“Marcus, baby. If you're hearing this, then I suppose I didn't get the chance to explain everything to you myself.”
Marcus stopped breathing.
It was his mother.
Her voice was softer than he remembered, but unmistakable.
He slowly sat down.
“First, I want you to know that I love you. Nothing in this world could change that. Not the mistakes you've made, not the things you've hidden, and not even the things I may discover after I'm gone.”
Marcus covered his mouth.
Danielle looked away, giving him privacy even though she was still standing in the room.
Evelyn continued.
“I know you think I don't understand business. I know you think I spent my life working in hospitals and raising you without understanding how complicated the world can become. But I understand more than you think.”
There was a pause.
“I know about the money.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“I know about the signatures. I know about the accounts. And I know that you told people I gave you permission.”
A faint sound of paper moving followed.
“I want you to understand something, son. I would have given you everything I owned if you had asked me. I would have sold my house, my jewelry, and every possession I had to help you build a future.”
Her voice trembled.
“But you didn't ask.”
Marcus's eyes filled.
“You took what I gave you and then you took what I never offered. And when I asked you about it, you looked me in the eyes and told me I was confused.”
He lowered his head.
“I believed you at first. I wanted to believe you. I kept thinking that perhaps I had forgotten something. Perhaps I had signed a paper and simply couldn't remember. But I started keeping copies. I started writing down dates. I started asking questions.”
The recording crackled again.
“Then I found something else.”
Marcus looked up.
His mother's voice became quieter.
“I found out that someone else was helping you.”
The audio stopped.
The file ended.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Marcus looked at the screen.
Then he clicked the recording again.
“Someone else was helping you.”
He replayed the final sentence.
Again.
And again.
Finally, he turned toward Andre.
“Who?”
Andre looked at Danielle.
She shook her head.
“I don't know,” she whispered.
Marcus stood.
“Don't tell me you don't know.”
“That's what your mother was trying to establish.”
“Who was helping me?”
Andre took the laptop from the desk and opened another folder.
“There are several possibilities.”
“Names.”
“Not yet.”
“Names!”
Andre held up one hand.
“Your mother identified a person who had access to the business records, the estate documents, and the accounts. But she never got the opportunity to confirm whether that person was acting independently or on your instructions.”
Marcus frowned.
“Who?”
Andre clicked on a photograph.
A man appeared on the screen.
Marcus stared.
Then he stepped closer.
“No.”
Andre said nothing.
Marcus shook his head.
“No, that's not possible.”
The photograph showed a middle-aged man in a dark suit standing beside Marcus at a company event.
He had a broad smile, silver hair, and a familiar face.
It was Daniel Brooks.
Marcus's business partner.
His closest friend.
The man who had stood beside him at his mother's funeral.
The man who had helped him build Reed Development Holdings.
The man who had been present at almost every major decision in his professional life.
Marcus looked at Andre.
“Why is Daniel in my mother's files?”
“Because his name appeared in the transaction records.”
Marcus laughed.
“Daniel is my partner.”
“I know.”
“He's been with me for eight years.”
“I know that too.”
“He helped me when I had nothing.”
Andre closed the laptop.
“And that's exactly why your mother wanted you to look carefully.”
Marcus had met Daniel Brooks when he was twenty-nine.
At the time, Marcus had been working for a small real estate company that specialized in residential properties.
He had ambition but very little capital.
Daniel was older, more experienced, and connected to several investors.
They met at a networking event in downtown Atlanta.
Daniel had listened to Marcus describe his plans and then offered him an opportunity.
The partnership began with one small property.
Then another.
Then an apartment complex.
Within five years, they had built a company worth millions.
Daniel became more than a business partner.
He became a friend.
He attended Marcus's birthday parties, joined family dinners, and helped Evelyn carry groceries whenever he visited.
He had even delivered the eulogy at her funeral.
Marcus had never questioned him.
Why would he?
When Marcus's mother became ill, Daniel was the one who encouraged him to spend more time at home.
When she died, Daniel took over several business responsibilities so Marcus could grieve.
When Marcus and Danielle broke up, Daniel told him that some relationships simply weren't meant to last.
He had been there for everything.
And now Andre was suggesting that he might have been involved in something terrible.
“Where is Daniel now?” Andre asked.
Marcus looked at his phone.
“Probably home.”
“Call him.”
“Why?”
“Ask him about the transfers.”
Marcus hesitated.
Danielle stepped forward.
“Don't call him yet.”
Marcus turned.
“Why not?”
“Because if he's involved, he'll know we're investigating.”
Andre nodded.
“She has a point.”
Marcus looked between them.
He hated that they were agreeing with each other.
He hated that he was beginning to feel like the outsider in his own life.
But he also knew that calling Daniel without knowing what he was asking could make everything worse.
“Fine,” he said.