Chapter 3 - THE CREDIT REPORT SOPHIE HAD NEVER SEEN
Sophie reached Ava Martinez’s house soaked through.
She had lost one sneaker somewhere between her mother’s porch and Ava’s Honda.
She did not remember losing it.
Ava’s mother brought towels.
Ava brought dry clothes.
Nobody asked Sophie to explain until she could breathe without shaking.
Then Ava said, “Your mom called me.”
Sophie looked up.
“What?”
“Forty minutes ago.”
The room tilted.
“What did she say?”
“That if you showed up, I was supposed to keep you here.”
Sophie stared at her.
“She planned this?”
“I think so.”
Sophie thought about the door slamming.
Get out.
Don’t ever come back.
Then the expression on Emily’s face through the glass.
Run.
Sophie covered her mouth.
“She made me think she hated me.”
Ava sat beside her.
“Maybe she needed Mark to think that too.”
That did not make the humiliation disappear.
It only changed its shape.
Sophie borrowed Ava’s laptop.
She tried logging into the credit-monitoring service she had used when she opened her student card.
Her password no longer worked.
She reset it.
The first screen showed a score so low she assumed there had been a mistake.
Then she opened the accounts.
Three credit cards.
One personal installment loan.
Total balance: $63,481.
Sophie stopped scrolling.
“I didn’t open these.”
Ava leaned closer.
“Are you sure?”
Sophie looked at her.
Ava immediately shook her head.
“Sorry. Stupid question.”
One card had been opened shortly after Sophie turned eighteen.
Another eight months later.
The loan was newer.
All used Mark’s business address as an employment contact.
Employer:
MARCUS HOME RESTORATION.
Sophie stared.
“I don’t work there.”
“You helped him last summer.”
“For two weekends.”
She had answered phones while Mark’s receptionist was sick.
He paid her in cash.
Or said he did.
Mark had told Emily he gave Sophie $400.
Sophie remembered receiving $180.
At the time she assumed taxes explained the rest.
Now she looked at the report.
Ava whispered, “You need to freeze this.”
Sophie did.
All three bureaus.
Then she called the number on one account.
The representative could not tell her everything immediately, but after verifying her identity, she confirmed the application listed Sophie's annual income as $68,000.
Sophie laughed.
It came out wrong.
“I’m a sophomore at College of DuPage.”
The representative became more formal.
“Are you stating that you did not apply for this account?”
“Yes.”
“Then we need to open an identity-theft investigation.”
The words made it real.
Sophie ended the call and stared at the rain running down Ava’s bedroom window.
Her phone buzzed.
A message from Mark.
Your mother is having another episode. Call me before she makes this worse.
Sophie read it twice.
For two years, Mark had used some version of that sentence whenever Emily cried, questioned him, or changed her mind.
Your mom gets emotional.
Your mom gets confused.
Your mom needs me to handle things.
Sophie forwarded the message to herself.
Then another appeared.
Tell me where you are.
Sophie blocked his number.
A few seconds later, Emily called.
Sophie watched the phone ring.
She loved her mother.
She also remembered every time Emily had chosen Mark’s explanation over hers.
May you like
Sophie declined the call.
For the first time, getting away from Mark did not automatically mean going back to Emily.
