Chapter 8 - THE FIRST WOMAN I EVER HELPED
My heart stopped.
“No.”
Denise had left Madison’s office an hour earlier.
She was supposed to be home.
I called.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Police were sent immediately.
Her apartment door was unlocked.
Empty.
No sign of struggle.
Her purse remained on the counter.
Phone gone.
Then Melissa remembered something.
“Dad knows her.”
I turned.
“What?”
“When Second Chapter started, Dad used to talk about Denise.”
Of course he did.
She had been our first client.
Back then, Mark helped with repairs.
Transportation.
Bookkeeping.
Denise trusted him.
We pulled old records.
Her ex-husband’s name:
Thomas Parker.
Occupation:
Commercial contractor.
One of Mark’s earliest business partners.
I had never known.
“Why didn’t she tell me?”
Madison looked at the file.
“Maybe she didn’t know either.”
Thomas Parker had financially abused Denise.
Hidden assets.
Controlled money.
When she filed for divorce, several assets disappeared.
Where?
Into companies connected to Mark.
My stomach turned.
Mark had helped Thomas hide marital assets.
Then I helped Denise rebuild after the damage they created.
Fourteen years ago.
The realization made me shake.
Second Chapter House had begun partly because I witnessed what happened to Denise.
And my own husband had been behind some of it.
Then Denise called.
I answered immediately.
“Where are you?”
Her voice was calm.
“I’m okay.”
“Where?”
“Don’t panic.”
“Too late.”
She sighed.
“I went to see Mark.”
My entire body stiffened.
“Why?”
“Because he called me.”
“What did he want?”
“To make a deal.”
“What deal?”
“He knows investigators found the old Parker accounts.”
“Denise, where are you?”
“At the airport.”
My heart stopped.
“With him?”
“No.”
“Then where is he?”
She paused.
“Gone.”
“Denise.”
“He offered me money.”
“How much?”
“Two million.”
“For what?”
“To sign a statement.”
I already knew.
“What statement?”
“That you knew he was moving money.”
Rage burned through me.
“And?”
“I told him to go to hell.”
Despite everything, I smiled.
“That sounds like you.”
“He didn’t like it.”
“What happened?”
“He threatened to expose something.”
I froze.
“What?”
Denise went quiet.
“Clare, I need to tell you something.”
“No more secrets.”
“I know.”
She inhaled.
“Second Chapter House wasn’t originally your idea.”
I stared.
“What?”
“Not completely.”
My brain rejected it.
Denise continued.
“Remember the notebook I brought to our second meeting?”
I did.
A spiral notebook filled with ideas for classes, budgeting help, job counseling.
“I thought you made those suggestions after we talked.”
“No.”
“Then?”
“My divorce support group had been planning something similar.”
“Why didn’t you start it?”
“We had no money.”
She paused.
“Mark offered funding.”
I stopped breathing.
“What?”
“He said he wanted you to have a project.”
The word felt poisonous.
“Project.”
“Yes.”
“He introduced us deliberately?”
“I think so.”
Everything shifted.
I had believed Denise wandered into the church basement because someone referred her.
Maybe Mark had orchestrated that too.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
Then Denise whispered:
“But Mark told me tonight.”
“What?”
“He said Second Chapter House was never supposed to become successful.”
May you like
A pause.
“It was supposed to keep you busy.”
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