Chapter 5 - THE SIGNATURE HE STOLE
By sunrise, I had printed the credit card application twice.
One copy went into a folder.
The other sat on Marlene's kitchen table beneath a coffee mug because I needed to see it while I tried to understand it.
My name was everywhere.
My permission was nowhere.
Marlene came downstairs at six-thirty wearing a robe and slippers.
She saw the papers immediately.
"You found something."
I slid the application toward her.
She read the electronic signature.
Then the device name.
Her face hardened.
"He did this from his own computer."
"Apparently."
"That is not a misunderstanding."
"No."
Saying it out loud mattered.
No misunderstanding.
No billing problem.
No bookkeeping mistake.
My husband had used my information to borrow money in my name.
I called Detective Reese at eight.
He asked me to forward the application through the department's secure portal.
Then I called my obstetrician.
Beth answered.
The moment she heard my name, her voice softened.
"How are you feeling?"
"Tired."
"Any contractions?"
"No."
"Headache? Vision changes? Bleeding?"
"No."
"Good."
I told her the insurance had been terminated because Gavin's employment ended.
She connected me with a patient advocate who helped me apply for temporary coverage options and financial assistance while the reinstatement appeal was reviewed.
For the first time in twenty-four hours, someone gave me a problem with steps I could follow.
Step one.
Step two.
Step three.
I nearly cried from relief.
At nine-fifteen, my supervisor called.
I had texted her the night before to say I might need emergency leave.
Her name was Carmen.
She had worked beside me for nine years.
"Do you need me to cover your afternoon enrollment queue?"
"Probably."
"Then it's covered."
No questions.
No lecture.
No accusation that I was causing trouble.
I closed my eyes.
"Thank you."
"You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to."
I almost did not.
Then I said, "My husband emptied our savings."
Silence.
"Audrey."
"And apparently opened a credit card in my name."
Another silence.
"Where are you?"
"At Marlene's."
"Are you safe there?"
"Yes."
"Then stay there."
I laughed weakly.
"Everyone keeps telling me what I'm allowed to do now."
"What do you mean?"
"The nurse told me I'm allowed to choose who comes into appointments. The bank told me I'm allowed to create separate access. The police told me I'm allowed to make a report."
My voice cracked.
"I didn't realize how many things I had stopped thinking I was allowed to do."
Carmen was quiet for a moment.
"Then start with one more."
"What?"
"You're allowed to not solve all of it today."
After the call, I took a shower.
I ate toast.
I forced myself to drink water.
Then Marlene and I drove to the storage facility.
Not to break into Gavin's unit.
To ask questions.
The manager was a square-shouldered woman named Tanya who listened carefully when I explained that my jointly purchased baby furniture might be inside a unit rented by my husband.
"I can't give you access if you're not on the lease," she said.
"Can you tell me whether he was here yesterday?"
She hesitated.
"I can't disclose customer activity casually."
I showed her the police report number.
"An investigator may contact you."
Tanya nodded.
"If law enforcement sends a request, we'll cooperate."
I thanked her.
As we turned to leave, she called my name.
"Mrs. Ellison?"
I looked back.
She lowered her voice.
"You should tell the investigator there are exterior cameras and unit-access logs."
I understood exactly what she was giving me without violating her rules.
"Thank you."
We were halfway to Marlene's car when a black SUV turned into the lot.
Gavin's SUV.
Marlene grabbed my arm.
"Get in the car."
I froze.
Gavin parked crookedly across two spaces.
He got out fast.
He was not wearing the shirt I had ironed.
He was wearing jeans, a gray T-shirt, and the expensive sneakers that had disappeared from our closet.
He had not gone to the airport.
He walked straight toward me.
"What are you doing here?"
Marlene stepped between us.
"Back up."
"Mom, move."
"No."
People near the office entrance turned to look.
Again, witnesses changed him.
His shoulders lowered.
His voice became controlled.
"Audrey, you're making this worse."
"Where's the crib?"
"What?"
"Our daughter's crib."
"Safe."
"Where?"
"I moved some things because you were acting unstable."
The word hit me like a slap.
Unstable.
There it was.
The story he was building.
I pulled out my phone and began recording.
Gavin noticed immediately.
"Seriously?"
"Where is the crib?"
"Turn that off."
"Where is the crib?"
He looked toward the storage office.
"I put household property somewhere secure until we figure out what you're doing."
"What I'm doing?"
"You closed accounts."
"You emptied them first."
"I moved money."
"Where?"
"Investments."
"Name one."
He stared at me.
"This is why I didn't tell you."
I almost laughed.
"Because I ask where twenty thousand dollars went?"
"Because you panic."
Marlene made a sound of disgust.
Gavin pointed at her.
"You stay out of this."
"You stole from me too."
"I borrowed money."
"You lied about what it was for."
"I planned to replace it."
"With what job?"
That stopped him.
For the first time since he got out of the SUV, his confidence broke.
I saw it.
So did Marlene.
"Your insurance company told me your employment ended August thirty-first," I said.
Gavin's face drained.
"You called my insurer?"
"Our insurer."
"You had no right to start digging through my employment records."
I stared at him.
"My medical coverage disappeared at thirty-six weeks pregnant."
"I was fixing it."
"With sixty-three dollars?"
He stepped closer.
Marlene raised her phone.
"One more step and I call the police."
Gavin stopped.
His eyes shifted between us.
Then he did something I did not expect.
He smiled.
Not kindly.
"You both think you know what this is."
I kept recording.
"Then explain it."
"Not here."
"Of course not."
"Audrey, come home tonight. Alone. We'll go through everything."
"No."
His smile vanished.
"I'm your husband."
"That is not an answer."
"You are carrying my daughter."
Every muscle in my body went still.
My daughter.
Not our daughter.
His.
Possession disguised as concern.
"I am not going anywhere alone with you."
He looked at my stomach.
Then back at my face.
"Be careful what you start."
Marlene hit call on her phone.
"I'm calling now."
Gavin backed away.
"Fine."
He turned toward his SUV.
Then he looked over his shoulder.
"Ask your detective about June fourteenth."
I frowned.
"What?"
"June fourteenth."
He got into the SUV.
Marlene lowered her phone.
"What happened June fourteenth?"
I searched my memory.
June fourteenth.
A Friday.
I had worked late.
Gavin had brought dinner home.
We watched a movie.
Nothing important.
Then I remembered the credit union form.
The paper he asked me to sign.
I pulled out my phone and searched my calendar.
June 14.
One entry.
6:30 p.m. - Gavin: sign CU papers.
My hands went cold.
Detective Reese answered on the second ring.
"I need you to look at something from June fourteenth."
He was silent for a beat.
Then he said, "Mrs. Ellison, I was about to call you for the same reason."
"Why?"
"Because we turned on the prepaid phone."
I stopped breathing.
"And?"
"There is a photograph on it of a loan document dated June fourteenth."
Marlene gripped my shoulder.
"What kind of loan?"
Detective Reese exhaled.
"Fifteen thousand dollars."
I closed my eyes.
"In whose name?"
May you like
His answer came quietly.
"Yours."
