Part 13
The heavy metal doors of the county jail slid open with a loud,
industrial groan,
and Daniel was led into the small,
bleak visitor's room.
He wore an orange jumpsuit that was two sizes too big,
making him look small,
deflated,
and completely ridiculous.
His hands were handcuffed to a chain around his waist,
clinking loudly with every step he took.
Sitting behind the thick Plexiglas partition was Tessa,
her face pale and free of the expensive makeup she usually wore.
Daniel slumped into the metal chair,
picking up the plastic telephone receiver with a trembling hand.
"Tessa,"
he gasped,
his voice cracking with a desperate,
pathetic urgency.
"You have to get me out of here."
"The bail is too high,
but there must be a way."
"Talk to your father,
tell him to use his hidden bonds."
Tessa looked at him through the glass,
her eyes filled not with love or sympathy,
but with a bitter,
burning hatred.
"My father doesn't have any hidden bonds,
Daniel,"
she said,
her voice flat and completely devoid of emotion through the electronic speaker.
"Clara took everything."
"Our accounts are frozen,
our cards are canceled,"
"and we are being evicted from our home on Friday."
Daniel froze,
his mouth opening slightly as the horror of her words washed over him.
"No,"
"no,
she can’t do that!"
he stammered,
pounding his handcuffed fist against the metal counter.
"That money was legally transferred!"
"It was fraud,
Daniel,"
Tessa interrupted,
her voice rising slightly with a sharp,
accusatory edge.
"You lied to us."
"You told us you had everything under control,
that Clara was too stupid to notice."
"But she knew the whole time."
"She used us to trap you,
and now we are ruined because of your stupidity."
"My stupidity?"
Daniel hissed,
his eyes narrowing with a sudden,
vicious rage.
"You were the one who wanted the expensive cruise,
Tessa!"
"You were the one who demanded a five-carat diamond ring before the year ended!"
"I did this to satisfy your endless greed!"
"Don't try to blame me for your own choices!"
"I am leaving,
Daniel,"
Tessa said quietly,
standing up from her chair and adjusting her cheap coat.
"I didn't come here to help you."
"I came here to tell you that I am cooperating with the prosecution."
"I gave them your personal laptop password this morning."
"I told them everything you said about the offshore accounts."
Daniel’s face drained of all color,
his eyes widening in pure,
unadulterated terror as he stared at her.
"You... you did what?"
he whispered,
the phone receiver slipping slightly from his fingers.
"I am saving myself,"
she replied,
staring at him with a cold,
uncaring gaze.
"Goodbye,
Daniel."
"Have a nice life in prison."
She hung up the receiver,
turning her back on him as she walked out of the room without looking back once.
Daniel screamed a curse,
May you like
slamming the receiver against the glass partition until the guards rushed forward,
tackling him to the floor and dragging him back to his cell in total darkness.
