My Husband Claimed He Was On A Business Trip. I Found Him At The Hospital With My Pregnant Best Friend. Little Does He Know, I Just Cut Him Off From Every Penny He Ever Stole. What Should I Do Next?

Chapter 9: The Administration Desk

He arrived at the administration desk. A clerk greeted him politely.

“Good morning, sir. How can I help you?”

“I want to extend the stay for room 305 under the name Lauren Pierce. I also want to upgrade the meal package to premium and please add the laundry charges,” Richard said, with the arrogant tone typical of the newly rich.

“Of course, sir. One moment while I calculate the total additional deposit.”

The clerk typed quickly on the computer.

“The additional total is $500 for the deposit for the next three days and the service upgrade, sir.”

“Okay, easy.”

Richard pulled out his black card—the card that was actually a perk for executives at Sarah’s company. He placed it on the counter with an air of superiority. The clerk took the card and ran it through the machine. Richard waited, drumming his fingers on the counter, whistling softly.

Beep, beep.

The clerk frowned. She swiped the card again.

Beep, beep, beep.

“Excuse me, sir,” the clerk said with an awkward expression.

“The card has been declined by the system.”

Richard stopped whistling, his eyebrows furrowed.

“What do you mean? That card has a limit of hundreds of thousands. It is impossible for it to be declined. Try again.”

“I have already tried twice, sir. The message says ‘Card blocked by issuer.’ Perhaps you entered the wrong PIN?”

“I do not use a PIN. It is a signature card. Besides, it is a priority card.”

Richard started to get angry, his voice rose, causing several people in the waiting area to turn.

“Your machine must be broken!”

“Our machine is working perfectly, sir. Another patient just completed a transaction without any issues,” the clerk replied, starting to sound curt.

Chapter 10: Insufficient Funds

Richard snorted in frustration, opened his wallet again, and pulled out a second card—the gold credit card from his joint account with Sarah.

“Use this one.”

The clerk tried again. A moment of silence.

Beep, beep.

“Same thing, sir,” declined.

“The message says ‘Insufficient funds.’”

Richard’s face began to turn red. A cold sweat bead appeared on his temples; his heart pounded.

“Insufficient funds? Impossible! That account held the monthly operating funds that Sarah had just transferred the day before. Hey, do not mess with me! I am a businessman,” Richard shouted, trying to hide his panic with anger.

“Can you try calling your bank, sir? I only operate the machine.”

The clerk now looked at him with suspicion—a look that made Richard’s pride feel trampled. With trembling hands, Richard picked up his cards, walked away from the counter to find a quiet corner, pulled out his phone, and opened the mobile banking app.

Logging in. The screen spun—a load time that seemed to last forever. Then a red notification appeared: Access denied. Your user ID has been temporarily frozen. Please contact customer service.

“Damn it! What is going on?” Richard cursed under his breath.

He tried another account, his personal account, the one he used to receive the siphoned funds. Balance: $0. Richard’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. The $50,000 he had seen the previous afternoon had vanished. Zero. Absolutely nothing.

“Impossible! It cannot be a hack.”

Richard began to truly panic. His hands shook violently as he held the phone. His mind immediately focused on one name: Sarah. Did Sarah know? No, impossible. If she knew, she would have confronted me by now. Sarah is emotional; she does not know how to play it cool. This must be a system error from the bank or an audit from the office. Richard tried to calm himself. He had to call Sarah. He had to act. He took a deep breath, adjusting his tone to sound authoritative but slightly confused.

Chapter 11: The Phone Call from “Chicago”

My phone rang; the name “My love” appeared on the screen. I was sipping a hot tea at that moment. I let it ring three times before answering.

“Hello, darling. Are you up already? How is Chicago?” I greeted him with a fake cheerful tone.

“Uh, hey, my love.” Richard’s voice sounded strained.

“Yes, I just woke up. Hey, Sarah, I wanted to ask, is there a problem at the office or some surprise audit from the bank?”

“No, not that I know of, honey. Everything is running smoothly. Why do you ask?” I asked innocently.

“It is just really weird. I was going to pay for—uh, treat a client to breakfast at the hotel, but all my credit cards were declined. The online banking is not working either. You did not accidentally block something in the central system, did you?”

I let out a small laugh, a laugh that surely made the hairs on Richard’s neck stand up without him knowing why.

“Goodness, honey, why would I block my own husband? Maybe the bank system is down, love, or maybe you hit your limit. What have you been buying this month?”

“I have not bought anything, just the usual stuff,” Richard defended himself quickly.

“It was so embarrassing with the client. Hey, honey, can you transfer some cash to a friend’s account for me? I cannot access mine.”

“Transfer?” I drummed my fingers on the table.

“Well, the company’s security token is with Hector, and Hector took a sick day today. He is not answering. I also left my personal token in the safe at home. I am out right now on my way to a spa.”

“Sarah, it is an emergency! Can you not make an effort? I need money now!”

Richard started to lose control of his emotions; his tone of voice rose. My smile vanished. I stared straight ahead. How dare he yell at me while begging for my own money?