0927 Was Her Birthday, Not Ours Chapter 09
The day of the trial, Paige showed up.
Her lawyer argued, “Ms. Holloway received no financial benefit from this situation.”
Larry pulled up the delivery addresses, the rent transfers, the down payment on the condo.
“The new condo Ms. Holloway lives in the down payment came in part from Mr. Reese’s
account.”
“That same account received the Vance family’s hundred twenty thousand dollars. Within three days, the money moved into an investment account, then was split and transferred into the account Ms. Holloway used to buy her condo.”
Paige’s head shot up. “I didn’t know!”
Dylan laughed bitterly. “You didn’t know? Your hand didn’t stop moving when you signed the
contract.”
The judge banged the gavel. “Order.”
Paige started crying.
“He pursued me! He said Sienna was obsessed and wouldn’t let go!”
“He said that baby wasn’t one he ever wanted!”
Dylan stood up. “Paige! Shut up!”
Then it was my turn.
I stood.
“I was in a relationship with Dylan Reese for five years.”
“He repeatedly asked me for money using fake stories of bankruptcy, debt, and creditors threatening him.”
“My parents sold their only home and loaned him one hundred twenty thousand dollars.”
“He promised to repay it. He also promised to marry me.”
“The night before we were supposed to get our license, I heard Paige Holloway on a lawyer’s
livestream asking about a fake appointment page.”
“The next day, the County Clerk’s Office confirmed there was no appointment.”
“I am asking for the return of the money and for legal responsibility to be assigned.”
The judge asked, “Any further statement?”
I looked up. “Yes.”
“I will not accept apologies in place of repayment. And I will not allow ‘relationship issues’ to
cover up fraud.”
Dylan stared at me. His lips moved.
No sound came out.
The verdict came down.
The court ordered repayment of the hundred twenty thousand dollar loan. A portion of the other transfers, thirty-three thousand, were ruled as financial losses caused by fraudulent misrepresentation.
Emotional distress and reputational harm were partially granted.
The fake appointment link case was referred for separate investigation.
The first payment hit my account.
That same day, my parents and I bought a house outright,”
Not big. A two-bedroom elevator building. South-facing balcony.
I pushed the purchase contract toward my mom and dad. “Put your names on it.”
My mom shook her head immediately. “No. Yours,”
I put the pen in her hand. “It’s your house.”
She held the pen for a long time.
Then she wrote her name.
Martha Vance.
My dad signed beside her. Robert Vance.
The two of them stared at the contract for a while.
My phone buzzed. Dylan.
[Sienna, can we meet?]
[My mom’s in the hospital. Paige is blaming everything on me. The company paused my
projects.]
[I really know I was wrong.]
I texted back. [Talk to my lawyer.]
That night, the lawyer’s livestream started.
Larry’s new show: [What to Know Before the License – Don’t Get Burned.]
The first episode title went up:
[Fake Appointments, Fake Debt, Fake Devotion: Pre-Marital
Money Risks]
I sat in front of my computer, watching the chat roll.
[People really fake appointment pages?]
[If you sell your house for a guy, GET A PROMISSORY NOTE]
[Best friend and boyfriend, double red flags.]
Suddenly, a donation appeared on the screen.
Ten grand dollars.
Username: D.
The chat exploded.
[Is that the guy?]
[Ten grand to take it down?]
[Donating doesn’t count as paying her back.]
d at the donation but didn’t say the name.
A text from Dylan.
[Tell him to take it down.]
[I’m begging you.]
[Sienna. Leave me one road out.]
I opened the stream’s private messages and typed to Larry.
[Don’t take it down. Let more people avoid this.]
Larry smiled on camera. “This show won’t be taken down because of a donation.
will be refunded according to platform rules.
The money
The case details have been anonymized.”
The chat kept scrolling.
Dylan’s texts stopped for a few seconds.
Then he sent one more.
[You’re ruthless.]
I closed his chat window and blocked him.
