Chapter 4: The Storage Unit
The emergency lights flickered on.
Red.
Dim.
Unsteady.
Marcus pulled me behind him.
Vanessa crouched beside the table.
“Where is he?”” I whispered.
Marcus scanned the restaurant.
“Everyone stay still.””
A waiter shouted from near the kitchen.
“Sir, you need to leave!””
A crash answered him.
Then footsteps.
Fast.
Marcus grabbed my wrist.
“Back door.””
We ran.
Vanessa followed.
We pushed through the kitchen while cooks shouted around us.
The smell of garlic, hot oil, and smoke filled the air.
Someone knocked over a tray.
Metal clattered across the floor.
We burst through the back door into the alley.
Cold air hit my face.
Marcus pulled me toward the car.
Vanessa stumbled behind us.
“Wait!””
Marcus stopped.
“What?””
She pointed toward the street.
A black SUV was parked beneath a broken streetlamp.
Its engine was running.
A man sat behind the wheel.
Then the SUV sped away.
Marcus swore.
“Get in.””
I climbed into the passenger seat.
Vanessa got into the back.
Marcus drove.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
My hands were still shaking.
“Where is the storage unit?”” I asked.
Vanessa gave me an address.
Marcus entered it into the navigation.
I stared out the window.
Atlanta's lights blurred past us.
Then I looked at Vanessa through the rearview mirror.
“You knew about my mother.””
She looked down.
“I knew some of it.””
“Did she trust you?””
“No.””
The answer surprised me.
“Then why did she tell you anything?””
“She didn't.””
Vanessa hesitated.
“Richard did.””
Marcus tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
“You've been working with Richard longer than you admitted.””
Vanessa didn't answer.
I turned around.
“Tell me the truth.””
She looked at me.
“My first contact with Richard was before your wedding.””
My chest tightened.
“What?””
“He approached me because of Marcus.””
“Why?””
“He wanted to know what kind of man Marcus was.””
Marcus glanced at her.
“Why?””
“Because Marcus's father had stolen money from Richard's family.””
I stared at my husband.
“Your father?””
Marcus nodded slowly.
“My father wasn't the man you thought he was.””
“You knew?””
“I knew he was involved in something illegal.””
“But you didn't know what.””
“No.””
Vanessa looked at me.
“Your mother knew.””
I whispered, “And my mother and his father knew each other.””
“Yes.””
The storage facility appeared ahead.
Rows of metal doors stretched beneath fluorescent lights.
Marcus parked.
We walked inside.
Vanessa stopped at Unit 317.
I stared at the lock.
“This was my mother's?””
She nodded.
“Why did she have it?””
“She rented it under a different name.””
Marcus pulled out the brass key.
I took it from him.
My fingers trembled.
I inserted the key.
It turned.
The door rolled upward with a metallic screech.
Dust filled the air.
Inside were boxes.
Dozens of them.
Furniture covered in white sheets.
A broken lamp.
A wooden desk.
And a small red suitcase.
I walked toward it.
My mother's initials were burned into the leather.
E.B.
My knees nearly gave out.
“Mom.””
I knelt.
Marcus crouched beside me.
“Take your time.””
I opened the suitcase.
Inside were photographs.
Letters.
Bank statements.
And the red notebook.
My breath caught.
I reached for it.
Then stopped.
A photograph lay on top.
I picked it up.
It showed my mother standing beside a man.
Marcus's father.
But there was someone else in the photograph.
A little girl.
Me.
I stared.
“I don't remember this.””
Marcus looked at the date.
“Ten years before we met.””
I flipped the photograph.
A message was written on the back.
*Nia was there. She heard everything.*
My stomach dropped.
“I was there?””
Vanessa whispered, “You were eight.””
Marcus opened the notebook.
The first page contained a single sentence.
*If you're reading this, they failed to find it.*
I turned the page.
Names.
Dates.
Account numbers.
Companies.
Then one name appeared again and again.
Daniel Bennett.
Marcus's brother.
I looked up.
“Daniel was involved before your company even existed.””
Marcus stared at the page.
“No.””
I turned it toward him.
“He was working with your father.””
Marcus's face went pale.
“That's impossible.””
Another page.
A payment record.
A handwritten note.
*Daniel knows where the money went.*
Then a second note beneath it.
*But Richard doesn't know Daniel is protecting Nia.*
I looked at Marcus.
“What does that mean?””
He didn't answer.
Vanessa suddenly stepped backward.
“Someone's here.””
We froze.
Footsteps echoed outside.
Slow.
Heavy.
Approaching Unit 317.
Marcus closed the notebook.
“Get behind me.””
The footsteps stopped.
A shadow appeared beneath the door.
Then a voice.
“Marcus.””
Daniel.
Marcus's brother.
He stepped into view.
He wasn't alone.
Richard Hale stood behind him.
Holding a gun.
I stopped breathing.
Richard smiled.
“Nia.””
Marcus moved in front of me.
“Don't.””
Richard raised the weapon.
“Move aside.””
Marcus didn't.
Richard's eyes shifted toward me.
“Your mother left you a message.””
I clutched the red notebook.
“What message?””
Richard smiled.
“That you should never trust your husband.””
My heart pounded.
Marcus turned slightly.
“Nia, don't listen to him.””
Richard laughed.
“Ask him where he was the night your mother died.””
I looked at Marcus.
His face changed.
Again.
“Marcus?””
He whispered my name.
“Nia…”
Richard's smile widened.
“Go ahead.””
He lowered the gun slightly.
“Ask him.””
I took one step backward.
“Where were you?””
Marcus said nothing.
“Marcus, where were you?””
His eyes filled with tears.
“I was there.””
The words shattered me.
“You were there?””
“I didn't know who she was.””
Richard laughed.
“She knew exactly who you were.””
Marcus looked at me.
“And she gave me something.””
“What?””
He slowly reached into his wallet.
Pulled out a photograph.
My mother.
On the back was a sentence.
*Protect my daughter. Even from yourself.*
I stared at him.
“You've had that for ten years?””
Marcus nodded.
“I found it after the accident.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I promised your mother.””
“To protect me?””
“Yes.””
“From what?””
Before Marcus could answer, Daniel stepped forward.
“From the man who killed her.””
Richard's face went blank.
Marcus turned.
“Daniel.””
Daniel looked at his brother.
“You finally deserve to know.””
Richard raised the gun.
“Shut up.””
Daniel smiled sadly.
“You're too late.””
Then he looked at me.
“Nia, your mother didn't die in an accident.””
The warehouse seemed to disappear.
“What happened?””
Daniel's voice trembled.
May you like
“She was murdered.””
A gunshot exploded.
