Chapter 7 - Unraveling the Web
While Patricia was being processed into the Maricopa County Fourth Avenue Jail, Marcus Vance and I were sitting across from an emergency family court judge.
Thanks to the airtight video evidence and the criminal charges filed by the district attorney, the judge signed every emergency motion Marcus presented without hesitation. An absolute restraining order was issued. Patricia’s access to every joint bank account, credit facility, and marital asset was completely frozen. Sole temporary possession of the family residence and all vehicles was transferred to me.
By 2:00 PM, Marcus had summoned a forensic accounting team to dig into our historical tax returns and personal accounts. What they uncovered in four hours made the eighteen-thousand-dollar scrap yard deal look like pocket change.
"She took out three separate merchant cash advances against your signature over the past eighteen months, Javier," Marcus explained, pointing to a labyrinthine spreadsheet on his conference display. "She defaulted on two of them. She took out a eighty-thousand-dollar home equity line of credit by having an accomplice impersonate you at a mobile notary signing."
"How much total debt did she generate?" I asked, numbness settling over the anger.
"Just under four hundred and twenty thousand dollars," Marcus replied grimly. "She burned through your retirement 401(k) liquidations that you thought were being reinvested into index funds. Every time you got an electronic statement, she intercepted it through a ghost email address she routed from your home IP."
"Can they come after Daniela or me for that debt?"
"Daniela is completely shielded," Marcus said firmly. "We're filing identity theft affidavits with the Federal Trade Commission and every credit bureau today. Because her signatures were brazenly forged while she was a registered full-time college student with zero independent income, the creditors don't have a legal leg to stand on. As for you... the home equity fraud is a felony. The title company’s insurance policy will have to absorb the loss because their mobile notary failed to properly verify your thumbprint and state ID."
My phone chimed. It was the head nurse from Banner Health.
"Mr. Hernandez? Your daughter is asking for you. The doctors have cleared her for discharge into your custody."
I stood up, adjusting my jacket. "Send the final divorce paperwork to her cell, Marcus. I don't want a settlement conference. I don't want mediation. If she wants to fight, tell her we will play the 4K video of her cracking our daughter’s head open in front of a jury of twelve Phoenix parents."
May you like
Marcus gave a tight, professional nod. "She won't fight, Javier. She’s looking at five to ten years in Perryville Women's Prison. She has no leverage left."
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