PART 7: THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF CARDS
By 9:30 AM, the board of directors at Mark’s company had convened an emergency closed-door meeting.
When Mark arrived at the office, attempting to act as though it was just another Tuesday, he was met in the lobby not by his secretary, but by two building security officers and an investigator from the state attorney’s office. His executive badge was confiscated on the spot.
By noon, news had leaked through the corporate grapevine. Mark had been suspended pending a criminal fraud investigation. Jessica, terrified of going to prison, had already marched into Arthur Vance’s office with her personal laptop, offering full testimony and turning state’s evidence against Mark in exchange for immunity.
When Mark called my phone at 2:00 PM, his voice was hysterical.
“Sarah! Sarah, please! What did you do to Jessica?! She gave the authorities all my personal drive passwords! The police just served a search warrant on my office!”
“I didn’t do anything to Jessica,” I answered calmly from my kitchen counter, where I was organizing my children’s school lunchboxes. “I simply showed her the mirror you built for her. You tried to drown both of us to keep yourself afloat, Mark. You shouldn’t be surprised that she learned how to swim.”
“You’ve ruined my life!” he screamed into the phone. “I have nothing! Do you hear me?! Nothing!”
“No, Mark,” I said softly. “You threw away everything. I am simply refusing to let you drag our children down with you.”
I hung up and blocked his number.
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