{"id":28027,"date":"2026-10-02T18:43:47","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T18:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=28027"},"modified":"2026-10-02T18:43:47","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T18:43:47","slug":"part-10-megans-payment-agreement-proved-the-impersonation-was-planned-but-its-final-clause-revealed-someone-else-was-supposed-to-take-the-blame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=28027","title":{"rendered":"PART 10 \u2013 Megan\u2019s Payment Agreement Proved the Impersonation Was Planned, but Its Final Clause Revealed Someone Else Was Supposed to Take the Blame"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The payment agreement was only two pages.<\/p>\n<p>That made it worse.<\/p>\n<p>Complex fraud felt as though it should require elaborate contracts, coded language, complicated systems.<\/p>\n<p>This document was brutally simple.<\/p>\n<p>Megan Pierce would receive fifteen thousand dollars for consulting and administrative support connected with \u201cidentity facilitation\u201d and loan documentation.<\/p>\n<p>The phrase was vague enough to sound harmless.<\/p>\n<p>The payment schedule was not.<\/p>\n<p>Five thousand in advance.<\/p>\n<p>Five thousand after remote verification.<\/p>\n<p>Five thousand upon loan funding.<\/p>\n<p>The first ten thousand had been paid.<\/p>\n<p>The last installment had not.<\/p>\n<p>My name never appeared.<\/p>\n<p>Neither did the word impersonation.<\/p>\n<p>But attached to the agreement was a handwritten page.<\/p>\n<p>Adrian\u2019s writing.<\/p>\n<p>Megan\u2019s initials.<\/p>\n<p>Three steps.<\/p>\n<p>ID.<\/p>\n<p>VIDEO.<\/p>\n<p>SIGN.<\/p>\n<p>Beside VIDEO was a check mark.<\/p>\n<p>I stared at it until the letters blurred.<\/p>\n<p>Marianne pushed a glass of water toward me.<\/p>\n<p>I ignored it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo she knew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo innocent misunderstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe agreement strongly indicates she was compensated for participation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Kelsey?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStill a separate question.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at the screenshots again.<\/p>\n<p>Megan thinks this is sketchy.<\/p>\n<p>That message now sounded different.<\/p>\n<p>Not refusal.<\/p>\n<p>Price negotiation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does her lawyer say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKelsey\u2019s lawyer says Kelsey believed Megan was helping complete a process Adrian had already received authorization for.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou believe that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marianne gave me a tired look.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvidence first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel continued reviewing the folder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe agreement contains an indemnity provision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne party promises to cover certain losses or liability of another.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAdrian promised to protect Megan?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, but not personally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel enlarged the final paragraph.<\/p>\n<p>The language stated that Northstar would assume costs arising from errors, disputes, or third-party challenges.<\/p>\n<p>I laughed once.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNorthstar barely had money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo the protection was worthless.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPotentially.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Megan know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can\u2019t know from this alone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marianne tapped the paragraph.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s something else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked closer.<\/p>\n<p>If the transaction failed because of borrower objection, authorization withdrawal, or spousal interference, Megan\u2019s remaining payment would be cancelled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSpousal interference,\u201d I read.<\/p>\n<p>The phrase made my skin crawl.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wrote me into the contract as interference.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore filing for divorce.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I pushed my chair away from the table and stood.<\/p>\n<p>Every new record showed the same thing.<\/p>\n<p>Adrian had not merely planned to leave.<\/p>\n<p>He had converted me into a risk factor inside his private financial system.<\/p>\n<p>My consent was an inconvenience.<\/p>\n<p>My ownership was liquidity.<\/p>\n<p>My signature was a technical requirement.<\/p>\n<p>My resistance was interference.<\/p>\n<p>I walked to the window.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happens to Megan now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat depends on investigators and prosecutors, if charges are pursued.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan we question her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThrough proper channels.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWill she cooperate?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI suspect she will if she understands Adrian\u2019s promise to protect her came from an undercapitalized company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked up from the documents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a bigger problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course there is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He displayed a file titled DEFAULT PLAN.<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened before he even opened it.<\/p>\n<p>Inside was a one-page memo.<\/p>\n<p>No signatures.<\/p>\n<p>No letterhead.<\/p>\n<p>Just Adrian\u2019s notes.<\/p>\n<p>The language was abbreviated.<\/p>\n<p>If refinance fails:<br \/>\nK demands return.<br \/>\nM exposure.<br \/>\nShift loan app responsibility to broker processing error.<br \/>\nRachel denies? Claim marital authorization verbal.<br \/>\nNorthstar records = K management.<br \/>\nGambling = personal, pre-separation.<br \/>\nCondo = K project.<\/p>\n<p>I read it once.<\/p>\n<p>Then again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe planned excuses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes,\u201d Marianne said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore anything failed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe planned to blame Kelsey for Northstar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s what the note suggests.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd blame the broker for the fake loan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd say I verbally approved it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My chest tightened.<\/p>\n<p>The cruelest part wasn\u2019t even the lies.<\/p>\n<p>It was the organization.<\/p>\n<p>Adrian had anticipated people discovering fragments of the truth and prepared different explanations for each fragment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe expected all of us to be investigated separately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf no one had full visibility, inconsistent stories might survive longer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Kelsey was supposed to take the company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAccording to this note.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I thought about Adrian going to her apartment.<\/p>\n<p>Accusing her of stealing records.<\/p>\n<p>Telling her she had ruined his life.<\/p>\n<p>He wasn\u2019t merely frightened she would expose him.<\/p>\n<p>He needed her discredited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does \u2018K management\u2019 mean legally?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marianne answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe might claim she functioned as the actual manager or controlling participant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut he was registered manager.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWould anyone believe him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDepends on documents, conduct, access, communications.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at the folder again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Kelsey sign anything?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel searched.<\/p>\n<p>Several minutes later, he found a consulting agreement.<\/p>\n<p>Kelsey had signed it.<\/p>\n<p>Her role: business development.<\/p>\n<p>Not management.<\/p>\n<p>Then he found account access records.<\/p>\n<p>Kelsey had login access to one Northstar account for nine days.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A text message provided the answer.<\/p>\n<p>Adrian: I need you to move 20 from operating to reserve.<\/p>\n<p>Kelsey: Why can\u2019t you?<\/p>\n<p>Adrian: Driving.<\/p>\n<p>Kelsey: Done.<\/p>\n<p>That single transfer could be made to look ugly without context.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou see it,\u201d Marianne said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe gave her access so he could later say she controlled the money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I glared at her.<\/p>\n<p>She didn\u2019t apologize.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHer access began two days before that transfer and ended one week later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho removed it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAdrian.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat seems convenient.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another message.<\/p>\n<p>Kelsey: Why am I locked out?<\/p>\n<p>Adrian: New security protocol.<\/p>\n<p>Kelsey: Should I have access?<\/p>\n<p>Adrian: Better if I handle everything.<\/p>\n<p>I stared at it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe compartmentalized her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt appears so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The pattern was becoming almost architectural.<\/p>\n<p>Give someone enough access to create a record.<\/p>\n<p>Remove access before they can see too much.<\/p>\n<p>Use that record later if necessary.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he build around me?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>No one answered immediately.<\/p>\n<p>Then Marianne said, \u201cA narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA narrative where you were uninvolved, financially dependent, emotional, and verbally consenting when convenient.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I thought of the hospital.<\/p>\n<p>He had assumed I couldn\u2019t afford a fight.<\/p>\n<p>That assumption wasn\u2019t casual.<\/p>\n<p>It fit the story he had been telling everyone else.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe himself too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he tell his lawyer?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s privileged unless privilege is waived or an exception applies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCould he have lied to his own attorney?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClients can lie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happens then?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe attorney eventually has a very bad day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My phone buzzed.<\/p>\n<p>An email from my employer\u2019s conference coordinator.<\/p>\n<p>Marianne had requested documentation verifying my Chicago attendance during the fake video call.<\/p>\n<p>They sent everything.<\/p>\n<p>Registration.<\/p>\n<p>Hotel records.<\/p>\n<p>Session agenda.<\/p>\n<p>Photographs.<\/p>\n<p>And a recording of the panel.<\/p>\n<p>There I was onstage at the exact time someone else was pretending to be me hundreds of miles away.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel watched the timestamp.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s excellent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStrange compliment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marianne forwarded the package to the appropriate investigator handling the lender complaint.<\/p>\n<p>Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Investigator.<\/p>\n<p>The matter had crossed into territory where private attorneys were no longer the only people asking questions.<\/p>\n<p>I felt both safer and more exposed.<\/p>\n<p>By late afternoon, Megan had obtained counsel.<\/p>\n<p>Her attorney contacted the lender and requested that all interviews be coordinated formally.<\/p>\n<p>Marianne learned this through Kelsey\u2019s lawyer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes that mean she won\u2019t talk?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt means she has competent advice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich is more than Adrian gave her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLikely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At five thirty, an unfamiliar number called me.<\/p>\n<p>I let it go to voicemail.<\/p>\n<p>The transcription appeared a minute later.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel, this is Megan Pierce. I know I shouldn\u2019t be calling you. I just need you to know Adrian said you approved everything. He said you were refusing to appear because you wanted leverage in the divorce. I know that sounds stupid now. I\u2019m sorry.<\/p>\n<p>I played it for Marianne.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe has counsel and called you anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was unwise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs any part useful?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fact that she says Adrian claimed you approved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat helps her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPotentially.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt also helps prove what he was telling people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I replayed the message.<\/p>\n<p>Her voice sounded terrified.<\/p>\n<p>Not polished.<\/p>\n<p>Not strategic.<\/p>\n<p>Terrified.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t forgive her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one asked you to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I believe she\u2019s scared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat can be true independently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I sat down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many people did he recruit into this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRecruit may be too strong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMegan took money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKelsey invested.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis development partner\u2019s law firm was named in a fake document.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lender processed an application.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA broker was apparently supposed to take blame.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd somehow I\u2019m the one he described as difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marianne almost smiled.<\/p>\n<p>Then Daniel\u2019s phone rang on the video call.<\/p>\n<p>He muted himself.<\/p>\n<p>We waited.<\/p>\n<p>When he returned, he looked serious.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just got confirmation on one of the other properties listed in the exit spreadsheet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe parcel I didn\u2019t recognize?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot in Broward County.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOwned by Northstar?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho owns it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA company controlled by Adrian\u2019s business partner, Jason Miller.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The initials from the gambling notebook flashed into my mind.<\/p>\n<p>J.M.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJason Miller?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does that have to do with the debt?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need more records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He sighed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe notebook listed J.M. with a negative figure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He told me.<\/p>\n<p>Forty thousand dollars.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAdrian owes Jason?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOr Jason owes Adrian?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marianne leaned in.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCheck transfers between Northstar and Miller\u2019s entities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI already started.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We waited.<\/p>\n<p>Several minutes passed.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel\u2019s expression tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are three.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDirection?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom Miller\u2019s company to Northstar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cForty thousand total.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat matches the notebook.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was the memo?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel read them.<\/p>\n<p>Bridge.<\/p>\n<p>Bridge 2.<\/p>\n<p>Final bridge.<\/p>\n<p>Marianne looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose sound like loans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Adrian borrowed from his partner too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPotentially.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd put Jason\u2019s property in the exit spreadsheet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No one knew.<\/p>\n<p>Then Daniel opened the property records.<\/p>\n<p>A recent filing existed against the lot.<\/p>\n<p>A private lien.<\/p>\n<p>Held by Northstar.<\/p>\n<p>I stared at the screen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNorthstar has a lien on Jason\u2019s property?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor how much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Forty thousand.<\/p>\n<p>I sat back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Jason gave Adrian forty thousand, and Adrian\u2019s company got security over Jason\u2019s land?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat would be backward if Jason were the lender.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExactly,\u201d Daniel said.<\/p>\n<p>The room went quiet.<\/p>\n<p>Something about the transaction did not fit.<\/p>\n<p>Either the money had been described incorrectly.<\/p>\n<p>Or the lien had.<\/p>\n<p>Marianne picked up her pen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFind the underlying agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n<p>That evening, he found it.<\/p>\n<p>The lien supposedly secured forty thousand dollars Jason owed Northstar.<\/p>\n<p>But the bank records showed the opposite.<\/p>\n<p>Jason\u2019s company had sent forty thousand dollars to Northstar.<\/p>\n<p>The paperwork reversed creditor and debtor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>Marianne answered slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo make Northstar appear to own a receivable and secured asset.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo its balance sheet looked stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor the lender?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor investors?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor Kelsey?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel added, \u201cOr all three.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at the fake asset.<\/p>\n<p>My house was one manufactured promise.<\/p>\n<p>Jason\u2019s land was another.<\/p>\n<p>Northstar\u2019s appearance of solvency had been built partly from documents that described reality backward.<\/p>\n<p>Then Marianne received a message from Jason\u2019s attorney.<\/p>\n<p>He had obtained counsel too.<\/p>\n<p>The message was concise.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Miller disputes all representations that he owed Northstar money and states Mr. Hale requested the lien solely as temporary transaction support.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Marianne.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTemporary transaction support means fake collateral.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn plain language, potentially.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs everyone going to claim Adrian tricked them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome may be telling the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cConvenient.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does Jason say about the forty thousand?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe says it was a personal loan to Adrian routed through Northstar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen Adrian owes him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is his position.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd the paperwork says Jason owes Adrian.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I shook my head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe turned debts into assets on paper.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is increasingly what it looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marianne\u2019s phone rang again.<\/p>\n<p>This time she listened, thanked the caller, and hung up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe lender has suspended the entire application permanently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd referred the identity issue to its fraud department.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlso good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course there was.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe original application contains a net-worth statement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I felt my stomach sink.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Adrian claim?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marianne looked directly at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat he and you jointly controlled more than three million dollars in assets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere did he get three million?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe house. Northstar\u2019s supposed receivables. The condo value. Retirement accounts. Business interests.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe counted things he didn\u2019t own.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThings I owned.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThings Kelsey funded.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThings Jason apparently lent him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo he wasn\u2019t just borrowing against my house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was using every person around him to make himself look wealthy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marianne closed the file.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And for the first time, I understood why Adrian had looked so composed when he served me in the hospital.<\/p>\n<p>He hadn\u2019t merely expected a divorce.<\/p>\n<p>He had expected the final piece of his financial illusion to become real.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=28028\">Click here to continue reading: PART 11: Once Northstar\u2019s False Wealth Began Collapsing, Adrian Changed Tactics and Offered Me Something He Had Never Given Before: The Truth<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The payment agreement was only two pages. That made it worse. Complex fraud felt as though it should require elaborate contracts, coded language, complicated systems. This document was brutally simple. &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28027"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28062,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28027\/revisions\/28062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}