Michael called at 9:07 p.m. I ignored it. Vanessa called two minutes later from an unknown number. I ignored that too. Then came the voicemail.
“Mariana, stop acting like a child. You’re embarrassing me in front of important people. Approve the payment.”
Important people. Funny, because Vanessa had already posted a photo of herself raising champagne in the Sapphire Room with the caption: Finally being treated like the queen I deserve to be. My father slid a notebook toward me.
“Document everything.”
Every call. Every text. Every voicemail. Every screenshot. At 9:46 p.m., the club manager called.
“Ms. Salazar, Mr. Bennett is attempting to authorize charges through your corporate membership.”
“My ex-husband,” I corrected.
Then his voice lowered.
“There’s something else. He signed an authorization form using your company name.”
My stomach tightened.
“And?”
“He also signed your name.”
I sat up straight.
“Save everything. The bill, the footage, the signatures, every communication.”
The next morning, Michael appeared at my company headquarters, shouting in the lobby. I spoke through the intercom.
“Michael, leave the building.”
“You froze the cards,” he snapped.
“I protected accounts that belong to me.”
“You ruined my reputation.”
I almost laughed.
“You tried to spend over three hundred thousand dollars through my company five hours after our divorce.”
The lobby went silent. Soon after, my attorney Teresa arrived with documents from the club: the itemized bill, security footage, witness statements, and the authorization form. There it was. My company name. And below it, a terrible attempt at my signature. Michael had assumed no one would question it because he used to be my husband. Teresa tapped the page.
“Forgery. Unauthorized use of financial instruments. Possible fraud.”
Then she smiled slightly.
“And Vanessa posted half the evidence herself.”
Photos. Videos. Receipts. Champagne. The necklace. Every detail she thought would humiliate me had become evidence against him.
PART 3
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