Chapter 4 - The Recovery
Back at the hospital,
the surgery had been a success,
at least in the technical sense.
Kenneth and Maya had been separated,
though the process had left them both with significant skin grafts and pain.
They were in separate rooms now,
guarded by the silence of their own guilt.
I arrived at Kenneth’s room just as he was waking up from the anesthesia.
He looked small in the hospital bed,
hooked up to monitors and IV drips.
His eyes fluttered open and landed on me.
"Sabrina?"
he croaked.
"It hurts."
"I imagine it does,"
I said,
sitting in the chair by the window.
"But the pain you’re feeling now is nothing compared to what’s coming."
He tried to shift,
but the bandages around his midsection restricted his movement.
"Where is Maya?"
he asked.
"Maya is in the next room,"
I told him.
"But she won't be visiting you."
"In fact, she’s currently being questioned by two detectives from the financial crimes division."
Kenneth’s face went even whiter,
if that was possible.
"Detectives?"
"Why?"
"I opened the safe, Kenneth,"
I said,
watching him carefully.
The realization hit him like a physical blow.
He closed his eyes,
turning his head away from me.
"The 14th of August,"
I said.
"Our anniversary."
"You really have a sick sense of humor, don't you?"
"Using our wedding date as the code to the vault where you kept the proof of your betrayal."
"Sabrina, I can explain,"
he whispered.
"The company was failing..."
"The company was thriving until you started bleeding it dry!"
I shouted,
my composure finally breaking for a second.
"And the pills, Kenneth?"
"How do you explain the pills?"
He stayed silent,
his breath hitching.
"You stole my chance to have a family,"
I said,
my voice dropping to a deadly low.
"You let me believe I was broken."
"You let me cry in your arms while you knew exactly why I wasn't getting pregnant."
"That’s not just business, Kenneth."
"That’s evil."
"I did it for us,"
he lied,
his voice desperate.
"I didn't want the pressure of a baby while we were building the empire."
"You weren't building an empire for us,"
I snapped.
"You were building a life for yourself and Maya."
"But here's the news."
"The board met this morning."
"You’ve been stripped of your title."
"Your accounts are frozen."
"And the police are waiting for the doctor to clear you for discharge."
"You're going from this bed to a jail cell."
He looked at me with a sudden,
ferocious anger.
"You think you can just take it all?"
he hissed.
"I built that company's growth over the last five years!"
"I have friends on the board!"
"You had friends on the board,"
I corrected.
"But when they saw the contracts with the Sheng Group,"
"they realized you were going to throw them under the bus too."
"You're alone, Kenneth."
"Just like you wanted."
I stood up and smoothed my skirt.
"The lawyer will be by later with the divorce papers."
"Sign them,"
"or I'll make sure the DA adds 'aggravated assault' to your charges for the drugging."
I walked to the door,
but stopped before leaving.
"Oh, and Kenneth?"
"The industrial glue?"
"The doctor says you’ll have scars."
May you like
"Every time you look at them,"
"remember me."
