Part 2My Husband Signed My Death Warrant. I Rewrote the Ending.

Joel didn't come home that night.

My phone stayed quiet, too.

I sat on the living room sofa, checking my messages and refreshing my inbox over and over until I drifted off.

The first thing I did when I woke the next morning was check my phone.

No new alerts from the bank.

No calls from unknown numbers.

I finally let out a breath of relief and got up to make myself some oatmeal.

Just as it began to bubble, my phone vibrated.

I picked it up and read the message:

[Dear Ms. Lily Reed, your personal loan of $1,600,000.00 has been disbursed. Please make repayments as required under your loan agreement.]

My hand shook, and the spoon clattered into the pot.

A call from the bank came moments later.

"Hello, Miss Reed. Your personal loan of $1.6 million has been disbursed. Under the terms of your agreement, your scheduled repayments will begin next month."

My heart slowly sank.

I went straight to the bank.

The account manager who met with me was Caleb Carter.

I placed my ID on his desk, then showed him the loan notification.

"I didn't apply for this $1.6 million loan. I want the disputed funds frozen immediately and this loan removed from my name."

Caleb looked taken aback.

"Miss Reed, our system shows that you personally authorized the loan by video and signed electronically."

"I did neither."

"But all the required documentation is on file."

"Then put an immediate hold on any further processing and retrieve the original records."

Caleb looked uncomfortable.

"The fund have already been disbursed. We can't simply freeze them. If you're disputing the loan, you'll need to provide sufficient evidence."

Before I could respond, Joel's voice came from behind me.

"Lily?"

I turned.

Joel and Vivian stood at the bank's entrance.

Joel wore the same dark jacket as yesterday. His brow was furrowed, as though he had only just found out what happened.

Vivian stood beside him, her eyes red and a stack of documents clutched in her hand.

Her face filled with shock when she saw me.

"Lily? You really are here?"

Joel strode over.

"The bank called and said you suddenly took out a $1.6 million loan. What the hell is going on?"

His voice was urgent, his eyes full of disappointment and disbelief.

If I hadn't seen the floating comments, I might actually have believed he knew nothing about it.

Vivian spoke softly.

"Lily, have you been under too much pressure lately? The renovations, work, everything at home..."

She bit her lip, and tears immediately spilled down her cheeks.

"But you can't just borrow that much money behind Joel's back."

I looked at her without a word.

Joel took a deep breath and struggled to contain his anger.

"Lily, $1.6 million is a lot of money. What exactly did you do with it?"

"I didn't take out the loan."

He briefly closed his eyes, as if his patience was at its limit.

"You're still denying it, even now?"

Vivian quickly caught his arm.

"Joel, don't yell at her. Maybe she just made a mistake."

Joel shook off her hand and looked at me, his voice heavy with hurt.

"Lily, I always thought you had better judgment than this."

"If you needed money, you could've talked to me. Why would you borrow $1.6 million behind my back?

"Now the bank wants its money. What am I supposed to do? What's going to happen to us?"

People in the bank lobby were starting to stare.

Caleb cleared his throat.

"Mr. Yates, please stay calm. Our system does show that Ms. Reed personally authorized the loan."

Joel immediately turned to me.

"Did you hear that? Even the bank's records confirm it."

His eyes were full of hurt.

"Lily, stop this. We need to figure out how to repay the loan, not dodge responsibility."

Vivian tried to reason with me, her eyes still red.

"Lily, you're only making this look worse."

I took out my phone.

"Then let's let the police decide."

Joel's expression changed.

"You're going to call the police?"

"Yes."

I called the police right in front of them.

"I'd like to report a crime. Someone used my identity and forged my authorization to take out a $1.6 million loan."