Chapter 8 - The Cornered Rats
Three months later.
The County Detention Center sat on the outskirts of the city—a bleak, concrete complex surrounded by high chain-link fences topped with razor wire.
I sat in a private attorney-client visitation room, separated from the inner hallway by a reinforced glass window.
Sitting across from me, wearing an orange jumpsuit, was Daniel.
He looked unrecognizable. His hands were calloused, his skin pale, his eyes wide and hollow. The arrogant, smooth-talking man I had been married to for six years had been completely replaced by a broken, terrified prisoner facing a mandatory minimum of twelve years in federal prison.
"Thank you for coming, Emma," Daniel whispered into the intercom phone, his voice shaking.
"You have five minutes, Daniel," I said, holding my phone receiver to my ear. "Your attorney said you had information regarding the remaining hidden assets."
"I don't care about the assets anymore, Emma," Daniel wept, pressing his hand against the glass window. "I'll sign the full confession. I'll testify against Vanessa for the insurance fraud. I'll give the prosecutors everything they need to put her away for ten years."
I raised an eyebrow. "You're turning on her?"
"She ruined me!" Daniel spat, a sudden flash of bitter, ugly rage crossing his face. "She was the one who came up with the idea to use the shell company! She was the one who told me you were too stupid to notice the missing money! She used me, Emma! She used me for my corporate access and my money!"
"And you used her because you were weak," I replied calmly.
"I made a mistake!" he begged, tears streaming down his face, dripping onto his orange collar. "I miss my home, Emma. I miss my life. I miss you. If you talk to the prosecutor, if you ask for leniency... I can get probation. We can put this behind us—"
"Put this behind us?" I let out a soft, incredulous laugh. "Daniel, do you know where I went yesterday?"
He shook his head slowly.
"I went to the cemetery," I said, leaning closer to the glass. "I brought fresh pink lilies to Sofia’s grave. I sat there for two hours in the cold wind, listening to the quiet."
Daniel swallowed hard, lowering his eyes in shame.
"While I was sitting there," I continued, "I remembered the night Sofia had her second surgery last year. You called me five times complaining that you couldn't find your golf clubs, while I was holding a cup of ice chips to her lips because her throat was raw from the breathing tube."
"Emma, please..."
"You aren't in this orange jumpsuit because Vanessa seduced you, Daniel," I said, standing up from my chair and adjusting my coat. "You are in this jumpsuit because you were a coward who believed that kindness was weakness. You thought I was quiet because I was afraid of losing you. The truth is, I was just waiting for you to reveal who you really were."
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"Emma! Don't walk away! Please!" Daniel slammed his hand against the glass, making the heavy panel rattle in its frame.
I set the intercom receiver back onto its hook, turned my back on him, and walked down the long, concrete corridor toward the exit, leaving his panicked screams echoing behind the heavy steel doors.
