Chapter 4: The Pattern
Elena sat across from me at a coffee shop two miles away from my house.
I didn’t want her there.
I didn’t want anyone there.
But I needed answers.
“You worked with Andre?”” I asked.
She nodded.
“Three years.””
“And now you’re exposing him?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
She looked down at her coffee.
“Because I helped him.””
That caught me off guard.
“How?””
“I handled his paperwork.””
“So you knew?””
“I knew something was wrong.””
“And you ignored it?””
Her jaw tightened.
“Yes.””
At least she admitted it.
“What changed?””
She looked at me.
“He tried to use me too.””
I listened.
Elena explained that Andre had built a pattern.
He entered people’s lives slowly.
He fixed something.
A door.
A cabinet.
A fence.
A problem.
Then he became trusted.
Then needed.
Then impossible to question.
“He doesn’t just cheat,” Elena said.
“He creates dependence.””
I thought about the key.
The dinners.
The repairs.
The way he belonged in my house.
“He wanted my wife.””
Elena shook her head.
“No.””
She pushed the photograph toward me.
“He wanted your life.””
I stared.
“What?””
“Your house. Your reputation. Your money.””
I looked at the papers.
The forged signatures.
The missing funds.
“How?””
“He convinced Nia she was unhappy. That you didn’t appreciate her. That she deserved something better.””
My stomach twisted.
“She believed him.””
“Yes.””
I looked away.
That hurt more than anger.
Because part of me remembered every time Nia said I worked too much.
Every time she said we had changed.
Maybe our marriage had problems.
Maybe I wasn’t perfect.
But he didn’t fix them.
He exploited them.
“What happens now?””
Elena hesitated.
“You need to be careful.””
“Why?””
“Because Andre knows I talked to you.””
I looked up.
“How?””
Her phone buzzed.
She checked it.
Then turned the screen toward me.
A message.
Unknown number.
*You should have stayed quiet.*
I felt my skin crawl.
“He’s watching?””
“Not watching.””
She looked at me.
“Planning.””
That night, I returned to my mother’s house.
I didn’t tell Ava anything.
I helped her with homework.
I watched her laugh at a cartoon.
I tried to memorize the sound.
Because suddenly everything felt temporary.
At midnight, my phone rang.
Nia.
I answered.
“What?””
“Marcus, you need to come home.””
“No.””
“Please.””
“Why?””
Her voice trembled.
“Because Andre is here.””
I stood immediately.
“What?””
“He came by.””
“Why would you let him in?””
“I didn’t.””
A pause.
“Marcus…”
“What?””
“He said he found something.””
My heart started racing.
“What something?””
“He said if I don’t give him what he wants, he’ll tell you the truth about what happened the night Ava was born.””
I froze.
“What?””
The line went quiet.
May you like
Then Nia whispered:
“Marcus, there’s something I never told you.””
