Chapter 6: The Man Waiting to Buy My Home
I couldn't breathe for a moment.
"Someone was planning to buy my house?""
Tyler nodded.
"That's what Marcus told us.""
I turned toward my husband.
"Is there a sale agreement?""
Marcus remained silent.
Robert stepped closer.
"Mr. Williams, did you sign a purchase agreement on property you don't own?""
Marcus looked furious.
"You're twisting everything!""
"Then correct us," Robert replied.
Marcus walked toward the bar and poured himself another whiskey.
His hand shook enough to spill some onto the marble countertop.
"I wasn't selling the house.""
Tyler shook his head.
"You told Daniel the owner had already agreed.""
"I said we were negotiating.""
"You showed him the authorization!""
Marcus slammed the bottle down.
"Shut up!""
Brianna began pacing.
"Dad, what is happening?""
He turned toward her.
"You wanted money, didn't you? You wanted a business. You wanted that expensive birthday party. You wanted to live like your friends.""
Brianna stared at him.
"Don't put this on me!""
"Who kept asking for money?""
"You promised!""
"And you agreed to help!""
Their argument grew louder.
I stood beside Robert, watching the two people who had spent six years making me feel like an outsider in my own family.
Now they were blaming each other because their plan was collapsing.
Robert opened his briefcase again.
"Vanessa, before we go any further, I want to clarify something. Have you ever authorized Marcus to negotiate a sale of this property?""
"Never.""
"Have you signed any power of attorney allowing him to act on your behalf?""
"No.""
"Have you agreed to transfer ownership to him?""
"Absolutely not.""
Robert nodded.
"Good. We need to document that clearly.""
Marcus spun around.
"You can't just make everything disappear because you're angry!""
I looked at him.
"Make what disappear?""
"The agreement!""
"What agreement?""
He hesitated.
Then Brianna answered.
"The buyer already paid a deposit.""
My heart dropped.
"How much?""
She looked at her father.
Marcus said nothing.
"How much, Marcus?""
He finally whispered.
"Fifty thousand.""
I grabbed the back of a chair.
"Fifty thousand dollars?""
"It was refundable.""
Robert immediately asked, "Who received the funds?""
Marcus looked toward Brianna.
She shook her head.
"Don't look at me.""
Tyler laughed.
"You're unbelievable.""
Brianna stepped toward him.
"You said you would keep quiet!""
Tyler raised his hands.
"I'm done protecting you.""
He opened his phone and showed Robert a message conversation.
I could see several messages from Marcus.
One read:
The owner won't be a problem. Everything is already arranged.
Another said:
We just need the bank approval before the buyer's inspection.
Then there was a message from Brianna.
Make sure Vanessa doesn't come home while we're moving the documents.
I read that sentence twice.
"While you're moving the documents?""
Tyler nodded.
"That was last week.""
I looked at Brianna.
"Why did you need me out of the house?""
She started crying.
"Because we needed to get into your study.""
My blood ran cold.
"What were you looking for?""
She looked at her father.
Marcus finally spoke.
"The original deed.""
Robert immediately straightened.
"Where is it now?""
Marcus didn't answer.
Tyler pointed toward the second folder.
"He told us it was in the apartment safe.""
Robert looked at me.
"Do you have a copy of the original deed?""
"Yes. My attorney's office has certified records.""
"That's helpful. But we still need to establish what happened to the original.""
I looked toward Marcus.
"Did you take it?""
He nodded reluctantly.
"Yes.""
"Why?""
"I thought I might need it for the transaction.""
I felt tears threatening, but I refused to let them fall.
"You took the deed to my house so you could sell it without me?""
"I wasn't going to leave you homeless!""
I stared at him.
"You were planning to sell the house I bought, move my belongings into an apartment, and tell me I had agreed to everything.""
He looked away.
For the first time, I understood that the man standing in front of me wasn't simply a husband who had made a terrible financial decision.
He had built an entire plan around my absence.
Robert picked up his phone.
"I'm going to contact the bank and arrange for the transaction to be formally disputed. I'll also speak with the appropriate authorities about preserving the documents and investigating the attempted use of your identity.""
Marcus rushed toward him.
"Wait!""
Robert stopped.
"What?""
"There's no need to involve anyone else.""
I looked at my husband.
"Why are you so afraid of people finding out?""
He lowered his voice.
"Because there are things you don't know.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
"What things?""
Marcus glanced at Brianna.
She was crying silently now.
Then he looked at Robert.
Finally, he looked at me.
"The $350,000 wasn't for the business.""
I felt the room go cold.
"What was it for?""
He swallowed.
"I owed money.""
"To whom?""
He hesitated.
Robert stepped forward.
"Marcus, you need to be very careful about what you say.""
But Marcus continued.
"Two years ago, I invested in a company with a friend. The company collapsed, and I borrowed money to cover my losses.""
"How much?""
He stared at the floor.
"More than I could repay.""
"How much, Marcus?""
His voice was barely audible.
"Almost six hundred thousand dollars.""
I covered my mouth.
Six hundred thousand dollars.
The man who had told me we were financially secure had been hiding debts large enough to destroy everything.
"Who did you borrow from?""
He didn't answer.
His phone vibrated again.
This time, he didn't silence it quickly enough.
The screen lit up with a message.
I saw the words before he could turn it over.
You have until Friday to pay. We know about the house.
Robert read it too.
He immediately reached for his phone.
"Vanessa, we need to take this seriously.""
I looked at Marcus.
"Who is threatening you?""
He closed his eyes.
Then Brianna whispered something that made the entire room turn toward her.
"That's why Dad needed the money.""
I stared at her.
"What do you mean?""
She wiped her cheeks.
"Because the people he owes money to aren't ordinary lenders.""
Marcus shouted her name.
But she continued.
"One of them came to the apartment last week. He said if Dad didn't pay by Friday, they would come here.""
I felt my hands go cold.
"Come here for what?""
Brianna looked at me.
Her voice trembled.
"They said they knew the house belonged to you.""
Then she glanced toward the front windows.
"And they said they wanted to meet the real owner.""
At that exact moment, headlights swept across the living room.
A black SUV pulled into my driveway.
Marcus dropped his glass.
May you like
And when the front doorbell rang, he whispered four words that changed everything.
"They found us already.""
