Chapter 7 - THE VISITATION
Two weeks after the arrest,
I received a request for a visit.
It was from the county jail.
Derek wanted to see me.
Elena told me I didn't have to go.
"He’s just trying to manipulate you,"
she warned.
"He’s looking for a way out."
"I know,"
I said.
"But I want to see the man who thought he broke me."
"I want to see him from the other side of the glass."
I drove to the jail on a Tuesday morning.
The building was a grim,
gray fortress,
a far cry from the luxury of my father's house.
I sat in the visiting room,
my face almost completely healed,
the only reminder of that night a thin,
fading scar on my lip.
Derek was led in by a guard.
He looked terrible.
His expensive suit had been replaced by an orange jumpsuit.
His hair was messy,
and there were dark circles under his eyes.
He sat down and picked up the phone.
"Cassie,"
he whispered,
his voice cracking.
"Thank God you came."
I didn't pick up the phone.
I just looked at him.
He tapped on the glass,
his eyes wide with desperation.
"Please,"
he mouthed.
"Talk to me."
I slowly picked up the handset.
"I’m not here to talk to you,
Derek,"
I said,
my voice cold and flat.
"I’m here to tell you that the Emerald Heights deal was signed yesterday."
"Without you."
Derek’s face crumpled.
"Cassie,
you have to help me."
"Marlene is falling apart in the women’s wing."
"They’re charging us with everything."
"I know,"
I said.
"I’m the one who provided the evidence."
"I'm the one who tracked the transfers."
"I'm the one who found the forged signatures."
"You did this to yourself,
Derek."
"You thought I was too broken to notice."
"But a forensic accountant never stops looking at the numbers."
"And your numbers never added up."
Derek slammed his fist against the glass.
"You bitch!"
he screamed.
"I gave you everything!"
"I took care of you when your father died!"
"You took care of my bank account,"
I corrected.
"You took care of your ego."
"And you took care of your mother."
"But you never took care of me."
I leaned closer to the glass.
"I’m filing for divorce,
Derek."
"On the grounds of extreme cruelty and fraud."
"You won’t get a penny."
"In fact,"
"I’m suing you for the four million you stole,
plus interest."
"You’ll be in debt for the rest of your life."
"And you’ll be spending a long time in this place."
I set the phone down.
Derek was screaming now,
begging,
cursing.
The guard stepped in and pulled him back from the glass.
I stood up and walked out of the room.
I didn't look back.
I felt light,
as if a weight had been lifted off my soul.
I walked out into the sunshine and took a deep breath.
The world was bright.
May you like
The future was clear.
And Derek was just a memory in an orange suit.
