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All Chapters of My Husband Signed My Death Warrant. I Rewrote the Ending.: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

My hand slowly grew cold around my phone."What else do I need to sign?"Joel Yates sounded perfectly casual."The renovation plans and the paperwork for that $60,000 renovation loan we discussed. The bank said you missed one signature. Just come over and sign it."A $60,000 renovation loan.It was exactly what the floating texts said.My parents left me the house we lived in. Joel and I have been married for five years, but I could never bring myself to make any major changes.Then, last month, he suggested redesigning the master bedroom and the room we planned to use as a nursery."When we have a baby, it'll be a fresh start for us."I believed him.Just half an hour ago, I was still imagining what our home would look like once the renovations were finished.Now, the thought made me sick.I took a quiet breath and steadied my voice."I don't think I can make it today."There was a brief pause."What's wrong? My stomach's been bothering me. It hurt pretty badly just now."Joel's voice

Chapter 2

Joel didn't come home that night.My phone stayed quiet, too.I sat on the living room sofa, checking my messages and refreshing my inbox over and over until I drifted off.The first thing I did when I woke the next morning was check my phone.No new alerts from the bank.No calls from unknown numbers.I finally let out a breath of relief and got up to make myself some oatmeal.Just as it began to bubble, my phone vibrated.I picked it up and read the message:[Dear Ms. Lily Reed, your personal loan of $1,600,000.00 has been disbursed. Please make repayments as required under your loan agreement.]My hand shook, and the spoon clattered into the pot.A call from the bank came moments later."Hello, Miss Reed. Your personal loan of $1.6 million has been disbursed. Under the terms of your agreement, your scheduled repayments will begin next month."My heart slowly sank.I went straight to the bank.The account manager who met with me was Caleb Carter.I placed my ID on his desk, then show

Chapter 3

Joel stared at me, his eyes turning ice-cold.He lowered his voice."Lily, are you determined to let this spiral out of control?"Vivian immediately pleaded with me through her tears."Lily, Joel's only trying to help you. Once the police get involved, there'll be an official record. What if it affects your credit, your job, or even your ability to buy or sell a house?"Joel picked up where she left off, his voice gentle and full of hurt again."Lily, you have your whole life ahead of you. We can find a way to deal with $1.6 million. But if you keep this up and get yourself flagged as a risk, who'll want to do business with you?"The people waiting in line nearby began to whisper."$1.6 million? That's terrifying.""She took out the loan, then denied it and called the police?""Her husband seems pretty reasonable. Looks like she's dragged him into this.""That young woman beside them is crying so hard. She must be really worried about her."Joel looked at me, his voice hardening."I'll

Chapter 4

At those words, the corner of Joel's eye visibly twitched.Vivian's hands clenched in her lap.First, I showed them the text from the bank with my customer service case number."At 2:41 this afternoon, I called the bank to report that I suspected someone was stealing my identity."The representative added a fraud alert and gave me a case number.""If I willingly applied for this loan, why would I contact the bank and put that concern on record before the money was disbursed?"Joel's expression shifted slightly.Vivian's sobs briefly stopped.But Joel quickly spoke up."That doesn't prove anything."He turned to the officers."She could easily have regretted taking out the loan and decided to cover herself in advance."Vivian quietly backed him up."Exactly. Lily was already acting strange last night. Maybe she did this because she was afraid Joel would find out."I looked at her.She immediately shrank back, and fresh tears spilled down her cheeks."Lily, don't look at me like that. I'

Chapter 5

Simon placed his bar identification card on the table."I'm Simon Andrews, Lily Reed's attorney."Joel's expression darkened."Lily, when did you hire a lawyer?"I didn't answer.Simon turned to the officers."At 2:15 this afternoon, Lily came to my office for advice about suspected identity theft and unauthorized borrowing.""At 2:26, the time the bank says the video authorization was submitted, she was at my office."He opened his laptop and pulled up a timeline from preserved digital evidence."At 2:15, Lily entered my office.""At 2:19, she sat down in the conference room.""At 2:22, she began filling out a client intake form.""At 2:41, she called the bank's customer service line in front of me and asked them to flag her account for potentially unauthorized borrowing.""At 2:57, I secured her consultation notes, call log, customer service case details, and our office security footage as digital evidence."Simon slid the documents across to the officers."All these records have bee

Chapter 6

The officers accompanied me home to collect evidence.The safe Joel and Vivian mentioned was at the very back of the closet in the study.I entered the code, and my heart sank the moment the door sprang open.Someone went through the document envelopes inside.I always kept everything carefully organized, with each document labeled by year and purpose.Now, the envelope containing copies of my ID was clearly shoved back at an angle.The folder of old contracts and signature samples was disturbed too.The officers put on gloves, then removed and photographed the documents one by one.Simon stood beside them, his voice steady."These copies and old signature samples would be enough to forge an electronic signature and application documents."I said nothing.My eyes stayed fixed on the bottom shelf.That was where I kept my parents' property deed, their marriage certificate, and an old phone I no longer used.But the phone was gone.I jerked my head up."A phone is missing.""What phone?"

Chapter 7

The police quickly opened a criminal case.With Simon representing me, the bank could no longer brush me off by saying their system showed I personally authorized the loan.They suspended collection efforts against me, put any determination of my liability on hold, and provided the police with the complete system records.Every dollar of the $1.6 million could be traced.$600,000 went into Vivian's property escrow account.$400,000 paid off her old debts.$300,000 went into Joel's company.They split up the rest and transferred it elsewhere to cover various financial shortfalls.As for the supposed video authorization, the file’s creation date, the upload device, and the failed liveness checks all pointed to fraud.At first, Vivian tried to pin everything on Joel.Joel insisted she was the mastermind.But the chat logs, transfer records, and photos of the safe were right there.Neither of them could deny their involvement.On the third day, Joel's mother came to my door.She started cr

Chapter 8

The divorce proceedings moved quickly.Joel refused to agree to a divorce.From the detention center, he sent word that he would walk away with nothing if I dropped the charges.I asked Simon to pass on my answer."I'll divorce you. I won't drop the charges."Later, he changed his story.He said he still loved me and Vivian seduced him.He said the $1.6 million was only meant to tide the company over, and he would pay it back once the business recovered.All of it made me sick.What he called love was stealing a copy of my ID from my safe.What he called a temporary loan would have left me paying off his and Vivian's debts for the rest of my life.His offer to walk away with nothing meant nothing, either. There was barely anything he could claim in the first place.My parents left me this house.I owned it before the marriage, and the title was clear.For all his scheming, he ended up with nothing.The sky was clear the day the court granted the divorce.Outside the courthouse, Simon h

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