Chapter 6 - THE DISCOVERY
Taking baby Lily home was the happiest moment of my life, but the storm was far from over.
While on maternity leave, I decided to do a full audit of my bakery's finances to ensure my parents couldn't sabotage my vendors. What I found made my blood boil all over again.
I noticed a hard credit inquiry from a major bank a week before the engagement party. I called the fraud department and discovered that someone had attempted to take out a $50,000 line of credit in my name, using my bakery as collateral. The IP address for the application traced directly back to my parents' estate.
When my father realized he couldn't steal $50,000 from me because the bank flagged the signature mismatch, he pivoted to stealing my $35,000 SUV to pay off Preston's family.
I immediately handed the evidence over to Detective Vargas.
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"This upgrades the charges from grand theft auto to federal wire fraud and identity theft," Vargas said, shaking his head. "Your dad is looking at serious federal time."
Meanwhile, Preston's wealthy family found out about my father's imminent bankruptcy and the fraud investigation. True to their nature, they didn't just cancel the wedding—they publicly humiliated Chloe on social media, demanding the $40,000 engagement ring back and calling the Hayes family "penniless con artists."
