Chapter 2: The Woman Who Knew Too Much
“Darius, you're embarrassing me in front of the staff.””
Brittany stood in the dressing-room doorway, her arms crossed, while Darius held his daughter.
He looked at her as though he no longer recognized the woman standing in front of him.
“Embarrassing you?”” he repeated.
“Yes! You're acting like I committed some terrible crime because I gave your daughter a haircut.””
“A haircut?””
He gestured toward the marble floor.
“Look at what you did!””
Brittany glanced at the scattered curls.
“She needed to learn that she can't always get her way.””
Darius stared at her.
“She told you no.””
“She doesn't understand what's best for her.””
“She understands when someone is hurting her!””
Brittany sighed dramatically.
“Darius, please. We have guests arriving. I didn't want her looking like a wild child in all those photographs.””
Kayla lifted her head from her father's shoulder.
“I wasn't wild.””
Brittany looked irritated.
“I wasn't talking to you.””
Darius immediately tightened his arms around his daughter.
“Don't speak to her like that.””
“I'm trying to be a mother figure, Darius.””
“No. You're trying to control her.””
Brittany's face reddened.
Evelyn stood near the vanity, holding Kayla's lavender dress and the little girl's discarded hair accessories.
She hadn't said anything since Darius arrived.
But her eyes kept returning to the marble counter.
Something was bothering her.
“Darius,” she said quietly.
He turned.
“What is it, Evelyn?””
“I think you should take Kayla downstairs and let me help her get comfortable.””
Brittany scoffed.
“Why? So you can fill her head with more nonsense?””
Evelyn ignored her.
“Please, sir.””
Darius studied her expression.
Then he nodded.
“Come on, sweetheart. Let's go somewhere quiet.””
As he carried Kayla toward the hallway, Brittany followed.
“Darius, we need to talk privately.””
He stopped.
“We're talking right now.””
“Not in front of the staff.””
“Then perhaps you should have thought about that before doing this in front of my daughter.””
Brittany lowered her voice.
“You're making a mistake.””
Darius looked at her.
“No. The mistake was trusting you with her.””
He continued down the stairs.
Brittany remained in the doorway, breathing hard.
For several seconds, she stood perfectly still.
Then she picked up her phone.
She walked into the dressing room, shut the door, and called someone.
“It's Brittany,” she whispered.
“We have a problem.””
A man's voice answered.
“What happened?””
“He found out.””
“About the girl?””
Brittany looked at the scattered hair.
“About everything.””
There was a pause.
Then the man said something that made her grip the phone tighter.
“Did you get the documents?””
Brittany glanced toward the closed door.
“Not yet.””
“Then you'd better find them before he does.””
She ended the call.
Downstairs, Darius had taken Kayla into his private study.
The room smelled of leather and old books. Renee's favorite photograph still sat on the desk, showing her holding baby Kayla against her chest.
Darius lowered his daughter onto the sofa.
“Would you like some water?””
Kayla shook her head.
“Would you like me to call the doctor?””
Another shake.
He knelt in front of her.
“Can I look at your head, sweetheart?””
Kayla hesitated before nodding.
Darius gently examined the uneven patches.
There were several small red marks where the clippers had irritated her scalp.
His jaw tightened.
“Does it hurt?””
“A little.””
“I'm sorry, baby.””
Kayla touched one of the short tufts.
“Will it grow back?””
“Yes. It will take time, but it'll grow.””
“Will it look like Mommy's hair again?””
Darius swallowed.
“We'll take care of it together.””
Kayla stared at him.
“Did Brittany do something bad?””
He struggled to find the right words.
“Yes, sweetheart. She did.””
“Is she still going to be my mommy?””
Darius felt the question like a punch.
He sat beside her.
“Your mommy will always be your mommy. Nobody can take her place.””
“But Brittany said she's going to make the rules.””
Darius looked toward the door.
“Brittany doesn't get to hurt you or make decisions about your body. Do you understand?””
Kayla nodded.
Then she whispered something that made his heart sink.
“Daddy, I didn't want her to be mad at me.””
He pulled her into his arms.
“You never have to let someone hurt you just because you're afraid they'll be mad.””
A soft knock interrupted them.
Evelyn entered carrying a small white blanket.
“May I come in?””
“Of course.””
She placed the blanket around Kayla's shoulders.
“I brought something for you, sweetheart.””
From her pocket, she produced a small lavender hair ribbon.
Kayla recognized it immediately.
It had belonged to Renee.
“Mommy's ribbon!””
Evelyn smiled sadly.
“Your mother gave me that ribbon to keep safe. She said it was your favorite.””
Kayla touched it.
“Can I wear it?””
“Of course, baby.””
Evelyn carefully tied it around the small remaining tuft at the top of Kayla's head.
Darius watched silently.
Then Evelyn turned toward him.
“Sir, there's something you need to know.””
He straightened.
“What?””
Evelyn glanced toward the door.
“Before I came upstairs, I saw Brittany carrying a folder from your office.””
Darius frowned.
“What folder?””
“The blue one. The one with Mrs. Renee's documents.””
Darius stood.
“What was she doing with that?””
“I don't know. But when I asked her what she was looking for, she said she was organizing the household records.””
Darius's expression changed.
That blue folder contained copies of Renee's estate documents, Kayla's trust information, and several legal papers concerning the house.
He had kept it in a locked cabinet in his study.
“How did she get into my office?””
Evelyn looked uncomfortable.
“I saw her near the cabinet twice this week.””
Darius stared at her.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“I thought she had permission.””
“Did she say anything?””
Evelyn hesitated.
Then she nodded.
“She asked me whether Mrs. Renee had left Kayla anything valuable.””
Darius felt a chill move down his spine.
“What exactly did she say?””
Evelyn looked toward Kayla.
“I didn't want to frighten the little girl.””
“She's safe here. Tell me.””
Evelyn took a breath.
“She asked whether the trust could be changed after you remarried.””
Darius went completely still.
The trust.
Renee had established it shortly before her death, with Darius as trustee and Kayla as the sole beneficiary.
It contained a substantial investment portfolio, several properties, and money intended to secure their daughter's future.
Brittany had never asked about it before.
At least, not directly.
“Did you tell her anything?””
“I told her I didn't know.””
Darius nodded slowly.
“Thank you for telling me.””
Evelyn looked down.
“There's something else.””
He waited.
“Yesterday afternoon, I heard her speaking on the phone in the kitchen. She said she only needed to get you to sign one more document.””
Darius's face hardened.
“What document?””
“I couldn't hear.””
At that moment, someone knocked loudly.
Marcus entered without waiting.
“Darius, we need to talk.””
His brother had a serious expression.
“What happened?””
Marcus glanced at Kayla.
“Not in front of her.””
Darius looked at his daughter.
“Evelyn, could you take Kayla to the guest bedroom for a little while?””
Kayla immediately grabbed his hand.
“Don't leave me.””
“I won't be far, baby. I promise.””
He kissed her forehead.
Evelyn led her gently toward the door.
Once they were alone, Marcus closed it.
“I just spoke to the event coordinator,” he said.
“And?””
“She told me Brittany asked the photographer to take pictures of Kayla before the party.””
Darius frowned.
“So?””
“She specifically asked him to photograph the back of her head.””
Darius stared.
“Why?””
Marcus shook his head.
“That's not all. She told him to make sure the pictures showed Kayla looking unhappy.””
Darius's expression became dangerously quiet.
“What?””
Marcus pulled out his phone.
“She sent me a screenshot of the messages because she thought something was wrong.””
He handed the phone to his brother.
The messages were brief.
*Brittany:* Make sure you get the little girl's haircut from every angle.
*Photographer:* Is there a particular reason?
*Brittany:* We're documenting her new look. Her father wants her to stop looking like her mother.
Darius read the final sentence twice.
Then a third time.
His hands began to shake.
“I never said that.””
“I know,” Marcus replied.
“She's using my name.””
“Looks that way.””
Darius handed back the phone.
“Cancel the photographer.””
“Already done.””
“Cancel the party.””
Marcus hesitated.
“Are you sure?””
Darius looked toward the guest bedroom.
“My daughter is upstairs crying because the woman I'm supposed to marry decided she could destroy something that reminded her of her mother. There is no party.””
Marcus nodded.
Then he lowered his voice.
“Darius, I think you need to check that blue folder.””
Darius returned to his office.
The cabinet was locked.
But when he opened it, he immediately noticed something wrong.
The blue folder was no longer in its original position.
He pulled it out.
Several pages were missing.
One document had been replaced with a photocopy.
He read the heading.
It was a financial authorization form.
His signature appeared at the bottom.
Darius stared at it.
He hadn't signed that document.
He turned the page.
The form authorized a change to the management structure of Kayla's trust after his marriage.
And there, printed clearly in the designated section, was the name of the proposed additional trustee.
Brittany Collins.
Darius felt his stomach drop.
The document was dated three weeks earlier.
But he had never seen it.
Marcus leaned over his shoulder.
“Is that your signature?””
“No.””
“Then somebody forged it.””
Darius looked more closely.
The signature was almost perfect.
Almost.
He recognized the slight difference in the final stroke.
Someone had copied his name from another document.
He reached for his phone.
“I want my attorney here immediately.””
Marcus nodded.
“Who?””
“James. Tell him to bring everything concerning Renee's trust.””
Darius turned toward the door.
And then he noticed something else.
A small yellow sticky note was attached to the inside cover of the folder.
Three words were written on it in Brittany's handwriting.
*After the wedding.*
Underneath was a phone number.
Darius took a photograph.
Then he called the number.
A man answered.
“Hello?””
Darius spoke slowly.
“Who is this?””
The man hesitated.
“Who are you?””
“This is Darius Mitchell. I found your number in a folder belonging to my late wife.””
Silence.
May you like
Then the man said something that made Darius's blood run cold.
“Mr. Mitchell, I was wondering when you'd find that.””
