Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN IN THE EMAILS
By sunrise, I had stopped feeling shocked.
Shock requires surprise.
At that point, betrayal had become a pattern.
Camila made coffee while I sat at her kitchen table surrounded by screenshots.
The mysterious $41,380 debt came from a business credit line.
Business name:
Morales Development Partners.
I had never heard of it.
But the registered email address was Diego’s.
I searched his name through every document available in our shared cloud storage.
Most husbands forget something when they’re hiding a double life.
A receipt.
A password.
An email.
Diego forgot an entire folder.
It was buried inside a directory labeled TAX ARCHIVES.
Inside were property proposals.
Loan applications.
Investor statements.
And emails between Diego and Teresa.
The first one was eleven months old.
Mom, Veronica is asking too many questions about savings. We need to move faster.
My fingers froze.
I opened another.
Teresa:
You always let her think she has more authority than she does. That is your mistake.
Diego:
Once the property closes, none of this matters.
Property?
I kept reading.
They were buying land.
Not just any land.
A rundown commercial strip Teresa had been trying to acquire for years.
Using our savings.
Our home equity.
Credit opened under my identity.
I found spreadsheets estimating they could flip the property for nearly $600,000.
Then one email made my stomach turn.
Diego had written:
If Veronica leaves before closing, we may have an issue with the house.
Teresa replied:
Then make sure she doesn’t leave.
I stared at those words.
Camila leaned over my shoulder.
“Oh my God.”
There were more.
Teresa:
She is soft when it comes to Sofia. Use that.
Diego:
She won’t go anywhere. She always calms down.
Always calms down.
That was what he thought of me.
Not loyal.
Not patient.
Predictable.
I scrolled farther.
Then I saw a woman’s name I didn’t recognize.
Lauren Pierce.
At first, I assumed she was a realtor.
Then I opened one message.
Last night was a mistake. We can’t keep doing this while you’re married.
My blood went cold.
Diego’s response:
I told you. The marriage is basically over. I’m just waiting for the right financial moment.
Camila whispered, “Verónica…”
I couldn’t speak.
Another email.
Lauren:
Does she know about the apartment?
Diego:
No.
I sat back.
Apartment.
There was always another door.
And Diego had apparently spent years making sure I never opened any of them.
I called the number listed beneath Lauren’s email signature.
She answered on the fourth ring.
“Hello?”
“Is this Lauren Pierce?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Verónica Morales.”
Silence.
Then I heard her breathe.
“Oh.”
That one word told me everything.
“You know who I am.”
“Yes.”
“Are you sleeping with my husband?”
A long pause.
“I was.”
I closed my eyes.
“When?”
“It ended three months ago.”
“How long?”
“About a year.”
Camila grabbed my wrist.
I pulled away gently.
I needed to hear this.
“Did you know he was taking money from me?”
“What?”
“Did you know he forged my signature?”
Lauren sounded genuinely confused.
“No.”
“Did you know about T. Alvarez Holdings?”
“Yes.”
My eyes opened.
“How?”
“Because I helped arrange the purchase.”
I stood.
“What purchase?”
Lauren went quiet.
Then she said, “Verónica, I think we need to meet.”
“Why?”
“Because Diego lied to me too.”
“About what?”
“About who was actually buying the property.”
I swallowed.
“Who was buying it?”
Lauren hesitated.
May you like
Then answered.
“You were.”
