Chapter 4

I reached out to Michael.

We hadn't spoken in three years.

His WhatsApp profile picture had changed, but his status was still the same: [The scariest thing isn't being lied to.]

I sent him a message: [Michael, I need to ask you something. Did you break up with me because you found out I was listed as married?]

Twenty minutes later, Michael finally replied: [Yeah.]

Claire: [Where did you find out?]

Michael: [The court house.]

Claire: [You seriously went to the court house to check?]

Michael: [My mom made me check. We were talking about getting married, and she wanted to be sure. Don't take it personally, it's standard procedure.]

I stared at the screen.

We were talking about getting married.

Yeah, we really did talk about it.

He even said he wanted me to meet his folks.

And then, out of nowhere, he broke up with me.

Claire: [What did you find?]

Michael: [Married. Registered in 2018. Spouse: David.]

I stared at those words on the screen.

My fingers went numb.

Claire: [Why didn't you ask me?]

After a while, he replied: [I talked to your roommate. She said you'd never mentioned being married. I figured you were lying to me. If you could hide something as big as a marriage, how was I supposed to trust anything else?]

I set my phone down.

I gazed out the window, my mind a mess.

The sky outside was fading into dusk, shadows stretching across the city.

One by one, the streetlights lit up, casting a pale glow on everything below.

It wasn't that he didn't love me.

He believed I'd lied to him.

And me? I never even knew I was married in the records.

I never knew the real reason I lost him.

I was kept in the dark the whole time.

He was as much in the dark as I was.

The only people who actually knew what was going on were my parents, Linda, and Emily.

They were fully aware of everything.

But they never breathed a word.

I grabbed my phone.

I sent Michael a final message: [I've never been married. Someone stole my identity and got married in my name. I just found out.]

I didn't bother waiting for his reply.

I put my phone down.

I pulled out a piece of paper.

I started writing down everything I'd lost so far: [First, Michael.

[Second, the 450-square-foot apartment in the city.

[Third, my credit report.

[Fourth, those years when I should have been single, from twenty-two to thirty.]

Then, at the very bottom, I wrote: [Someone has to give it all back to me.]

I made a call.

Sophie Harris.

My college roommate.

Now she works as a lawyer at a firm downtown.

"Sophie, I need your advice on something," I said.

"Speak," Sophie said.

"Someone faked my ID and got married under my name at the court house. It's been eight years now."

There was a two-second pause on the other end.

"Who?" Sophie asked.

"My cousin, Emily."

"Does your family know?"

"Yes, even my parents."

Sophie took a deep breath. "Claire, forging someone's ID is a crime. And if they used your name for a credit card, that's credit card fraud, too."

"Okay."

"So, what do you want to do about it?"

"I want to know everything first. Then I'll decide."

"Do you want me to send a legal letter?"

I thought about it for a second. "Not yet.

"But keep it ready for me in case."

"Alright. I'll make a checklist for you. Grab whatever documents you can find."

"Thanks."

"Claire."

"Yeah?"

"Be careful. If your family realizes you're gathering evidence, they might start coordinating their stories."

"I know."

"Don't tip them off yet."

"I know."

I hung up.

Then I opened my phone's notes app and jotted down the checklist Sophie gave me, one by one: [First, the original court house files (already got the copy).

[Second, David's personal information.

[Third, Emily's original marriage records (the divorce certificate from her first marriage).

[Fourth, the credit card account paperwork.

[Fifth, the Carters' dowry payment records.]

I added one more thing myself: [Sixth, what exactly did my parents get from all this?]