Chapter 8 - The Other Woman
The discovery of Jessica Lynn Moore didn't break my heart—it hardened it into cold, calcified steel.
For years, I had blamed myself for our marital distance, buying into Brandon’s constant gaslighting that I was "too obsessed with work," "too emotionally distant," and "not supportive enough" of his career ambitions. Every extra hour I logged at the office had been a desperate attempt to fix a marriage that Brandon was actively destroying behind my back.
The next morning, I called Arthur Vance directly at his bank office.
"Arthur, I need you to run a secondary asset trace on an external routing number," I said, my voice steady and ice-cold the moment he answered. "It’s tied to an individual named Jessica Lynn Moore. I want to know every single dollar that went from our joint accounts into her possession over the last three years."
Arthur was silent for a moment on the other end of the line, shuffling papers before replying in a grave tone. "Jessica Lynn Moore? Let me pull up the expanded forensic ledger. Give me two minutes, Charlotte."
I waited in silence, staring out the kitchen window as the morning sun glittered off the newly trimmed lawn.
"Well, Ms. Miller," Arthur said softly after a heavy pause. "It looks like you found the missing puzzle piece. Over the past thirty-six months, your husband transferred a total of seventy-four thousand dollars in direct cash allotments to Ms. Moore’s personal account. Furthermore, our records show a down payment of twenty-five thousand dollars drawn from a hidden home equity line of credit specifically used to secure a luxury lease on an apartment in Riverside."
Seventy-four thousand dollars in cash, plus a luxury apartment lease, all funded by the sweat of my overtime shifts while my daughter was forced to eat instant soup in a dark kitchen.
"Can we claw those funds back as part of the asset forfeiture and fraud proceedings?" I asked, my voice dangerously calm.
"Every single penny," Arthur confirmed without hesitation. "Since those funds were acquired through fraudulent concealment of marital assets and identity deception, our legal team can slap an immediate civil lien on Ms. Moore’s bank accounts, her apartment lease deposit, and any personal property purchased with those funds."
"Do it," I instructed firmly. "File the civil liens immediately. And let's make sure her name is formally entered into the ongoing federal fraud indictment as a co-beneficiary of illicitly obtained funds."
"Done," Arthur replied. "Consider it handled before lunch."
I hung up the phone and sat back in my chair, staring at the screen. But as satisfying as the financial takedown was, I knew a legal lien wasn't enough. People like Brandon and his associates didn't learn their lesson until the illusion of their untouchability was completely shattered in broad daylight.
An hour later, I slipped on my sunglasses, walked out to my car, and drove twenty minutes down the freeway toward the upscale corporate park in Riverside where Jessica Lynn Moore worked.
The building was a sleek, modern glass-and-steel structure housing a prominent digital marketing firm. I walked through the sliding glass front doors, projecting an aura of absolute, unyielding authority in my charcoal suit and designer heels.
The receptionist at the front desk looked up with a bright, professional smile. "Good morning! Welcome to Apex Media. How can I help you today?"
"Hi, I'm here to see Jessica Moore," I said smoothly, flashing a polite, entirely unreadable smile. "I'm an old college acquaintance of hers, and I wanted to surprise her. My name is Charlotte Miller."
The receptionist’s eyes flickered with momentary hesitation. "Oh... let me check her schedule. She's usually in her office on the third floor, but let me ring her extension."
"Don't bother," I said, my voice dropping an octave into a tone that brooked zero argument. "I know exactly where her office is. Tell her Charlotte Miller is coming up to say hello."
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Before the receptionist could hit a button on the console, I turned on my heel and headed straight for the elevator bank, pressing the button for the third floor.
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