to pay him?””
“No.””
“You said you loved me.””
“I do.””
“Then why were you planning to move my money?””
Vanessa stepped closer.
“Because I had no choice.””
Maya spoke.
“Everyone says that when they don't want to say what they chose.””
Vanessa glared at her.
“You don't know me.””
“I know enough.””
Maya unlocked another file.
“This is the part you never expected me to find.””
Vanessa's face changed.
Marcus noticed.
“What is it?””
Maya looked at him.
“Your marriage license application.””
Marcus frowned.
“What about it?””
“Look at the date.””
He took the phone.
His eyes moved across the document.
Then he looked up.
“This was filed six months ago.””
Vanessa said nothing.
Marcus stared at her.
“We only got engaged four months ago.””
“I can explain.””
“How?””
Derek suddenly laughed.
“Because she was already married.””
The ballroom erupted.
Marcus looked at Vanessa.
“No.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“Marcus, listen.””
“No.””
“I was going to fix it.””
“You were married?””
“It was complicated.””
“To him?””
Vanessa looked at Derek.
Derek didn't answer.
Marcus stepped backward.
Maya caught his arm.
“Marcus.””
He looked at her.
She shook her head toward the phone.
“There's more.””
Marcus swallowed.
“What?””
Maya played a video.
Vanessa appeared on the screen, sitting at a table in the same silver gown she wore now.
Marcus stared.
The video had been recorded earlier that evening.
Vanessa was speaking to someone off-camera.
“I just need him to say the vows.””
Marcus's face went numb.
On the recording, Vanessa continued.
“Once we're legally married, the account becomes easier to access.””
The camera shifted slightly.
A man's hand appeared.
A gold wedding band gleamed on his finger.
Marcus looked at Derek.
Derek wasn't wearing one.
Marcus looked back at the screen.
The recording continued.
Then Vanessa said something that made Elaine gasp.
“I already have his mother's signature.””
Marcus froze.
He turned slowly toward Elaine.
“My mother's signature?””
Elaine shook her head.
“I never signed anything.””
Maya stopped the video.
Marcus looked at Vanessa.
“Then whose signature is that?””
Vanessa's tears returned.
She whispered:
“Not mine.””
Maya stared at her.
“Whose, then?””
Vanessa looked toward the ballroom entrance.
The same woman who had spoken moments earlier was now standing there.
She held a folder against her chest.
And on her left hand was a wedding ring.
May you like
She looked directly at Marcus.
“My husband’s.””
