Chapter 3 - The Dark Secret of the "Landscaping Business"
They spent the next thirty minutes throwing their clothes into garbage bags. Jake didn't look at me once, his face red with humiliation. Carol muttered curses under her breath, intentionally slamming the doors of the guest room.
When the heavy wooden door finally clicked shut behind them, the silence that fell over the apartment was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard.
I locked the deadbolt, slid the chain into place, and leaned my back against the door. I let out a breath I felt like I had been holding for four years. I didn’t cry. Instead, I walked over to the kitchen, poured myself a glass of white wine, and sat down at the clean end of the dining table.
But the nightmare wasn't over.
An hour later, as I was starting to clear the trash they had left behind, I noticed Jake’s old laptop sitting on the kitchen counter. He had forgotten it in his rush to leave.
Normally, I would have thrown it in a box to give back to him later. But something made me pause. Jake had always been incredibly protective of this laptop, keeping it password-protected and never letting me near it.
Now, it was open, the screen glowing in the darkened kitchen. He had been logged into his email.
I walked over and looked at the screen. What I saw made my blood run cold.
There were dozens of emails from a bank I didn't recognize—Apex Capital Group.
My hands trembled as I pulled the laptop closer. I clicked on the most recent email, dated December 18th.
“Dear Mr. Garcia, your application for a personal business loan of $15,000 has been pre-approved. Please submit the final co-signer signature to release the funds.”
I clicked on the attachments.
It was a loan application for Jake’s "landscaping business." But as I scrolled down to the co-signer section, my breath caught in my throat.
There was my name: Lily Garcia.
There was my social security number.
And there was a digital signature that looked exactly like mine, but I knew I had never signed this document.
Jake hadn't just been freeloading. He had been planning to commit identity theft to secure a $15,000 loan to pay off his debts to Chris and fund his lifestyle.
My stomach churned. I clicked on the "Sent" folder of his email. There were draft emails containing copies of my tax returns from last year, my pay stubs from Hartwell & Chase, and a scanned copy of my driver's license—all files he must have taken from my desk drawer while I was at work.
The realization hit me like a physical blow. If I hadn't kicked him out tonight, if I had waited, he would have submitted this loan in my name. I would have been legally responsible for fifteen thousand dollars of his debt.
He hadn't just been a lazy husband. He was a predator, slowly bleeding me dry while his mother cheered him on.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed on the counter.
It was an unknown number. I answered it, my voice shaking. "Hello?"
"Lily? It's Sarah, Chris's wife." Her voice was urgent, whispered.
"Sarah? What's going on?"
"Lily, I’m so glad you called me yesterday. It got me thinking, and I started looking through Chris's phone. Lily... Jake didn't just owe Chris six thousand dollars. Jake has been using your credit card information to pay for things."
"What?" My heart hammered against my ribs. "What do you mean?"
"Chris has a betting account," Sarah said, her voice cracking with emotion. "An online sports gambling account. Jake and Chris have been using a credit card registered under your name to fund it. I found the card number saved in the app. It's your Chase Sapphire card."
I felt the room spin. "I... I cancelled that card three months ago because I thought I lost it."
"They used it before you cancelled it, Lily. They ran up thousands of dollars. Chris told me Jake told him you gave him permission to use it as an 'investment.' I am so sorry. I’m leaving Chris tomorrow, but you need to know the truth. Jake is dangerous. He will ruin you."
I closed my eyes, a cold, hard anger settling deep into my bones.
"Thank you, Sarah," I whispered. "You have no idea how much you’ve just helped me."
May you like
I hung up the phone. I looked at the laptop screen, then at the lease on the table.
Jake thought he had lost his housing tonight. He had no idea he was about to lose his freedom.
