Chapter 9 - Four Months Behind
The landlord forwarded every rent notice.
None had gone to my real email.
Someone had created a fake address:
The messages sounded like me only if you had never actually listened to me.
AARON WILL COVER THE SHORTFALL.
AARON AUTHORIZED THE EXTENSION.
AARON AGREES TO THE RENEWAL.
My name was everywhere.
My voice was nowhere.
Greg formally disputed the forged lease.
Then the landlord sent inspection photos.
Cracked vanity.
Damaged hardwood.
A broken bedroom door.
Water damage around the sink.
In the backyard were stacks of rental chairs and white decorations from BrightLine Events.
My sister had turned the rental house into storage for the party I had unknowingly financed.
Then I spotted a cardboard box in one picture.
HARTWELL JEWELERS.
The same store that had charged the joint account $3,900.
I called the store.
They wouldn’t discuss another customer’s purchase, but the clerk told me to contact my bank immediately.
That was enough.
I called Tyler.
“Where did Melanie’s ring come from?”
“She said she bought it.”
“How much?”
“About four grand.”
My stomach sank.
Christmas gifts.
The engagement party.
The wedding venue.
Now the ring.
Everything I thought they had bought for themselves had been quietly attached to me.
Then Tyler said, “Aaron, I have the ring.”
“Why?”
May you like
His voice went flat.
“Because Melanie just threw it at me.”
