Vanessa did not sleep much at all.
Tiana woke expecting tension.
Instead she smelled pancakes.
She went downstairs.
Marcus stood at the stove.
Jordan sat at the island.
Maya poured orange juice.
Vanessa was absent.
Tiana sat.
Marcus put a plate in front of her.
“Chocolate chips?”
She nodded.
He added too many.
Something he had done since she was little.
Tiana looked around.
“Where’s Vanessa?”
“Hotel.”
Her stomach tightened.
“You kicked her out?”
“No.”
“She left voluntarily for a few days.”
“Because of me?”
Marcus put down the spatula.
“No.”
Tiana stared.
He pointed.
“We’re not doing that.”
“What?”
“You blaming yourself every time adults make adult decisions.”
She looked down.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize for apologizing either.”
Jordan laughed softly.
Marcus smiled.
For a few minutes they ate like any family after a bad night.
Then the doorbell rang.
Marcus frowned.
“Eight-thirty on Sunday?”
He opened the door.
Eli, the photographer, stood outside carrying a hard drive.
“Sorry.”
Marcus stepped aside.
“What’s up?”
Eli looked uncomfortable.
“I reviewed the footage.”
Marcus’s face changed.
“Why?”
“Because Vanessa texted me at two in the morning.”
Tiana stopped eating.
“What did she want?”
Eli hesitated.
“She offered me five thousand dollars to delete yesterday’s raw video.”
Silence.
Marcus stared.
“Do you have the message?”
“Yes.”
“Did you answer?”
“I said no.”
“Good.”
Eli held up the hard drive.
“I made copies.”
Marcus took it.
“Why come here?”
“Because there’s more.”
Everyone looked toward him.
Eli opened his laptop at the kitchen table.
The behind-the-scenes camera had recorded nearly an hour before the photograph incident.
Most was ordinary.
Guests.
Decorations.
Vanessa directing staff.
Children moving through the room.
Then Eli stopped at one clip.
Vanessa stood near the fireplace with her friend Monica.
The audio was distant but clear enough.
Monica laughed.
“Five kids would look chaotic.”
Vanessa answered:
“There are only two that need to be in my family shots.”
Monica looked toward Tiana across the room.
“What about Marcus’s daughter?”
Vanessa lowered her voice.
“She has plenty of pictures with him.”
Monica frowned.
“Vanessa.”
“What?”
“You’re marrying into the whole thing.”
“I already married him.”