The Secret Bill Chapter 1

I was on a business trip when I got the text: the power bill was past due. A wave of confusion washed over me.

The bill was insanely high for this month, which made no sense. My wife and I were both out of town. The apartment should have been empty.

I opened the utility company’s app and checked the daily usage. Sure enough, there was a steady draw every single day, and it wasn’t small. It looked like someone was running the air conditioner around the clock.

I called my wife, Chloe. "Hey, when are you getting back?"

Her sweet voice chirped on the other end. "Probably not until next week. It's been raining nonstop, so the project's delayed. What's up? Miss me?"

I told her I missed her too, but my fingers were already booking the first flight home for the morning.

My own project had wrapped up early anyway. I decided not to tell her I was coming back ahead of schedule.

* * *

That exorbitant power bill was the first alarm. My immediate thought was that someone had broken in. I pulled up the smart lock app on my phone.

But after checking the access log, I saw nothing. The door hadn't been opened a single time in the last two weeks.

My mind raced. Maybe a neighbor had messed with the wiring, siphoning our electricity. But this was an affluent area. It seemed beneath the residents here to commit a felony over a few hundred dollars on a utility bill.

Still, I couldn't think of any other explanation.

Since my project was done, I caught the earliest flight the next morning and headed home.

The apartment was empty, just as I expected. Chloe wasn't there.

I checked the drawers where we keep our valuables. Nothing was missing. That ruled out a simple burglary. Then I opened the closet. All of Chloe's usual work clothes were gone. She was definitely on her business trip.

After some thought, I went down to the building's management office and asked them to check the wiring to my unit.

"My power bill is through the roof," I explained. "The apartment's been empty, but we've racked up a three-hundred-dollar bill in two weeks."

The security guard on duty, a young guy with a friendly smile, nodded. "You got it, sir. I'll get an electrician up there for you right away."

I led the guard and the electrician upstairs.

The moment we got to the utility closet in the hall, I knew my neighbor-thief theory was dead. The meter box was locked. No one living in a building like this would go to such lengths just to steal a little electricity.

I was back to square one. If it wasn't a wiring issue, what the hell was going on?

The electrician opened the panel and, after a few minutes of checking things over, turned to me. "Sir, I've had a look. There's nothing wrong with your circuit."

I nodded, scrambling for a plausible excuse. "Okay, thanks. We must have forgotten to turn off the AC before we left."

The security guard smiled, revealing two prominent canines that gave him a boyish look. "Alright, sir. Just give us a call if you need anything else!"

I nodded back.

Back in the apartment, I searched every room again, turning the place upside down. There was no sign that anyone else had been there.

Was the place haunted?

I was lying on the bed, exhausted, when I heard the front door click open.

I shot upright, grabbing the heavy vase from the nightstand and ducking behind the bedroom door. Was it the person who'd been squatting here?

But then I heard the familiar rattle of a rolling suitcase.

I lowered the vase and stepped out. It was Chloe.

Her face lit up when she saw me. "Honey! You're back early too!" She threw her arms around me, burying her face in my chest.

I was confused. "I thought you said your project was delayed."

"It was," she said, pulling back. "The rain in Austin just wouldn't let up. We were just wasting the company's money sitting around, so our boss sent us home."

I nodded. That made sense. Her work was primarily setting up outdoor exhibitions.

A second later, she looked at me with a playful smile. "So, what about you? What's your excuse for coming home early?"

It's not that I'd never had a flicker of doubt about Chloe, but I'd never found anything to substantiate it. Besides, she was also linked to the utility app; she'd see the bill eventually. I decided to tell her the truth.

"The power bill was crazy high, even with both of us gone," I said. "I was worried someone had gotten in, so I came back to check. I didn't want to worry you."

To my surprise, Chloe giggled. "Oh, that! It's because we forgot to turn off the AC when we left! I only noticed it yesterday and shut it off remotely."

A wave of relief washed over me. So it was all just a false alarm.

But later that night, after dinner, something still felt off. I opened my network manager app and checked the connection history. There was a new device listed: an iPhone 16 Plus.