Chapter 8
My stomach tightened.
“I signed paperwork you told me was spousal verification for a foreign-currency account.”
“You signed them.”
“I did not authorize Blue Mesa.”
His mouth closed.
A tiny reaction.
But I saw it.
“You know which documents were forged.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t need to.”
He stood.
“This is insane.”
“Then your attorney should have no trouble proving I’m wrong.”
“Sarah, if the company fails, you lose too.”
“Maybe.”
“You spent years building it.”
“I know.”
“Then help me.”
That sentence nearly broke me.
Help me.
The same words he had used for years.
Help me fix the books.
Help me smooth things over with my mother.
Help me explain the expense.
Help me call the vendor.
Help me make this go away.
Every disaster Jason created eventually became my responsibility.
I stood.
“No.”
His face hardened.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
As I walked away, he called after me.
“You’re enjoying this.”
I stopped.
“No.”
My voice sounded tired, even to me.
“I hate what this became. I hate that I built something with you and now I need lawyers to determine whether you used my identity to hide money. I hate that I still remember the man I loved.”
Jason said nothing.
“But hating this doesn’t mean I have to save you from it.”
I left.
Six weeks later, Chloe’s attorney sent Caroline a paternity result.
Jason was not the father.
Chloe’s former boyfriend was.
By then, she and Jason communicated only through attorneys.
The Miami condo had become another legal fight.
Jason claimed he had paid most of the down payment.
Chloe claimed half the property had been a gift.
The court treated Jason’s interest as a marital asset subject to tracing.
When Caroline told me the paternity result, she watched my face carefully.
I felt no triumph.
Only a strange sadness.
Jason had destroyed our marriage for a future that had never existed.
But Chloe’s pregnancy was never the central issue.
Blue Mesa was.
Michael’s final report traced more than $1.8 million through the entity.
Not every dollar was stolen.
Some transactions were legitimate.
But the ownership records were inconsistent, several payments lacked documentation, and my identity had clearly been used beyond anything I had knowingly authorized.
My attorneys submitted an identity-theft report and notified the relevant financial institutions.
The offshore account was frozen pending review.
Reed Supply’s lender demanded corrected financial statements.