Our Electric Bill Exposed His Affair

Staring at the electric bill, I immediately opened the app for our smart lock. 'Has someone been in my home?' Our old lock used a separate hub that sent a notification to my phone whenever the door opened. But I scrolled all the way through the notification list without finding a single new entry. There hadn't been one door-opening notification in 2 weeks. After turning it over in my mind, I thought of another possibility. Someone might have tampered with the wiring so their electricity usage was being charged to me. Still, condos in this building weren't cheap. Would anyone who lived here take that kind of risk just to save a little on their electric bill? I couldn't think of any other explanation. The next morning, I took the early flight home, abandoning my plans for a break after the project. When I got back, my husband, Ethan Cole, was indeed out. I checked the drawers first. None of my jewelry or cash was missing, so it didn't look as though we'd been robbed. Then I opened the closet. Several outfits Ethan wore on business trips were gone, along with his suitcase. At least it looked as if he'd left town. After some hesitation, I went to the building management office and asked them to arrange an inspection of the wiring. "The condo's been empty for 2 weeks, but our electric bill is 300 dollars. Could someone take a look?" The female security guard who greeted me read the bill and smiled. "Of course. Give me a moment. I'll have an electrician come up with us." I led them upstairs. When we reached the meter cabinet, I began to doubt my theory about someone stealing electricity. The cabinet door was securely locked. They'd have to get that lock open first. Would anyone really go to all that trouble to save a little money? But if nobody's tampered with the wiring, what was using all this electricity?' The electrician opened the cabinet and inspected it carefully. "I haven't found anything unusual. Your wiring looks fine." I could only nod and offer the first explanation that came to mind. "Maybe we left the air conditioning on. I'll check again." The security guard smiled, showing two prominent canines. "Let me know if you need anything else." I thanked her. After they left, I still couldn't put it out of my mind, so I searched the condo again. There was still no sign that anyone had been there. 'This is so strange. Does an empty condo somehow use electricity all by itself?' I'd barely lain down on the bed when I heard the front door open. I sat bolt upright, grabbed the vase by the window, and positioned myself behind the bedroom door. Had whoever it was come back? Then I heard suitcase wheels rolling across the floor. I peered out and saw Ethan coming in. Only then did I put the vase down. He smiled the moment he saw me. "Honey? You came home early too?" He opened his arms and pulled me into a hug, bending down to kiss me. I was still surprised. "Didn't you say last night that you'd be away for at least another week?" His explanation came easily. "It hasn't stopped raining in Rainford. The project lead thought keeping us in a hotel was a waste of the budget, so we were told to come home and wait for an update." I considered that and nodded. He worked on outdoor trade shows. Rain at the venue really could hold things up. Ethan released me and asked, "What about you? Why didn't you tell me you changed your flight?" It had crossed my mind that he might be seeing someone else. But I'd checked the lock, the condo, and the wiring without finding anything. Besides, we both had access to the electricity account. He'd notice the bill sooner or later, so I told him outright. "Neither of us was home, but we used even more electricity than usual. I was afraid someone had gotten in. I didn't want you worrying too, so I came back to check." Ethan smiled and touched my cheek. "It was the air conditioning. I forgot to turn it off. I only remembered yesterday and switched it off remotely on my phone." At last, I relaxed. All that trouble, and it had only been the air conditioning left running. But after dinner, I began to feel that something still didn't add up. I opened our router's remote management app. In the connection history for the past 2 weeks, I found an unfamiliar device named "iPhone 18 Pro."