Chapter 7 - THE DEBT
The number was $1.8 million.
I stared at Natalie across the conference table.
“Say that again.”
“Garret has approximately $1.8 million in personal liabilities.”
“That’s impossible.”
“I wish it were.”
“How?”
“Private loans.”
“Business losses.”
“Credit lines.”
“Two failed investments.”
“And a personal guarantee on a company you’ve never heard of.”
I leaned back.
My husband had spent years telling me his finances were fine.
We kept separate investment accounts because of the prenup.
I handled household costs.
Garret claimed he handled his personal investments.
Apparently, he handled them badly.
“Why didn’t this appear anywhere?”
“Because the debt is his.”
Natalie slid a file toward me.
“He also borrowed from Evelyn.”
“How much?”
“Four hundred thousand.”
I almost laughed.
“So his mother knew.”
“Looks that way.”
The pieces moved into place.
The trust.
The forged deed.
The missing prenup copies.
The changed code.
Miami.
“Why lock me out?”
Natalie folded her hands.
“My theory?”
“Yes.”
“They wanted access to the house and documents while you were vulnerable.”
“After childbirth.”
“Yes.”
“And they expected me to stay with Paige.”
“Yes.”
“Then when they came back…”
“They’d pressure you to sign the trust documents.”
My stomach turned.
“Using Maya.”
“Probably.”
I looked toward the window.
“How?”
Natalie hesitated.
“There’s more.”
“Of course there is.”
She opened another folder.
“Garret drafted a postnuptial agreement.”
I stared at her.
“I never agreed to one.”
“You never saw this one.”
She pushed it toward me.
The document transferred significant rights to Garret.
Including a claim against Redwood Crest.
My signature line was blank.
But beside it was a handwritten note.
SIGN AFTER DELIVERY.
I read it twice.
Then a third time.
My throat tightened.
Natalie’s voice softened.
“Audrey.”
“I’m okay.”
“You don’t have to be.”
“I need to be.”
“No.”
She leaned forward.
“You need to be accurate.”
“That’s different.”
She was right.
So I stopped pretending I felt nothing.
I felt betrayed.
Not because Garret wanted money.
Money could be earned.
Lost.
Rebuilt.
I felt betrayed because while I was preparing to bring our daughter into the world, my husband was preparing paperwork to take advantage of me afterward.
“File.”
Natalie watched me.
“For divorce?”
“Yes.”
“Today?”
“Today.”
She nodded.
“And the suspected forgery?”
“Give everything to the appropriate investigators.”
“You understand that may become a criminal matter.”
“I understand.”
“What about custody?”
That was the question that hurt.
I looked at Maya’s photograph on my phone.
“I’m not trying to take his daughter away.”
Natalie nodded slowly.
“But?”
“I will not let him use her the way he tried to use me.”
By 3:00 p.m., the divorce petition was drafted.
By 4:20, I signed.
By 5:15, it was filed.
Garret landed in Denver at 6:47 the next morning.
He didn’t go to Paige’s house.
He went straight to Redwood Crest.
Henry’s security camera captured everything.
Garret walked toward the front door.
Entered his old code.
Red light.
He tried again.
Red.
Again.
Red.
Then the door opened.
Henry stood on the other side.
Garret stared at him.
“Who the hell are you?”
May you like
Henry smiled politely.
“The owner.”
