The moment the door closed, the sobs hit so hard I scared Lily awake.
She came into the kitchen dragging her blanket and asked the question I’d been trying not to think about all day:
“Are we gonna lose the apartment?”
I lied and told her no.
That night, after she fell asleep on the couch beside my laptop, I opened my work email one last time to forward myself tax forms and insurance information before they locked me out completely.
That’s when I saw it.
An email my boss accidentally sent to the entire management group instead of just one person.
Subject line:
“Tomorrow :)”
Below it was a hotel reservation confirmation for him and the woman who took my job. Oceanfront suite. Two guests. Paid for with the company card.
Then I noticed the attachment underneath.
My stomach dropped.
It was my termination paperwork.
Already signed three weeks before I’d even been fired.
Including the date.
The exact same day he wrote me up for “budget cuts” during a meeting where he hugged me afterward and said:
“You’re family here.”