Chapter 2 - The Audit Begins
The next morning began like any other. The alarm rang at six, the coffee maker hummed, and Derek tied his shoes by the door, completely oblivious to the phantom standing next to him. I made him breakfast, handed him his briefcase, and kissed his cheek, tasting the deceit on his skin. “Have a good day at work, honey,” I said, my voice perfectly steady. He flashed that charming smile and left. The moment the front door clicked shut, my smile vanished. I did not go to work; instead, I drove straight to Lauren’s office downtown.
Her legal team was already waiting in the cold, glass-walled conference room overlooking the grey Seattle skyline. “We pulled the credit reports like you asked,” Lauren said, sliding a thick stack of papers across the mahogany table. The numbers were staggering. Derek had opened three new credit cards under my name, maxing them out on luxury items, vacations I never went on, and spa retreats for his "stressed, pregnant woman." Lauren explained that he was systematically draining my assets, assuming the debt would be split as marital liability in the divorce. "He thinks I’m going to pay for his new life with my sister," I laughed coldly. Lauren’s eyes held a fierce sympathy as she promised we would prove fraud using the digital footprint of the forged lease.
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I spent the next eight hours becoming a ghost in my own life. I combed through six years of tax returns and hired a private investigator named Vance, a quiet man who asked no unnecessary questions. “I need to know everything,” I told Vance. “Every time they meet. Every conversation my mother has with him. Every place they go.” After securing his promise, I returned home before Derek. I cooked dinner and set the table.
When Derek walked in, he complained about his boss, the traffic, and the cost of living. “It’s just so hard to get ahead,” he sighed, cutting into his steak. I watched the man I had loved for almost a decade, feeling absolutely nothing—no love, no hate, just the calculating precision of a surgeon about to make an incision. “Don't worry,” I said softly. “Everything is going to change very soon.” He smiled, thinking I meant his promotion. I smiled back, knowing I meant his destruction.
