Chapter 7 - The Professional Guillotine
While I was on maternity leave, enjoying the quiet, peaceful days bonding with Leo, my attorney launched the financial strike against Marcus.
My lawyer, a shark named Diane, had sent a formal subpoena to Marcus’s wealth management firm for his income records. But she didn't just ask for records. She attached the hospital intake form showing Chloe claiming to be his wife, citing potential "insurance fraud."
In the high-stakes world of finance, an advisor's reputation is everything.
Marcus's firm panicked. They launched an immediate internal audit. They discovered that Marcus had been using company expense accounts to pay for romantic getaways with Chloe, writing them off as "client dinners."
On a Tuesday afternoon, Marcus was called into HR and terminated with cause. Because it was an ethics violation, his professional license was suspended pending a board review.
He lost his six-figure salary, his bonuses, and his career in a single afternoon.
I found out when Chloe called me from an unknown number.
"Sarah, you have to stop this!" she shrieked through the phone. "Marcus got fired! We can't pay the mortgage on the townhouse! I'm pregnant and we have no income!"
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"Sounds like you should have picked a better husband, Chloe," I said calmly. "Oh, wait. He's not your husband."
I hung up and blocked the number.
