Chapter 19 - Three Days Before I Married Him
It was a business line of credit.
$250,000.
Opened using my personal information.
The application included my Social Security number, income, employer, and forged signature.
The listed guarantor was Hale Family Growth Partners.
The application date was three days before the wedding.
The approval date was yesterday morning.
Hours before I walked down the aisle.
Derek had kissed me at the altar while knowing a quarter-million-dollar debt had been created in my name.
My father pulled into a gas station when he saw my face.
"What happened?"
I showed him.
His hands tightened around the steering wheel.
"We're calling your attorney."
"We're calling everyone."
That night, I sat at my parents' kitchen table.
My mother removed the last bobby pins from my wedding hairstyle while I contacted banks, credit bureaus, and my attorney.
It was not how I had imagined the first night of married life.
My wedding flowers were still sitting in their living room.
The caterer had delivered leftover cake that morning.
My overnight bag contained lingerie I would never wear.
At midnight, my mother quietly asked whether she should throw away the bouquet.
I looked at it.
"No."
She seemed surprised.
"Keep it until it dies naturally."
"Why?"
"Because I want to remember something."
"What?"
"Beautiful things can be attached to terrible lies and still be beautiful."
My mother hugged me.
The next several weeks moved quickly.
Investigators interviewed relatives.
Financial records were subpoenaed.
Several of Derek's former partners were located.
Rebecca came forward.
Then Marissa.
Lauren had never married Derek, but she had been engaged to him.
Her family had paid Brenda nearly $80,000 toward a supposed real-estate investment before the engagement suddenly ended.
Tessa had almost lost her house.
The pattern grew larger.
So did the investigation.
My fourteen-hour marriage became only one chapter in a story that had been unfolding for years.
The legal process took time.
My fraudulent debt was challenged.
My financial accounts were protected.
The $45,000 cashier's check remained untouched.
I returned it to my father.
He refused it.
"Deposit it."
"Dad."
"Your mother and I gave it to you as a safety net."
"I don't need one now."
He smiled.
"Everybody needs one."
So I deposited it into an account only I could access.
Six months later, I received confirmation that my attempted marriage to Derek had been formally resolved because of his existing marriage to Allison.
I thought that would be the final page.
I was wrong.
One Tuesday morning, Emma called me.
Her first words were strange.
"Chloe, did Derek ever tell you who taught Brenda how to do all of this?"
I frowned.
"What do you mean?"
May you like
Emma whispered.
"I found another ledger."
