Chapter 14: The Last Message From Marcus
The room felt smaller after Vanessa said those words.
Not because the walls moved.
Because every secret we uncovered created another one.
I looked at my mother.
“Who?””
She stared at the floor.
“Nia…”
“Who killed my husband?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I don’t know.””
I almost broke.
Not because I believed she was lying.
Because I realized she might truly not know.
For twenty years, Vanessa had lived inside a nightmare.
Trying to protect everyone.
Failing everyone.
Including herself.
Calvin stepped forward.
“You still don’t understand.””
I turned toward him.
“Then explain.””
He looked at me.
“Marcus discovered that the person behind everything wasn’t your biological father.””
My heart stopped.
“Then who?””
Calvin looked at Elijah.
The silence answered before he did.
I stared.
“No.””
Elijah shook his head.
“Nia—”
“No.””
I stepped away.
“You knew.””
His face broke.
“I knew part of it.””
“Part?””
He looked down.
“I knew Marcus was investigating someone inside his circle.””
“Someone close.””
“Yes.””
“Someone you knew.””
A long pause.
“Yes.””
My chest tightened.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because Marcus asked me not to.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps using his name.””
I wiped my tears.
“Everyone keeps saying Marcus wanted this or Marcus wanted that.””
I looked at the coffin outside through the window.
“But Marcus is gone.””
My voice broke.
“And I’m the one left cleaning up the damage.””
Nobody spoke.
Then Ava walked toward me.
Small footsteps.
Quiet.
She held something in her hand.
A tiny recorder.
My breath stopped.
“Where did you get that?””
She looked toward Marcus’s old office.
“Daddy gave it to me.””
Vanessa froze.
“When?””
Ava looked confused.
“Before he went away.””
I knelt.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
She looked down.
“Daddy said only if everyone started fighting.””
My heart broke.
Marcus had known.
He knew we would turn against each other.
He knew secrets could destroy the people he loved.
I took the recorder.
My hands shook.
I pressed play.
Static.
Then Marcus’s voice.
“Nia.””
I closed my eyes.
Hearing him again almost destroyed me.
“If you’re hearing this, I’m sorry.””
A tear fell.
“I wanted to tell you everything myself.””
I covered my mouth.
“I wanted to sit beside you and explain every piece.””
His voice cracked.
“But I ran out of time.””
The room became silent.
Marcus continued.
“First, I need you to know something.””
A pause.
“You are my wife because I chose you.””
I cried silently.
“You are Ava’s mother because you love her.””
Another pause.
“And you are my family because you are you.””
Vanessa covered her face.
Marcus continued.
“Do not let anyone convince you that blood decides who deserves love.””
I looked at Ava.
My daughter.
My everything.
Then his voice changed.
More serious.
“But there is one thing I need you to know.””
Everyone leaned closer.
“The person who caused all of this is not the person you think.””
A pause.
“Calvin is dangerous.””
Calvin’s expression changed.
“He has spent years making people blame each other.””
I looked at him.
“He wants you angry.””
Marcus continued.
“He wants you afraid.””
The recorder crackled.
Then:
“But the person who helped him is the one you should be looking for.””
My heart raced.
A partner.
Someone else.
Someone hidden.
Marcus’s final words came slowly.
“Nia, the person who betrayed me was someone I trusted completely.””
The recorder stopped.
Silence.
Everyone looked at each other.
Then Ava whispered:
“Daddy said one more thing.””
I turned.
“What?””
She looked toward the kitchen.
“He said if you ever needed help…”
She pointed.
“Look where he makes pancakes.””
I frowned.
“The kitchen?””
I rushed there.
Everyone followed.
The kitchen was unchanged.
Marcus’s favorite mug.
The old wooden table.
The place where we danced while cooking.
I opened every cabinet.
Nothing.
Then I saw it.
A loose floorboard near the pantry.
My hands shook as I lifted it.
Inside was a small metal box.
I opened it.
A flash drive.
A photo.
And a note.
The note was from Marcus.
Only one sentence.
“The person who betrayed me is in this room.””
My blood froze.
I looked up.
Everyone was there.
Vanessa.
Elijah.
Calvin.
And then I noticed something.
The photo inside the box.
It showed Marcus standing beside someone.
Someone I knew.
Someone I trusted.
Someone who had been helping me find the truth from the beginning.
I looked at Elijah.
The room went silent.
May you like
Because the person beside Marcus in the photograph…
was Elijah.
