PART 5: THE CONFRONTATION AT DAWN
The rest of the night passed in a brutal, exhausting blur. Mark spent hours begging, pleading, negotiating, and even threatening. But every threat withered under the cold gaze of the facts in front of him. By 5:00 AM, he was exhausted, sitting slumped on the kitchen stool, staring blankly at the floor.
At 7:00 AM, I drove into downtown. I didn’t go to Mark’s firm. I went to the boutique cafe across the street from Jessica’s luxury apartment complex on Oak Street.
At 7:45 AM, Jessica walked in, dressed in a sleek camel coat, holding a designer bag, her eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. She looked vibrant, radiant, and utterly oblivious.
I stood up and called her name. “Jessica.”
She turned, startled. Recognizing me, a flash of irritation crossed her face before morphing into a smug, condescending smirk.
“Sarah? What are you doing here?” She stepped closer, lowering her voice. “If this is about Mark, he told me he was going to talk to you tonight. You don’t need to make a scene in public.”
“I don’t make scenes,” I replied smoothly, motioning to the table. “Sit down for two minutes. It will save you five to ten years in correctional custody.”
Her smirk faltered. “What are you talking about?”
“Sit down, Jessica.”
She hesitated, then slid into the booth across from me, crossing her arms defensively. “If you think you can threaten me into leaving him, save your breath. He doesn’t love you anymore. He loves me. And we’re having a baby.”
“Congratulations,” I said, pulling a single document from my purse and sliding it across the table. “I hope you enjoy raising that baby on federal restitution payments.”
One Comment on “PART 5: THE CONFRONTATION AT DAWN”