From Fake Divorce to Real Fortune Novel – Chapter 5
Years slipped by.
John, with incredible determination and the best therapy money could buy, made a slow but steady recovery. He regained most of his mobility and speech
Sophia blossomed into a bright, inquisitive girl, shielded from the ugliness of her father’s desertion. To her, Daddy was just “away on a very long trip.”
As for me, I didn’t just survive; I thrived.
Armed with the Davises’ generous gift and my own carefully hoarded capital, I immersed myself in the world of finance.
I got my financial advisor license and opened a small consultancy firm in our quiet Southern California suburb.
My knack for numbers and a genuine desire to help people secure their futures resonated with clients. My business grew steadily.
We lived comfortably, not extravagantly, in the Davises’ paid-off home.
One afternoon, while reviewing market trends, an article about local real estate caught my attention.
The state was planning a new tech park development near our old neighborhood, the one where Jack and I had dreamed of buying a house.
Property values were skyrocketing.
Houses that had been modest fixer-uppers were now million-dollar listings.
A faint unease prickled my skin.
A few days later, scrolling through an obscure online forum for expats in Mexico, a vaguely worded post mentioned a down-on-his-luck American, formerly in car sales, trying to find a way back to California, talking about a “windfall” he was owed.
The description was hazy, but it pinged something in my memory.
Jack.
He wouldn’t just let a potential fortune pass him by, no matter how long he’d been gone.
The thought of him resurfacing, trying to claim a piece of the life I’d painstakingly rebuilt, sent a chill down my spine.
But this time, I wouldn’t be the naive wife.
I’d be ready.