Chapter 8 - THE PRISON VISIT
Two weeks later.
The King County Correctional Facility was cold, sterile, and smelled of industrial bleach and bad cafeteria food.
I sat behind the thick plexiglass window of the visitor's booth, waiting.
When the heavy steel door on the other side opened, Daniel walked in, flanked by a guard. He was wearing a bright orange jumpsuit, his hair buzzed short, his face hollow and covered in dark stubble. The arrogance that had once defined his every movement had been completely stripped away, leaving nothing but a bitter, defeated man.
He picked up the black telephone receiver, his eyes locked on mine with a mixture of hatred and desperation.
"Vivienne," he whispered, his voice cracking through the static of the phone line. "You... you have to help me. The lawyers... they’re saying I’m looking at fifteen years. They won't let me out on bail. My mother... they’re living in a tiny apartment in Tacoma, Vivienne. They don't have any money."
"I know," I said, my voice calm, almost conversational. "I’m the one who frozen their accounts, Daniel. I’m the one who evicted them."
"Please," he begged, his hand pressing against the glass. "I’m sorry. I was angry... I didn't mean to hurt you. I was stressed about the company. You have to tell the prosecutor to drop the assault charges. If you drop the assault, my lawyer says we can negotiate a plea deal for the financial stuff."
"No," I said.
"Vivienne, please!" he cried, tears finally spilling down his cheeks. "We’re family! We stood at the altar and promised—"
"—You promised to love and cherish me, Daniel," I interrupted him, my voice dropping into a cold, dangerous whisper. "And then you grabbed me by the hair and dragged me across a stone floor because you thought I was too weak to fight back. You thought my silence was weakness. You thought my patience was stupidity."
I leaned closer to the glass, my eyes locking onto his.
"I didn't marry you for your money, Daniel. I married you because I thought you were a decent man. But the moment you started stealing from the people who built your family’s wealth, and the moment you laid your hands on me, you ceased to be a man. You became a liability."
"I’ll do anything," he whispered, his forehead resting against the cold glass. "Just... don't leave me in here."
"The state’s case is already built, Daniel," I said, putting the phone receiver down. "Your mother and father are going to be testifying against you to save themselves from conspiracy charges. Your mistress has already turned over the keys to the apartment you bought her in exchange for immunity."
I stood up, adjusting my coat.
May you like
"Enjoy your new table, Daniel. I hear the food in Sheridan is very consistent."
I walked out of the visitation room, the heavy steel doors slamming shut behind me, the sound of his frantic, muffled screams fading into the quiet of the prison hallway.
