Chapter 4 - The Audit of Souls
The hospital wing was private.
It was white, silent, and smelled of antiseptic and luxury.
Julian had flown in the best surgeons from Houston.
They had spent four hours in the operating room, cleaning my wounds and re-stitching the damage Garrick had caused.
I woke up to the sound of a soft hum.
An IV was dripping high-grade pain relief into my arm.
The glass scraping in my chest was gone.
I felt light.
I felt like I was floating on a cloud of safety.
Julian was sitting in a leather chair by the window.
He had a laptop open on his knees.
"You’re awake," he said, not looking up.
"How do you feel?"
"Like I can breathe again," I said.
My voice was stronger.
"What did you do, Julian?"
He closed the laptop and looked at me.
His eyes were cold, but his smile was satisfied.
"I did what I do best," he said.
"I broke them."
He stood up and walked to the bed, handing me a folder.
"Garrick wasn't just a bad husband, Elena."
"He was a thief."
"He’s been embezzling from his firm for two years."
"I sent the evidence to his boss an hour ago."
"The police picked him up from the lawn while he was still tied to that mower."
"He’s facing twenty years."
I flipped through the pages.
Bank statements.
Wire transfers to an account in the Caymans.
"And Miriam?" I asked.
Julian’s smile widened.
"Miriam is currently being evicted."
"It turns out the house was bought with money she stole from the church’s building fund."
"The elders weren't very 'Christian' when they found out."
"They’ve stripped her of her membership."
"They’ve frozen her accounts."
"She’s currently sitting on the sidewalk with her suitcases."
"In the rain."
I looked out the window.
It was pouring.
A summer storm had rolled in, cooling the Texas heat.
"She always said rain was God’s way of washing away the sinners," I whispered.
Julian sat on the edge of the bed.
"I also took the liberty of filing for your divorce."
"Garrick signed the papers in his jail cell."
"I told him if he didn't, I’d let the other inmates know exactly why he was in there."
"They don't like men who hurt sick women, Elena."
I felt a tear slip down my cheek.
"I lost everything, Julian."
"My home. My marriage. My health."
Julian took my hand.
"You didn't lose anything worth keeping."
"You have your life."
"You have your family."
"And as for your health..."
He pointed to the folder.
"Garrick’s 'hidden' account in the Caymans?"
"It’s yours now."
"Six hundred thousand dollars."
"It’s the least he can pay for the yard work."
I laughed.
It was a small, shaky sound, but it felt like a victory.
"What now?" I asked.
"Now," Julian said, standing up.
"We go to the coast."
"I have a house in Malibu."
"The air is clean. The sun is gentle."
May you like
"And there isn't a blade of grass in sight that you have to mow."
***
