Chapter 6: The Woman Who Would Not Lie
“Give me the tablet,” Amara said.
Marcus slipped it into his jacket.
“You approved the photographs.”
“I heard Nolan.”
“You misunderstood him.”
Darius crossed the lobby.
“What happened?”
“He used my signature.”
Marcus backed toward the exit.
“Be careful what you accuse me of.”
Amara held out her hand.
“Show me what I signed.”
“You signed a standard release.”
“Then show me.”
Marcus glanced at the officer, who was helping direct families outside.
Darius stepped between Marcus and the door.
“The tablet.”
“You have no authority over me.”
“No, but she does.
It was her signature.”
A woman’s voice came from behind them.
“And it wasn’t the first one he copied.”
Nina Bell stood near the staircase.
Her face was pale, and she held a phone against her chest.
Marcus stared at her.
“Why are you here?”
“You told me you were taking Amara to dinner.”
“This has nothing to do with you.”
“You put my name on a trust document.”
Marcus lowered his voice.
“We can discuss that at home.”
“I called Nolan’s office.
They sent me a copy.”
Nina walked to Amara and unlocked her phone.
“I never witnessed your signature.
Marcus took a photograph of my signature from our lease.”
Marcus reached for the device, but Nina stepped behind Darius.
“You’re making a serious mistake,” he said.
“My mistake was believing you when you said Darius stole from Amara.”
“You know what I’ve been through.”
“I know what you planned.”
Nina pressed the screen.
Marcus’s recorded voice filled the lobby.
Once she signs at graduation, the bank can’t question it.
She’ll be emotional.
She won’t read past the photo release.
Amara’s graduation cap slipped from her fingers.
Nina caught it before it touched the floor.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“I should have come sooner.”
Marcus’s face tightened.
“That recording is private.”
“It is also backed up.”
“Delete it.
I’ll pay the rent for a year and put your name on the new account.”
Nina stared at him.
“You are trying to bribe me in front of your daughter.”
“I’m trying to save us.”
“There is no ‘us.’”
Marcus turned to Amara.
“Nina is angry because I ended things.”
“You asked her to go home with you thirty seconds ago.”
“She’s confused.”
Nina opened another message.
“Then explain this.”
A photograph showed the tablet’s screen before Marcus had approached Amara.
Beneath the photography release was a hidden second page authorizing him to act on her behalf.
Darius took out his phone.
“I’m sending both files to the bank.”
Marcus knocked the phone from his hand.
It struck the tile and slid beneath a bench.
Helen shouted for the officer.
Marcus grabbed Nina’s phone and threw it against the wall.
The screen cracked and went dark.
“You just destroyed the evidence,” he said.
Nina bent down, picked up the broken phone, and held the side button.
A small light blinked.
“No,” she said.
“You destroyed a screen.”
The officer returned and stood between Marcus and the exit.
“Sir, stay where you are.”
Marcus straightened his jacket.
“No one is keeping me here over a family argument.”
Amara’s phone vibrated.
She expected another warning from the bank.
Instead, the message displayed her trust balance.
AVAILABLE FUNDS: $14.22.
May you like
She held the screen toward Darius.
“The money is gone.”
