Chapter 25
After Ezra leaves, I can’t stop thinking about Veronica. Veronica Chesson.
Who is this woman?
I am determined to find out.
I grab the homemade kombucha from my fridge, which has been fermenting in a small jar.
Kombucha has been called the immortal health elixir, so I drink it all the time.
And according to a website I found last week, it’s extremely easy (and cheap) to make at home.
All you need is a basic black tea, hibiscus tea, raw sugar, and a kombucha mushroom, which is a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. It sort of looks like a spongy pancake.
I bring my laptop to the kitchen table and rest it next to the jar of kombucha. I type the name “Veronica Chesson” into the search engine, ready to do a much deeper dive than before Ezra showed up.
A couple of profiles pop up, but none of them are the woman who has gotten her claws into my husband. It doesn’t surprise me—I’m sure Veronica is good at covering her tracks. Not to mention the fact that Jeremy would never date a woman who plastered trashy selfies all over social media.
I find a website where you can pay for background checks.
Jeremy reinstated my credit card after our last mediation session, so I can really dig up the dirt on Veronica.
It’s probably a waste of time, because I have to assume a woman like that knows how to keep her nose clean, but I don’t want to leave any stone unturned.
I take a sip of the kombucha while I wait for the background check to load. The drink is…interesting. Definitely different from what they sell in stores, that’s for sure. It really tastes…fermented.
Finally, the screen fills with information. Based on the last known address, I’m pretty sure I have the right person. I drink more of the kombucha as I skim through the page, my breath catching in my throat.
Okay, this is interesting.
Veronica has a drug possession charge in her history.
Veronica doesn’t seem like the sort of person who takes drugs, but looks can be very deceiving. This is information that I can pass on to Ezra, which will be helpful in my custody battle. Although I’m hoping it won’t get to that point.
Does Jeremy know about this? Is he aware that he’s dating a drug addict? Worse, does he realize that he’s allowed such an unsavory character near our son? How could he claim to be a responsible parent and yet allow this to happen?
I take another determined swig of kombucha.
The liquid is halfway down my esophagus when my abdomen lurches violently.
I leap out of my seat and barely make it to the sink before expelling the contents of my stomach.
I heave until my ribs are sore and there’s nothing left.
When I finally straighten up, my mouth tastes like vomit, something sour, and some other taste I can’t quite identify.
Ugh, I’m never making kombucha again.
This is Veronica’s fault too! I wouldn’t need to try to make my own kombucha if she hadn’t kicked me out of my home and left me destitute. I could buy it at the store like a normal person.
I’ve got to get to the bottom of this. I’ve got to figure out who Veronica Chesson really is and what she wants from Jeremy. Maybe there’s still a way to stop this from happening.