Chapter 10 - The Desperate Bargain
The night before the deposition,
the rain was pouring in torrents,
beating a relentless rhythm against the windows of my new apartment.
I was sitting on the sofa,
drinking a cup of tea,
when the security intercom buzzed from the lobby.
"Doctor Morrow,"
the doorman's voice came through the speaker,
"there is a Mister Cross downstairs,
he insists on seeing you."
"Send him up,
Marcus,"
I said,
knowing that this confrontation was inevitable.
A few minutes later,
a knock sounded on my door,
soft and hesitant,
lacking the arrogant confidence Bennett usually carried.
I opened the door to find him standing in the hallway,
his expensive suit soaked with rain,
his hair plastered to his forehead.
He looked like a broken man,
the shadows under his eyes dark and deep,
his shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Vivienne,"
he whispered,
his voice cracking,
"please,
just give me five minutes."
"Come in,"
I said,
stepping aside to let him enter,
but keeping my distance.
He walked into the living room,
looking around at the modern,
minimalist space,
so different from the heavy,
traditional mansion we had shared.
"It's nice,"
he said,
trying to find a way to start a conversation,
"it suits you."
"Why are you here,
Bennett?"
I asked,
my voice calm and steady.
"I am facing criminal charges,
Vivienne,"
he said,
turning to face me,
his eyes filled with real terror,
"the district attorney is talking about a five-year sentence for fraud."
"You committed fraud,
Bennett,"
I said,
"you cloned security badges,
stole clinical trial data,
and embezzled millions of dollars."
"I did it for us,"
he lied,
his voice rising in desperate hope,
"I wanted to build an empire for us,
so we would never have to worry about anything again."
"Do not use my name to justify your greed,"
I said,
"I never wanted an empire,
I wanted a partner who respected my work and my marriage."
"I made a mistake,"
he sobbed,
dropping to his knees on the hardwood floor,
grabbing the hem of my coat,
"please,
Vivienne,
tell the DA that it was a corporate misunderstanding,
tell them we are working it out."
I looked down at him,
this man who had once seemed so large,
so powerful,
now reduced to begging on his knees in my living room.
And I felt nothing,
no anger,
no pity,
no sadness,
just a deep,
profound emptiness.
"Get up,
Bennett,"
I said,
pulling my coat from his grasp,
"and leave."
"You are cold,"
he hissed,
his face suddenly twisting with venom as he realized his tears were not working,
"you are a monster,
Vivienne,
you care more about your research than your own husband."
"I care about the truth,"
I said,
opening the front door,
"and tomorrow,
the truth will be recorded under oath."
He stood up,
wiping the rain and tears from his face,
and walked out into the cold hallway without another word.
As the door clicked shut behind him,
I locked it,
feeling a deep sense of peace wash over me.
The storm outside was still raging,
May you like
but inside,
the air was perfectly still.
