Chapter 2 - The Stolen Lifeline
I stood on the sidewalk, staring at the name of the loan shark printed on the legal document.
His name was Victor Vance, a man known for destroying lives and seizing properties across the city.
My mother and sister had not only spent the hundred thousand dollars I sent them.
They had used my military income to secure a massive, high-interest loan from a dangerous criminal.
I folded the paper, slid it into my jacket pocket, and walked briskly back to the house.
I needed to get Gwen out of that damp storage room before I did anything else.
I slipped through the back gate, avoiding the kitchen windows where Margaret and Paige were still planning their shopping sprees.
I found Gwen sitting on the edge of a broken cot, shivering in the morning air.
I wrapped my heavy military jacket around her shoulders and helped her stand up.
I told her we were leaving immediately to get her the proper medical care she desperately needed.
I guided her quietly through the alleyway and ordered a private car to take us to the best oncology clinic in the city.
When we arrived, I used my emergency combat savings to pay for a premium, same-day consultation.
A kind, elderly doctor named Dr. Evans examined Gwen while I paced nervously in the waiting room.
An hour later, Dr. Evans called me into his office with a deeply concerned look on his face.
He confirmed that Gwen had a highly aggressive, but entirely treatable, form of cancer.
He told me she needed immediate surgery to remove the tumor before it spread to her vital organs.
I did not hesitate for a single second.
I told him to schedule the surgery for the following week and promised I would cover all the expenses.
Dr. Evans sighed heavily and took off his glasses.
He looked at me with a mixture of pity and intense confusion.
He asked me why I was paying entirely out of pocket when Gwen had an excellent military spouse health insurance policy.
I frowned, explaining that my mother had told me the military canceled the policy due to a paperwork error.
Dr. Evans shook his head slowly, pulling up Gwen’s digital medical file on his computer screen.
He turned the monitor toward me so I could see the official insurance records.
The policy had never been canceled by the military.
It had been manually terminated six months ago by someone claiming to be Gwen’s legal proxy.
And right next to the cancellation notice was a record of a massive cash payout.
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Whoever canceled her life-saving insurance had cashed out the policy's equity for fifty thousand dollars.
And the signature on the fraudulent proxy form belonged directly to my sister, Paige.
