He Tricked Me With Fake Papers, So I Sued for a Million Chapter 05

He Tricked Me With Fake Papers, So I Sued for a Million Chapter 05

Adrian was enjoying his private getaway with Vanessa when his phone began buzzing nonstop.

The mortgage payment had failed. The utilities were past due. The hospital billing office was demanding payment.

Irritated, he pushed Vanessa away and began adding up the charges one by one.

The total came to more than forty-five hundred dollars.

“What the hell is wrong with Lauren?”

He called me, but the call would not go through.

Only then did he remember that I had blocked him a few days earlier.

Adrian slammed his fist onto the table. “Mom’s hospital bill hasn’t even been paid. What is she doing?”

Vanessa carefully poured him a glass of wine.

“You think you know someone. Maybe she’s pulling another stunt on purpose.”

Adrian ignored her and called his mother.

The moment she answered, Adrian’s mother began complaining through her tears.

“That little bitch Lauren hasn’t shown her face in days. The hospital keeps calling about the bill. I’ve never been so humiliated.”

“You need to bring her back. That private aide you hired for me is

—

completely useless.”

Adrian rubbed his brow, his head beginning to pound.

Sensing his frustration, Vanessa moved behind him and gently massaged his shoulders.

“She was never legally married to you anyway. Why don’t you just get rid of her?”

Instead of responding to Vanessa’s probing suggestion, Adrian exploded.

“If she leaves, who’s going to take care of the house? Are you going to take care of Mom?”

“And if you ever tell her the truth, you’ll regret it.”

Vanessa had never seen him that furious before. She immediately fell silent.

A wave of unease swept through Adrian. If Lauren had not spent all those years keeping everything at home running, how could he possibly have had the time or money to enjoy himself with Vanessa?

The more he thought about it, the more agitated he became. That night, he drove home.

Since buying the place and making Lauren believe they were married, he had come home only once a year.

He knew the route so poorly that he had to follow his GPS every time just to find the right building in his own complex.

When he opened the door, he froze.

—

The home was completely dark.

Only then did he remember that the electric bill had gone unpaid.

“Lauren.”

He called my name, but the empty rooms were unnaturally quiet. The only answer was the echo of his own voice.

Using the flashlight on his phone, Adrian searched the home room by room.

There was no sign of me anywhere. The bedroom closet and my vanity had both been emptied.

Only then did he realize that I had not been bluffing when I packed my suitcase.

I had truly left.

Exhausted, he collapsed onto the couch and closed his eyes, regret beginning to settle over him.

He remembered spending two full days visiting four furniture stores before choosing that couch.

Back then, he had told me excitedly, “It’s big enough for both of us to stretch out and watch TV together when we’re home.”

But after we began living together, the bills, daily responsibilities, and the burden of supporting his parents became things he did not want to face.

He started avoiding them and leaving every mess to me.

—

The realization made him sit up sharply.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a stack of papers on the coffee table.

He picked them up and found printed bank records.

Each payment had been labeled: mortgage, medical expenses, HOA dues, and household bills. Over five years, the total came to more than one hundred sixty-five thousand dollars.

At the bottom of the last page was a note in my handwriting.

[My lawyer will be contacting you about every dollar.]

Adrian crushed the papers in his fist and kicked the couch in frustration.

His phone vibrated with a voice message from Vanessa.

Vanessa: [Adrian, are you home? Is Lauren there? I can come keep you company.]

Vanessa had always been his escape from real life. Hearing her voice usually made him relax.

This time, it only irritated him.

He closed the message without replying, but before he could put his phone away, a call came in from an unfamiliar number.

“Mr. Mercer, did you receive the documents? If you don’t contact me within three days to discuss a settlement, we’ll see you in court.”

“Your little scheme may have fooled Lauren, but it doesn’t fool me.

—

You gave her a forged marriage certificate and used her money under false pretenses for five years. Think carefully about what that will mean in court.”

Adrian gripped the phone without speaking.

He had never expected me to discover everything he had done.

After a brief pause, Tessa continued, “One more thing. Lauren has blocked your mother on Messenger and blocked her number. Your mother couldn’t reach her and also posted a video online spreading lies about her. I’ve saved copies of it, and we’ll be pursuing that as well.”

Before Adrian could respond, Tessa ended the call.