Chapter 8: The File Hidden in the Walls
I read Rachel’s message over and over.
*“Your father wasn’t Marcus’s victim.””*
My fingers went numb.
I had spent days believing I was uncovering a story about betrayal.
A husband.
A secret family.
A man who had lied to the women who loved him.
But now Rachel was telling me there was something else.
Something deeper.
Something involving my father.
I called her immediately.
She answered after one ring.
“Nia.””
“What did you mean?””
Silence.
“Rachel.””
“I know this is difficult.””
“No.””
My voice sharpened.
“You don’t get to say that and leave me with questions.””
She sighed.
“Your father and Marcus weren’t just connected through business.””
“Then what were they?””
“Enemies.””
I looked at the photo in my hand.
My father smiling.
Marcus smiling.
Two men pretending everything was fine.
“When did they become enemies?””
“Before you knew Marcus existed.””
My heart sank.
“Tell me everything.””
Rachel was quiet.
Then she said:
“Meet me.””
We met in a small parking lot outside an old office building.
The building looked abandoned.
Broken windows.
Faded signs.
A place people had forgotten.
But Marcus hadn’t.
Rachel stood beside her car holding a folder.
She looked nervous.
Not guilty.
Nervous.
Like she was afraid of what would happen after she gave me the truth.
“You came alone?””
“Yes.””
She nodded.
“Good.””
I frowned.
“Why?””
“Because Marcus has people who watch him.””
The words should have shocked me.
But somehow, they didn’t.
Nothing about Marcus shocked me anymore.
“What is this place?””
Rachel looked at the building.
“Where it started.””
“Started what?””
“Everything.””
She handed me the folder.
Inside were documents.
Old ones.
Some of them were copies of contracts.
Others were emails.
Then I saw my father’s name.
My stomach tightened.
“What is this?””
“Your father discovered Marcus was moving money.””
I looked through the papers.
“But everyone says Marcus was successful.””
“He was.””
Rachel looked at me.
“That was the problem.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“He knew how to look successful.””
I remembered Victoria.
The companies.
The loans.
The pattern.
“Your father invested in one of his companies,” Rachel continued.
“And Marcus stole from him?””
Rachel shook her head.
“No.””
That surprised me.
“Then what?””
“He didn’t steal.””
I waited.
“He tried to.””
The answer confused me.
“What does that mean?””
“Your father caught him before he could.””
I looked down at the documents.
“Then why did Dad hate him?””
“Because Marcus blamed him.””
I looked up.
“Blamed him?””
Rachel nodded.
“Your father was the first person who saw through him.””
The wind moved through the empty parking lot.
For a moment, I remembered my father.
The way he always watched people.
The way he never trusted anyone quickly.
The way he used to say:
“People show you who they are. You just have to pay attention.””
I never understood what he meant.
Now I did.
Rachel unlocked the door to the old building.
Inside was an empty office.
Dust covered everything.
Broken furniture sat in the corners.
But one thing looked untouched.
A filing cabinet.
“Why is this still here?””
Rachel walked toward it.
“Because Marcus forgot one thing.””
“What?””
“He thought everyone who knew the truth was gone.””
She opened the cabinet.
Inside were dozens of files.
My heart raced.
“How did you find this?””
“Your father told me.””
I froze.
“My father?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Before he died.””
The room suddenly felt smaller.
“You knew my father?””
Rachel looked at me.
“Yes.””
“How?””
She hesitated.
“Because I worked for him.””
I stared.
“You worked for my father?””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn’t you tell me?””
Her eyes filled with regret.
“Because Marcus found me first.””
The sentence made my skin crawl.
“What did he do?””
“He threatened me.””
“How?””
“He told me if I spoke, people would believe I was trying to destroy him.””
I looked around the abandoned office.
“And they would have believed him.””
Rachel nodded.
“That’s what he does.””
We spent the next hour going through the files.
Every page revealed another piece of Marcus.
Not the husband.
Not the charming man.
The strategist.
The person who always planned several steps ahead.
There were notes from my father.
Warnings.
Dates.
Names.
Then I found something that made me stop.
A document with my name on it.
*Nia Anderson Trust Agreement.*
My hands froze.
“What is this?””
Rachel looked at the page.
“That’s why Marcus came into your life.””
I felt sick.
“No.””
“Nia—”
“No.””
I shook my head.
“Don’t say that.””
Rachel looked sad.
“I wish I didn’t have to.””
I stared at the document.
My name.
My family.
My future.
Everything connected.
“What did he want?””
Rachel was quiet.
Then:
“Control.””
The word echoed.
“Control over what?””
“Your inheritance.””
I laughed softly.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was unbelievable.
“He married me for money.””
Rachel didn’t answer.
That hurt more.
Because silence was becoming everyone’s way of confirming the truth.
Then my phone rang.
Marcus.
I stared at the screen.
Rachel looked at me.
“Don’t answer.””
I almost didn’t.
But I did.
“Nia.””
His voice sounded different.
Not angry.
Not defensive.
Afraid.
“Where are you?””
“That doesn’t matter.””
“It does.””
“Why?””
“Because you found the files.””
My heart stopped.
“How do you know?””
Silence.
Then:
“Because I know Rachel took you there.””
I looked at Rachel.
She looked terrified.
“How?””
Marcus didn’t answer.
Instead, he said:
“Come home.””
“No.””
“Nia.””
“I’m done listening to you.””
“You don’t understand what you’re walking into.””
I tightened my grip on the phone.
“Explain.””
A pause.
Then:
“Your father wasn’t innocent.””
The words hit me.
I looked at Rachel.
She looked away.
“What?””
“Your father made deals he shouldn’t have made.””
“What are you talking about?””
“He wasn’t just trying to stop me.””
Marcus’s voice lowered.
“He was trying to protect himself.””
I felt my chest tighten.
“You expect me to believe you?””
“I expect you to look at the truth.””
“You mean your version.””
“No.””
He sounded desperate.
“Your father kept secrets from you too.””
The line went quiet.
And for one horrible second…
I wondered if he was right.
Because everyone had lied.
Everyone had hidden things.
My father.
My mother.
My sister.
Marcus.
“Why should I trust anything you say?””
His answer came softly.
“Because I’m the only one who can tell you why your father was afraid.””
I almost hung up.
Then he said:
“Ask Rachel about the night your father died.””
My blood turned cold.
I looked at Rachel.
She froze.
“Why?””
Marcus whispered:
“Because she was there.””
The call ended.
I slowly lowered my phone.
Rachel didn’t speak.
Neither did I.
Because her face had already answered.
“You were there?””
She closed her eyes.
“Nia…”
“You were there the night my father died?””
“Yes.””
The word came out broken.
My chest tightened.
“What happened?””
Rachel looked at the files.
Then at me.
“I didn’t want you to find out this way.””
“Find out what?””
She swallowed.
“The accident wasn’t the whole truth.””
My heart pounded.
“What does that mean?””
She reached into the folder and pulled out one final document.
A police report.
An old one.
But attached to it was a handwritten note from my father.
I read the first line.
And my entire body went cold.
*“If anything happens to me, do not trust Marcus.””*
I looked up at Rachel.
“What aren’t you telling me?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
Then she whispered:
“The night your father died…”
She stopped.
Like saying the words made them real.
“Marcus was the last person who saw him alive.””
I couldn’t move.
Couldn’t breathe.
Because suddenly this wasn’t just about my marriage.
It wasn’t about money.
It wasn’t about secret families.
It was about the biggest secret of all.
May you like
My father’s death.
And the man I married had been standing closest to it the entire time.
