Chapter 5 - The Forensic Discovery
Monday morning brought a new revelation.
As a forensic accountant,
I had access to tools that most people didn't know existed.
I decided to run a deeper check on Randy’s social security number.
I wanted to see if there were any other surprises he had left for me.
What I found made my blood run cold.
Randy hadn't just been lazy,
he had been active.
He had opened three credit cards in my name over the last year.
He had forged my signature on applications,
using my high credit score to get massive limits.
The balances were nearly maxed out.
Tequila,
designer clothes,
trips he claimed were "business meetings."
He had been stealing from me right under my nose.
The calculated rage I had felt at the restaurant returned,
but it was sharper now.
It wasn't just humiliation,
it was a crime.
I spent the morning gathering the evidence.
I called the credit card companies,
noted the dates of the transactions,
and matched them to my own whereabouts.
I had been at work during almost all of the major purchases.
I had been sleeping while he was buying rounds of drinks for his friends.
I didn't call the police yet,
I wanted more.
I looked into his "toxic" jobs.
It turned out he hadn't been fired because the bosses were unfair.
He had been fired for embezzlement in two of them.
Small amounts,
just enough to avoid a major investigation,
but enough to get him escorted out.
He was a professional parasite,
a man who moved from one host to another,
leaving a trail of financial destruction.
I felt a wave of nausea as I realized I had been his biggest mark.
I had been the one who didn't ask questions.
I had been the one who believed his lies.
But that version of Sarah was dead.
I compiled a comprehensive report,
complete with bank statements,
forged signatures,
and employment records.
I sent a copy to my lawyer and another to the fraud department of the local police.
This wasn't just a breakup anymore,
this was a prosecution.
I wanted Randy to have a record that would follow him forever.
I wanted him to realize that the "ATM" had a security system he couldn't bypass.
I sat in my office,
looking at the stacks of paper,
and I felt a strange sense of pride.
I was good at my job,
and I was finally using my skills for myself.
I wouldn't let him walk away with a clean slate.
He had tried to destroy my future,
so I was going to dismantle his.
I went home that night and felt a sense of relief.
The truth was out,
and the evidence was in the right hands.
I was no longer guessing,
May you like
I was knowing.
And knowing was everything.
