Chapter 6 - The Financial Ruin
The collapse of Derek Foster was swift and absolute.
Once he signed the asset forfeiture agreement, he officially renounced any claim to Skylar’s apartment, her retirement funds, and her savings. The joint accounts were liquidated, and his portion barely covered the legal fees he owed his own discount attorney.
But the real ruin came from his employer.
Someone—Derek suspected Suzanne in a fit of rage, though he could never prove it—leaked the audio recording to the HR department at the insurance firm where Derek worked as a senior sales executive. A company that prided itself on family values and ethical practices could not employ a man caught on tape committing domestic battery and financial extortion.
He was terminated with cause, meaning he received no severance package.
Without a job, Derek could no longer afford to support himself, let alone Suzanne.
Suzanne, facing her own impending civil lawsuit from Skylar, turned on her brother like a rabid dog. When the creditors finally came for Suzanne’s car and began garnishing what little wages she made at her part-time retail job, she threw all of Derek’s belongings out onto the lawn of her apartment complex.
“You ruined my life!” she screamed at him from the second-floor balcony, throwing his PlayStation into the grass where it shattered into a dozen pieces. “You told me you had the money! You told me she was a pushover! You’re useless, Derek!”
Derek stood on the wet grass, holding a garbage bag filled with his clothes, realizing that the sister he had coddled and prioritized over his own wife only loved him when his pockets were full. Without Skylar’s money to fuel their shared delusion of grandeur, their family bond evaporated instantly.
He was forced to move into a cheap, roach-infested motel on the outskirts of the city. Every time he looked in the cracked bathroom mirror, he didn't see the handsome, successful salesman who could charm his way out of any consequence. He saw a broke, pathetic man facing up to five years in state prison for felony battery.
He tried to call Skylar one last time, using a burner phone.
It rang twice before she answered.
“Skylar,” he croaked, dropping to his knees on the filthy motel carpet. “Please. I have nothing. I’m living in a motel. Suzanne kicked me out. I lost my job. I’m begging you... please talk to the DA. Tell them you don't want to press charges. I’ll do anything.”
The line was quiet for a long moment. Derek held his breath, praying that the soft, forgiving woman he had married was still in there somewhere.
“You told me to clean up the broken cup,” Skylar’s voice came through the speaker, calm and steady. “I did. But I swept you out with the rest of the trash.”
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The call disconnected. Derek dropped the phone, the dial tone ringing in his ears like a funeral bell.
There would be no mercy.
