Her expression softened.
"You're welcome."
Nia gave the smallest nod.
And Marcus carried the white box with him.
The customer-service office had a round table, several chairs, and a window overlooking the sales floor.
The supervisor offered water.
Marcus thanked him.
Then he asked whether the children could sit while he spoke with Vanessa.
Caleb immediately shook his head.
"I want to stay."
Marcus looked at him.
For a moment, the boy's expression trembled.
Then he added.
"I don't want her to say I made it up."
Vanessa's face reddened.
"Caleb!"
Marcus raised one hand.
"Let him speak."
The boy swallowed.
He looked toward his mother.
Then toward Marcus.
"I didn't understand what the receipts were at first."
Marcus nodded.
"Okay."
Caleb placed his phone on the table.
He opened the photographs.
The first showed several jewelry items arranged on a countertop.
The second showed a receipt with an item description, date, and transaction number.
The third showed a small velvet box Nia recognized from the keepsake chest.
Marcus leaned forward.
His hands felt unsteady.
He recognized a pair of gold earrings his first wife wore on their anniversary.
A bracelet given to her by her grandmother.
And a ring he purchased during their first trip together after they were married.
There were other items too.
He didn't immediately recognize every one.
But he knew enough to understand the photographs had not been taken by accident.
He looked toward Vanessa.
"Did you take these to a pawnshop?"
She stared at him.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she answered.
"I needed money."
Marcus felt his jaw tighten.
"For what?"
Vanessa looked toward the children.
Then back at him.
"That's private."
He stared.
"Those were my late wife's belongings."
She raised her voice.
"And I'm your wife now!"
The words filled the small office.
Nia flinched.
Marcus became very still.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then he answered quietly.
"Being my wife doesn't give you the right to take things that belong to my daughter."
Vanessa opened her mouth.
He continued.
"And it doesn't give you the right to lie about them."
Caleb lowered his head.
Ava reached across the table and held Nia's hand.
It was a small movement.
But Marcus noticed.
And something inside him broke.
The children had been comforting each other through a problem he hadn't known existed.
Vanessa began explaining herself in fragments.
She said Marcus didn't understand how expensive it was to manage a household.
She claimed his work kept him away so often that she handled responsibilities he never noticed.