Bankrupting My Husband’s Fake Perfect Family Chapter 06

Bankrupting My Husband’s Fake Perfect Family Chapter 06: The Empty Cage

“Turn the volume up,” I said.

Sebastian slid his finger across the tablet screen. The audio crackled, then cleared perfectly.

On the high-definition video feed, Julian pushed the front door open. He stepped inside the house. Liam and Mia trailed right behind him.

“Dad, I’m starving. Did Mom leave any of that roast?” Liam complained. He dropped his heavy duffel bag.

Julian froze in the entryway. His leather briefcase slipped from his grip. It hit the hardwood with a loud smack.

“Where is the couch?” Mia asked. Her voice echoed in the hollow space.

“Cleaners don’t steal the rugs,” Liam muttered, staring at the bare floor.

Julian stood entirely paralyzed. He stared at the empty walls. He looked at the indentations in the carpet where the entertainment center used to sit.

“Clara!” Julian shouted. “Clara, where are you?”

Silence answered him.

Julian ripped his phone from his pocket. He dialed a number rapidly.

“He’s calling you,” Sebastian noted from the driver’s seat of the Maybach.

My phone stayed silent in my lap.

“I blocked him,” I said.

“Smart.”

On the screen, Julian cursed. He dialed a different number.

“Bank of America, premier line,” Julian barked. “This is Julian Miller. My card declined at the restaurant. And my house is empty. Fix it.”

A long pause hung in the air.

“What do you mean, zero balance?” Julian shrieked. “I have over a million dollars in that joint account!”

“He’s sweating,” Sebastian pointed out.

I watched a bead of perspiration roll down Julian’s temple. “He deserves to sweat.”

“Listen to me,” Julian yelled into his phone. “I am the CFO of Apex Logistics. If you don’t unfreeze my funds right now, I will sue your entire branch.”

A tinny, muffled voice responded through the phone speaker.

“I am the primary account holder!” Julian screamed.

He paced the length of the empty living room.

“Reverse it!” Julian demanded. “I don’t care who initiated the wire. Reverse it right now!”

The call disconnected. Julian stared at his screen in disbelief.

“Dad, my Apple Pay just rejected a twenty-dollar charge,” Liam yelled from the kitchen. “I tried to order pizza.”

“Mine too!” Mia shrieked. She marched into the center of the room. “It says the account is frozen. How am I supposed to go shopping with Chloe?”

Hearing the mistress’s name from my daughter’s mouth didn’t hurt. It just cemented my absolute disgust.

“Shut up!” Julian roared. “Both of you, shut up! Go check the garage! See if the Porsche is there!”

Liam ran out of the frame.

A loud crash echoed through the tablet speakers.

“The garage is empty!” Liam yelled. “There’s no car! Just the trash cans!”

More crashing sounds followed. Liam kicked the plastic bins across the concrete.

Mia dropped to the floorboards. She crossed her arms and wailed.

“My ski trip!” she cried. “I need that money! You promised I could buy Prada boots!”

Liam stomped back into the living room. “Dad, my friends are supposed to come over tonight! Where is the TV?”

“Forget the TV,” Mia sobbed. “My entire closet is gone! All my designer bags!”

“Your mom took them,” Julian muttered, staring blankly at the wall.

“Call her!” Liam demanded. “Tell her to bring my PlayStation back right now!”

“She stole my life!” Mia shrieked, pounding her fists against the floor.

I rested my head against the Maybach’s leather seat. A soft laugh escaped my throat.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “You find this funny?”

“Look at them,” I said. “They haven’t asked if I’m hurt. They haven’t asked if I was kidnapped.”

“They only care about the credit limit,” Sebastian agreed.

I watched my daughter throw a tantrum over leather goods. I watched my son demand a video game console.

Fifteen years of packing lunches. Fifteen years of kissing scraped knees.

“Not a single tear for you,” Sebastian observed softly.

“They aren’t my children anymore,” I said. My voice was ice-cold. “They belong to him. They share his greed.”

“You feel nothing?”

“I feel liberated.”

I turned away from the screen for a second. I looked at Sebastian.

“They made their choice,” I told him. “They chose the mistress. They chose the lies. Now they get to live with the consequences.”

“A harsh lesson,” Sebastian said.

“A necessary one.”

I looked back at the tablet.

Julian crawled toward the center of the room. He didn’t even bother to stand up.

He reached the nailed stack of papers.

“What is that?” Liam asked, stepping closer.

“Stay back!” Julian snapped.

Julian grabbed the top sheet. He read my handwritten note.

“Pay the rest of the Porsche yourself,” Julian whispered.

His face twisted in confusion. Then, he yanked the paper upward. The rusty nail tore a jagged hole through the thick stack.

He tossed the note aside. He stared at the divorce settlement.

“She filed,” Julian choked out.

He flipped the page. He saw the printed offshore bank ledgers. He saw the highlighted transfers to Chloe’s account.

“What does it say?” Mia whined, rubbing her eyes.

“Shut up,” Julian hissed.

He flipped another page. He reached the Apex Logistics termination draft I had printed.

His hands shook violently. The papers rattled loud enough for the microphone to pick up the sound.

“He sees the Cayman transfers,” I said to Sebastian.

“He recognizes the corporate letterhead,” Sebastian corrected.

Julian dropped the papers. He slumped forward, his palms pressing flat against the floorboards. He gasped for air.

“Dad, what’s wrong?” Liam asked.

Julian didn’t answer. He just stared at the nail hole in the wood. His face turned a sickly, pale gray.

My cell phone vibrated on the center console.

Julian had bypassed the block by using Liam’s phone. The caller ID flashed my son’s name.

“Right on schedule,” Sebastian mused. “Put him on speaker.”

I swiped the green icon.

“Clara!” Julian screamed. The audio from the phone perfectly matched the tablet feed. “What did you do?!”

I stayed perfectly silent.

“Answer me!” Julian howled. “Where is my money? Where is my furniture? I’ll ruin you!”

“You ruined yourself, Julian,” I finally said. My tone was flat, devoid of any emotion.

“You stole everything!” he yelled. “You left your own kids with nothing!”

“I left them with their father,” I replied. “And his mistress.”

“I will drag you through court!” Julian threatened. “I will take every penny back!”

Sebastian shifted in the driver’s seat. He uncrossed his legs.

He leaned over the console. He brought his mouth inches from the microphone.

“The smartest thing she ever did,” Sebastian drawled, his voice thick with lazy arrogance, “was dump a loser like you.”

Sebastian tapped the red button.

The line went dead.