Chapter 6 - Uncovering the DamageThe next morning, I returned to the apartment to finish preparing it for Rebecca. I walked into the nursery, a room we had carefully painted a soft yellow before my family arrived. When I opened the door, a wave of stale perfume and smoke hit me.
Nicole had been using the nursery as her personal dressing room. The crib we had saved up for was filled with her discarded clothes and empty makeup palettes. But worse was what I found in the closet. The small, carefully folded stacks of newborn clothes Rebecca had prepared were shoved into a corner, wrinkled and stained by something Nicole had spilled.
I sat on the floor, holding a tiny white onesie that now bore a dark brown stain. My chest tightened with a rage so profound it made my hands shake. They had not just targeted my wife; they had disrespected my unborn son.
I threw out everything that couldn't be salvaged. I washed the crib down with disinfectant, opened the window to let the freezing winter air clear the stench, and ran three loads of laundry. I checked the bank accounts again, ensuring every card was locked. I found charges from the last week I hadn't noticed—$150 at a cosmetics store, $80 at a steakhouse. I initiated fraud claims on all of them. I was done being their ATM.
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