Chapter 4 - The Folder in the Hallway
The sealed property folder had arrived that morning.
My attorney, Rachel Kim, sent it by courier.
Inside were certified copies of the deed, mortgage history, marital property agreement, and financial statements.
I had requested them because Thomas and I were already separating.
He did not know I had hired an attorney.
For three months, I had watched small inconsistencies multiply.
Money missing from our joint account.
A personal loan I had never approved.
Mail addressed to Thomas from a bank in Nevada.
When I asked questions, he blamed accounting errors.
Then I found an application for a home-equity line of credit.
It listed Thomas as the sole owner of my apartment.
My signature appeared at the bottom.
It was not mine.
The application had been denied because the lender could not verify title ownership.
Thomas never mentioned it.
I found the rejection notice inside his desk.
That discovery changed everything.
The lie to Marta was no longer about ego.
Thomas had attempted to borrow against property he did not own.
Rachel told me to preserve every document.
Do not confront him yet.
Do not move money without a plan.
Do not reveal what you know until we understand the scope.
So I ordered certified property records.
The folder arrived two hours before Marta entered with her key.
She had not come to visit.
She had come to remove me.
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Which meant Thomas knew the folder was arriving.
And he needed me out of the apartment before I opened it.
