“I am asking for forgiveness because I was the one who brought that snake into our inner circle,” he sighed. My father had trusted Mark with everything and had given him a seat at every important board meeting. He had opened doors for him and introduced him to the most powerful business partners in the state.
Robert, our family lawyer, sat down with us and explained what they had found in less than twelve hours of searching. Mark had already promised third parties access to funds that he did not legally control yet. He had used our family name to close fraudulent deals that would have ruined my father’s reputation.
“Can we actually send him to jail for what he has done?” I asked as I looked at the legal documents. Robert looked at me with a very serious expression and nodded his head slowly. “If we can verify every single one of these transfers, then the answer is yes,” he replied.
“But first we need him to attend the meeting on Monday believing that he still has the upper hand,” Robert added. That afternoon, I received a sweet and casual text message from Lydia. “Hey girl, are you doing okay because you seemed a bit off lately, so do you want to grab coffee tomorrow?” she wrote.
I read those words over and over again while I felt a wave of pure disgust wash over me. She called me her friend while she was carrying my husband’s child and spending my father’s money. I wanted to scream at her and tell her that I knew every single one of her disgusting secrets.
But my father had specifically asked me to be patient so that we could catch them both in the trap. “Sure, Lydia, I would love to see you for coffee,” I replied with a shaking hand. We met at a small, trendy cafe in a quiet neighborhood where the trees provided plenty of shade.
Lydia arrived wearing a loose fitting sundress and carrying a large designer bag across her stomach to hide her shape. She looked a bit pale and she seemed nervous as she leaned in to hug me far too tightly. “I have really missed our little chats,” she said with a smile that did not reach her eyes.
I forced myself to smile back and told her that I had missed her as well. For twenty minutes, she talked about absolute nonsense like television shows and her boring job. Then, without even realizing what she was doing, she placed her hand protectively over her stomach.
My gaze fell directly onto her hand and she immediately pulled it away as if she had been burned. “Are you feeling sick today, Lydia?” I asked with a tone of mock concern. She turned incredibly white and began to fumble with the strap of her expensive handbag.
“No, I am fine, it is just a bit of morning sickness from some bad breakfast I ate,” she lied. The lie burned me much more than the original betrayal ever could have. When we left the cafe, I watched her walk to the corner and get into the passenger seat of Mark’s car.
He did not even wait for me to drive away before he pulled up to pick her up. I took a clear photo of them together with my phone and sent it directly to Robert and my father. Monday arrived slowly like a tragedy that everyone sees coming but no one can stop.
Mark put on his most expensive blue suit and sprayed himself with a heavy layer of cologne. He kissed my cheek and told me that today was the day our lives would change forever. “Yes, Mark, I am absolutely certain that our lives will never be the same after today,” I replied.
