Chapter 4 - Digital AshesBy Monday, the house felt empty, yet it hummed with a strange, electric energy.
Bailey was staying with my mother in Wisconsin under the guise of an “early autumn school break.” My mother, who had despised Trevor since the day he proposed, didn't ask questions when I told her I was filing for divorce. She just packed extra sweaters for my daughter and told me to burn his kingdom to the ground.
I spent Tuesday sitting at the kitchen island with Trevor’s iPad—the very device that had started this war.
Using his stored passwords, I logged into his professional life.
Trevor was a rising star at Vantage Pharma. His reputation was everything to him. He lived for the quarterly awards, the golf trips with executives, the illusion of being the polished family man who had it all.
I found his corporate email. I found his folders labeled Personal.
And then, I found the hidden archive.
Folders of photos. Not just of Vanessa, but of other women over the years. Business trips to New York, Miami, London. A trail of broken promises, secret dinners, and casual betrayals that proved my entire marriage had been a facade. He hadn't just cheated with Vanessa; Vanessa was simply the one stupid enough to leave a paper trail he couldn't cover up.
I didn't delete the files. I downloaded every single byte onto an encrypted external hard drive.
Then, I turned my attention to his beloved social media presence.
Trevor loved posting updates about his “blessed life.” Every anniversary, every family hike, every promotion was broadcast to thousands of colleagues and acquaintances.
May you like
Using his phone number recovery system, I locked him out of his own Instagram and Facebook accounts. I changed the passwords, the recovery emails, and the two-factor authentication numbers.
If he wanted to post updates from Bali, he was going to have to do it the old-fashioned way: by shouting into the void.
