Attorney Lena Ortiz did not offer dramatic promises.
She cleared a place on her desk and asked me to begin with the first conversation about Adam's project.
I told her about the rejected investment.
Then I described the airport, the drawer, and the call to the lender.
She asked whether anyone had taken money.
I said I did not know.
She asked who was on the deed.
I gave her the recorded documents I had brought.
She reviewed them without making assumptions.
"We need a complete title search," she said.
"Could he have borrowed against the house without me?"
"I can't answer until we confirm ownership, existing liens, and what the lender actually received."
I appreciated the uncertainty.
I had spent two days listening to Dereck insist he knew everything.
Lena wanted records.
She explained that a draft signature was not itself proof of a funded loan.
A credit inquiry was not proof of a lien.
And even an application could be stopped or rejected before any funds changed hands.
But unauthorized use of my identity was serious.
She suggested keeping the credit dispute open and placing a fraud alert if appropriate.
She would send the lender a written notice identifying my objection and requesting preservation of relevant application records.
She also discussed a police report for suspected identity misuse.
"Will they arrest Dereck?" I asked.
"I cannot predict that. Your goal right now is to make an accurate report, not dictate a criminal outcome."
She reviewed Mom's photographs and chronology.
"Don't alter these images. Keep the originals."
I showed her the handwritten note.
She studied it.
"Who wrote it?"
"Dereck says he did."
"Write that down as his statement. We don't need to infer more than we know."
I told her I was staying at Mom's house.
She asked whether I felt safe retrieving more belongings.
I said I could arrange a time when Dereck was at work.
"Make a list of your own essentials. Avoid escalating the situation."
We discussed separation without deciding what would happen to the marriage.
I was not ready to say the word divorce.
I was also no longer willing to pretend that I was merely angry about a missed trip.
Lena gave me a written summary of next steps.
On the way home, I stopped by the public library.
I sat among students and retirees and reviewed the records one more time.
That was when I noticed the date on the lender's questionnaire.
It had been created two days before Dereck announced our anniversary holiday.
The airline tickets had been purchased the following evening.
I called Lena's office and asked to add the dates to the file.
An assistant told me to email the supporting documents.
I did.
The sequence might have been coincidence.
But it was one more detail that deserved an explanation.
At dinner, Mom placed a bowl of soup in front of me.
"Are you going back?"
"Not tonight."
"Do you still love him?"
I set down my spoon.
"I don't know what love means when I have to check my credit to know whether my husband is telling the truth."
Click here to continue reading: PART 6: The Appointment on Monday and the Empty Chair Beside My Name
The Passport in the Drawer and the Photograph That Ended Our Anniversary Trip
Part 5 of 16
