Chapter 6: The Truth About Nia’s Last Night
I didn’t sleep.
Not because I was afraid.
Because every time I closed my eyes, I saw Nia.
Not the hospital.
Not the funeral.
Not the phone call that changed my life.
I saw her sitting at our kitchen table, surrounded by papers.
I saw the way she looked up when I walked into the room.
The way she smiled and said, “I’m close, Malik.””
At the time, I thought she meant she was close to solving a problem at work.
I never imagined she was close to uncovering a nightmare.
By sunrise, I was back at Marcus’s office.
“I need the full report,” I said.
He handed me a file.
“We reconstructed the accident.””
I opened it.
“The car?””
“Was tampered with.””
My hands went cold.
“How?””
“Brake system interference.””
The room went silent.
“Nia wasn’t driving recklessly.””
“No.””
“She was murdered.””
Marcus didn’t correct me.
Because we both knew.
I stared at the photographs.
My wife’s death had been a lie.
A carefully created lie.
Then Marcus placed one more item on the desk.
A recording.
“Nia left this.””
I looked at him.
“When?””
“The day before she died.””
I pressed play.
For a few seconds, there was only static.
Then I heard her voice.
My heart stopped.
“Malik.””
One word.
One word from the woman I had spent six years missing.
I grabbed the edge of the desk.
Her voice continued.
“If you’re hearing this, then I was right to be afraid.””
I closed my eyes.
“Nobody knows everything I found. Not even you. I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid putting you and Ava in danger.””
A tear escaped before I could stop it.
Because even at the end, she was protecting us.
“I need you to understand something. The person behind this is someone we trusted.””
The recording paused.
Then Nia said a name.
A name I wasn’t ready for.
“Clarence.””
My father.
I stopped the recording.
“No.””
Marcus looked at me.
“Malik.””
“No.””
I stood.
“No. My father didn’t kill my wife.””
But even as I said it, another voice inside me asked:
Then why did Nia say his name?
I played the rest.
Nia continued.
“Clarence knows more than he admits. But he is not the only one involved.””
A pause.
“Rebecca Carter was sent to Malik.””
My breath caught.
“She is not the mastermind. She is a piece on the board.””
I looked at Marcus.
The same thing Rebecca had said.
Not the only one.
Nia knew.
She knew about Rebecca before I ever met her.
The recording continued.
“Malik, if Ava is ever questioned about who she belongs to, remember this: she is your daughter. Nobody gets to take her from you.””
I stopped.
That sentence felt different.
Almost like a warning.
Marcus looked at me.
“What?””
I played it again.
“Why would she say that?””
Because suddenly everything connected.
The DNA manipulation.
The switched records.
The inheritance.
They weren’t just trying to steal money.
They were trying to destroy my place as Ava’s father.
They wanted me fighting to prove something that had never been in question.
Ava was my daughter.
I knew it.
Nia knew it.
But they wanted the world to doubt it.
I left Marcus’s office and drove straight to my father.
I found him sitting alone in the backyard.
A man who built an empire.
A man who looked suddenly small.
“You knew about the DNA.””
He didn’t look surprised.
“Yes.””
My heart broke.
“You let me believe there was a possibility Ava wasn’t mine?””
“No.””
“Then why?””
“Because they threatened you.””
I stepped forward.
“Who?””
My father looked at me.
And finally, after years of lies, he told me the truth.
“Evelyn Carter.””
Rebecca’s mother.
“She had people inside the hospital. She had access to records. She knew how to make anyone look guilty.””
“And you?””
“I tried to stop her.””
I laughed bitterly.
“By hiding Elijah?””
His eyes lowered.
“Yes.””
“By letting me think my brother was dead?””
“Yes.””
“By letting me bury my wife?””
His voice broke.
“I made mistakes.””
I stared at him.
“Mistakes?””
He looked at me.
And for the first time, I saw something I had never seen before.
Regret.
Real regret.
“I thought if I kept quiet, I could fix it.””
I shook my head.
“You don’t fix a fire by pretending there isn’t smoke.””
My father looked down.
“I know.””
A car pulled into the driveway.
Rebecca stepped out.
And she wasn’t alone.
Behind her was a woman I recognized from the photograph.
Older.
Elegant.
Cold.
Evelyn Carter.
She looked directly at me.
And smiled.
“Malik Bennett,” she said.
“I was wondering when you would finally stop asking questions and start finding answers.””
I felt my anger rise.
“You killed my wife.””
Her smile faded.
“No.””
She stepped closer.
“Your wife got herself killed when she thought she was smarter than everyone else.””
I moved forward.
But Marcus, who had followed me, grabbed my arm.
Because he knew.
We needed more than anger.
We needed proof.
Evelyn looked at the necklace in my hand.
The one I had repaired halfway.
“The little necklace.””
Her eyes narrowed.
“That was the only thing Nia managed to keep from me.””
I froze.
Because that meant one thing.
She knew what was inside.
She knew Nia left a trail.
And now she was afraid.
For the first time, the people who destroyed my family weren’t hiding.
May you like
They were standing right in front of me.
And I was ready to make them answer for every lie.
