The Pink Files: Case 001 — The Marriage Certificate (Chapter Seven)

The name on the paper

Nia stared at Jordan.

Same eyes.

Same mouth.

Same face she had kissed good morning for eight years.

But the man standing in front of her wasn't Marcus.

And the piece of paper in his hand was about to make that distinction a whole lot more complicated.

"Say it again," Nia demanded.

Jordan swallowed.

"Nia—"

"No. Don't Nia me. Say what you just said."

Jordan placed the marriage certificate on the kitchen island.

"The name on the original certificate is mine."

Nia looked down.

GROOM: JORDAN ELLIS.

BRIDE: NIA ELIZABETH—

Her eyes stopped.

"Why is my name different?"

Jordan didn't answer.

She looked at him.

"Jordan. Why does this paper have a different last name for me?"

"Because the certificate was prepared using information you were never supposed to see."

Nia blinked.

Then laughed.

Not the kind of laugh that meant something was funny.

The kind that happened when your brain was desperately searching for a less ridiculous explanation.

"So let me understand this. I've been with Marcus for eight years. I find out he has an identical twin. Now you're telling me that somewhere in the middle of my own wedding, I married the wrong brother?"

Jordan looked miserable.

"Not exactly."

"Oh, good. Because for a second there, I thought my life was turning into a Tyler Perry movie with a criminal records department."

"Nia, the ceremony wasn't supposed to happen the way it did."

She stepped closer.

"Then tell me how it was supposed to happen."

Jordan looked toward the door.

And Nia knew.

Somebody else was involved.

"Who else knows?"

He said nothing.

"Jordan."

A voice answered from the hallway.

"I do."

Nia turned.

Camille stood in the doorway.

Her sister.

Her own flesh and blood.

Holding a purse in one hand and looking like she had already rehearsed an apology that wasn't going to be nearly enough.

Nia stared at her.

"No."

Camille's eyes filled.

"Nia, please."

"No, ma'am."

"Nia—"

"Don't come in here with that soft voice like you forgot to pick up the potato salad for Thanksgiving. What do you mean, you know?"

Camille set her purse down.

"I knew Jordan was involved in the wedding arrangements."

Nia went completely still.

"You knew there were two of them?"

Camille nodded.

"Before the wedding?"

Another nod.

Nia pressed her tongue against the inside of her cheek.

"Wow."

That was all she could say.

Wow.

Because there weren't enough curse words in the English language to describe what she was feeling.

Sisters don't do that

"How long?" Nia asked.

Camille wiped her cheeks.

"About a year before the wedding."

"A YEAR?"

"Nia, listen—"

"You helped me pick my dress!"

Camille flinched.

"You stood beside me while I cried because Mama wasn't there to see me get married."

"I know."

"You zipped me into that dress!"

"Nia—"

"And all that time, you knew something was wrong?"

Camille lowered her head.

Nia stepped closer.

"Look at me."

Camille raised her eyes.

"You are my sister. We grew up in the same house. We shared a bedroom. You used to sneak into my bed when thunderstorms scared you."

"I remember."

"When Mama died, you were the only person who understood what I was feeling without me having to explain it."

Camille started crying harder.

"So tell me why my own sister helped strangers play games with my life."

"They weren't strangers."

The words slipped out before Camille could stop them.

Nia froze.

"What?"

Camille looked toward Jordan.

He shook his head.

"Camille, don't."

Nia turned slowly.

"Don't what?"

Camille closed her eyes.

"Marcus and Jordan are connected to our family."

Nia's stomach tightened.

"Through who?"

Neither answered.

Nia laughed again.

"Oh, I see. We're doing the family-secret buffet. Everybody gets a plate except me."

Camille stepped forward.

"Mama knew their family."

Nia's expression changed.

"Our mother?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"Through Bellamy Holdings."

The name hung between them.

Nia thought about the documents.

The receipts.

The money.

The apartment.

And now her mother.

"How long have you known about Bellamy Holdings?"

Camille whispered, "Since before Mama died."

Nia stepped backward.

"Get out."

"Nia—"

"Get. Out."

Camille reached for her.

Nia jerked away.

"Don't touch me. Right now, I don't even know who you are."

Camille stood there crying.

For the first time in their lives, Nia didn't feel the urge to comfort her sister.

That frightened her almost as much as the certificate.

The Reverend

Jordan waited until Camille left.

Then he pulled another document from the envelope.

"The officiant was Reverend Elias Whitmore."

Nia frowned.

"The Reverend Whitmore?"

Jordan nodded.

"He knew your mother."

"Everybody knew my mother. She sang in the choir."

"He wasn't just her pastor."

Nia folded her arms.

"Then what was he?"

"He served as an intermediary for Bellamy Holdings."

Nia stared at him.

"An intermediary?"

"He handled private agreements. Family documents. Financial arrangements."

"So the man who preached at my mother's funeral was doing business with the people who arranged my wedding?"

Jordan nodded.

Nia looked toward the ceiling.

"Lord, I know You said vengeance is Yours, but I am available for a consultation."

Jordan almost smiled.

Almost.

Nia pointed at him.

"Don't."

His expression hardened again.

"There's something else."

"Of course there is."

He slid a financial authorization across the counter.

Nia examined it.

Her full name.

A signature.

Her signature.

Except she had never signed it.

"What is this?"

"Authorization connected to a family trust."

"What family trust?"

"The Bellamy Family Trust."

Nia read the document.

Then read it again.

"Why would I be authorizing anything for Bellamy Holdings?"

Jordan looked at her.

"Because the trust identifies you as a beneficiary."

The kitchen went quiet.

Nia shook her head.

"No."

"The company has assets that can only be transferred under certain conditions."

"And marriage was one of those conditions?"

Jordan nodded.

"Who forged my signature?"

"I don't know."

"Who arranged the wedding?"

"I know parts of it."

"Who told you to pretend to be Marcus?"

Jordan's jaw tightened.

"That wasn't the original plan."

Nia leaned forward.

"Then whose plan was it?"

Jordan looked at the certificate.

"Someone wanted you legally married before you found out who you really were."

The woman before Nia

Nia sat down.

For the first time that evening, her anger was giving way to exhaustion.

"Tell me everything."

Jordan rubbed his face.

"I got involved because of a debt. I thought I could help Marcus get out of something dangerous."

"What kind of debt?"

"Not gambling. Not drugs. Something tied to the family business."

"Bellamy Holdings."

"Yes."

Nia looked at him.

"And you agreed to impersonate your brother?"

"At first, I was only supposed to sign documents."

"At first?"

Jordan looked ashamed.

"Then things got complicated."

Nia stared.

"Complicated is when you accidentally order the wrong size shoes. This is identity fraud with wedding decorations."

He didn't argue.

"There's another person you need to know about."

Nia closed her eyes.

"Please tell me it's not another brother."

"No."

Jordan hesitated.

"Simone."

Nia opened her eyes.

"Simone who?"

He looked directly at her.

"Simone Avery."

Her best friend.

The woman who had held her hand through heartbreak.

Who knew her coffee order.

Who knew the password to her streaming accounts.

Who had helped her celebrate anniversaries with Marcus.

Nia felt something inside her go cold.

"What does Simone have to do with this?"

Jordan didn't answer quickly enough.

"Jordan."

"Simone and I were married."

Nia stared at him.

Then she shook her head.

"No."

"It was before your wedding."

"No."

"It wasn't the kind of marriage you're thinking—"

Nia stood so fast her chair scraped the floor.

"YOU WERE MARRIED TO MY BEST FRIEND?"

Jordan looked down.

"It was a legal arrangement."

Nia laughed in disbelief.

"A legal arrangement? Is that what we're calling marriage now?"

"She was trying to get information about Bellamy Holdings."

"And somehow that required a wedding?"

"She believed the marriage would give her access to documents she couldn't otherwise obtain."

Nia walked away from him.

Then turned around.

"Simone has sat in my house. Eaten my food. Helped me plan birthday surprises for Marcus. She listened to me talk about my marriage."

Jordan nodded.

"She knew who you were?"

"Yes."

"And she knew about you?"

"Yes."

Nia's eyes filled.

"Did Marcus know?"

Jordan hesitated.

That was enough.

Nia covered her mouth.

"Oh, my God."

Jordan stepped toward her.

"Nia, Simone wasn't trying to hurt you."

She held up her hand.

"Do not defend her."

"She disappeared because she found something."

"What?"

"Something about your mother."

Nia lowered her hand.

"What about Mama?"

Jordan shook his head.

"Simone wouldn't tell me. She said she needed proof."

"Where is she?"

"I don't know where she is now."

Nia stared at him.

"She was at my house last month."

Jordan looked startled.

"What?"

"She brought me flowers. We watched a movie. She complained about her job. You mean to tell me she's been missing from your life while sitting on my couch?"

Jordan went pale.

"Then she's been hiding from me."

Nia stared at him.

Suddenly, Simone's behavior over the past few months looked different.

The canceled dinners.

The strange questions about Marcus.

The way she always changed the subject when Nia mentioned Jordan.

And the phone call she'd received after the twins' identities came out.

Simone hadn't disappeared from the world.

She had disappeared from the people she didn't trust.

Including Jordan.

A call from the past

At 11:38 p.m., Nia's phone rang.

SIMONE AVERY.

Nia stared at the screen.

Jordan looked up.

"Don't answer."

Nia gave him a look.

"You're really not in a position to give instructions."

She answered.

"Hello, wife number one."

Silence.

Then Simone sighed.

"Nia."

"Don't Nia me. Apparently that's everybody's favorite opening line before they ruin my life."

"I can explain."

"Everybody can explain. It's amazing how nobody could explain BEFORE I found out."

Simone's voice cracked.

"I never wanted you involved."

"Then why were you involved with my husband?"

"Jordan isn't your husband in the way you think."

Nia closed her eyes.

"Simone, I am one more technicality away from losing my mind."

"I know."

"Do you?"

A pause.

Then Simone said something Nia wasn't expecting.

"Your mother knew about the marriage arrangement."

Nia sat down.

"What?"

"She knew Bellamy Holdings had been preparing something for years."

"My mother died before I got married."

"I know."

"Then how could she know?"

"Because the marriage wasn't the beginning of the plan."

Nia felt her pulse quicken.

Simone continued.

"Your mother discovered that someone had altered the trust. She tried to stop it."

"Who altered it?"

"I don't have enough proof to tell you."

"Then what DO you know?"

Simone hesitated.

"Your birth certificate was changed."

Nia stopped breathing.

"What?"

"The name of your father was removed from the original record."

"Why?"

"Because if Adrian Bellamy knew you existed, everything would change."

Nia gripped the phone.

"Adrian Bellamy?"

"Yes."

"Who is he?"

Simone's voice softened.

"He's the man your mother spent years trying to keep away from you."

Nia looked at Jordan.

He was watching her carefully.

"Simone, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying the man who raised you may not be your biological father."

The room went silent.

Nia stared at the wall.

Then whispered, "No."

Simone began crying.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. Tell me the truth."

"There's a photograph I'm sending you."

A notification appeared.

Nia opened it.

Her mother stood beside Reverend Whitmore and the man Nia had always called Daddy.

Someone else had been cropped from the picture.

Only a hand remained.

On the hand was a gold ring engraved with a B.

Underneath, someone had written:

HE WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO KNOW YOU EXISTED.

Nia's voice trembled.

"Who took this picture?"

Simone hesitated.

"Your mother."

"And who wrote that?"

Another silence.

Then Simone whispered:

"I did."

Nia felt the floor disappear beneath her.

"Why?"

"Because I found the original birth record."

Nia looked down at the marriage certificate.

Her forged signature.

Jordan's name.

The Bellamy trust.

Everything suddenly seemed connected.

"Simone, where is the original?"

"I can't tell you over the phone."

"Then come here."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

Simone's voice became urgent.

"Because somebody knows I've been talking to you."

A car door slammed somewhere in the background.

Simone gasped.

"Nia, listen carefully. Whatever happens next, don't sign anything."

"Simone—"

"And don't let Camille give you any documents."

Nia froze.

"Why Camille?"

Simone whispered:

"Because your sister knows exactly why your name was changed."

The call ended.

Nia stared at the phone.

Then at the marriage certificate.

She had spent eight years believing her biggest fear was losing the man she loved.

Now she was beginning to understand.

Her marriage wasn't the beginning of the lie.

She was born into it.