When Her Cheating Husband’s Luck Ran Out Chapter 09

When Her Cheating Husband’s Luck Ran Out Chapter 09 What Comes Back Around

Noise broke out across the floor.

“This is a medical record.” I turned another page. “Five years ago Sadie was diagnosed with moderate anxiety and delusional features. She buried the history and she has been on psychiatric medication ever since.”

“You’re lying!” Sadie shot to her feet, her voice climbing into a shriek. “I never… I never…”

“You did.” I took out my phone and played a recording.

Sadie’s own voice came through it, clear as anything.

“Get five men. Use people who are reliable, and don’t leave anything behind.

“Once the photos are done, push them to every platform you can and buy the top trending slot.

“Vivian has it coming. Every bit of it.”

The recording ended and Sadie sank into her chair with the color gone out of her face.

Cordelia stood up and jabbed a finger at me. “You ungrateful little brat! You…”

“Be quiet.” I looked at her once.

“You think you’re clean?” I pulled out a third document. “Three years ago you moved $20,000,000 out of the Larkin family trust to buy Sadie an apartment. Half of that money was my mother’s, and you moved it without asking her. That is misappropriation of funds.”

Cordelia’s mouth worked, but she had nothing to say.

“And you.” I looked at Walter in his wheelchair. “Since you retired you’ve carried a consulting title at Kestrel and collected

$3,000,000 a year for it. You never did one day of consulting work. That is embezzlement.”

Walter’s face went gray and his hand shook on the arm of the chair.

I turned to Adrian.

“Adrian, you told my mother she had traveled back in time, and then you locked her inside Ashmoor for three years. She came out crippled. That is unlawful imprisonment and aggravated assault.”

One document was left, and I took it out. “All of it went to the district attorney’s office this morning.

“Every one of you is going to answer for it.”

The whole place went dead silent. Adrian held on to the podium and looked hollowed out.

He watched me with resentment and rage and something underneath both of them that I couldn’t name.

“Josie…”

“I told you not to call me that.”

Hturned around to face the reporters and the guests. “Kestrel Group’s twentieth anniversary ends here.

“Starting tomorrow, the company goes into liquidation and restructuring.

“Every employee keeps their job. Every supplier keeps their contract.

“But Adrian Pierce, Sadie Larkin, Walter Larkin, and Cordelia Larkin…”

I let that hang for a second.

“The four of you are out.”

Trading on Kestrel stock was halted the next morning.

The police opened a criminal investigation and took Adrian into custody the same week.

Sadie went into Rosemont Psychiatric, and this time nobody asked her whether she wanted to go.

I sued Walter and Cordelia, and the court froze every asset in their names. They moved out of the house and into a rented room on the east side that ran under 300 square feet.

I sold the house and gave the money to Harborlight, a charity that helps women get out of violent homes.

Marcus asked me about it one evening. “If your mom knew about all this, would it make her happy?”

I turned that over for a while. “No, it wouldn’t. She never held a grudge in her life. But if she were still here, she wouldn’t stop me either.”

I never thought of it as revenge. I did it so those four would learn that everything they had done was going to come back around.

I held the rag doll with the crooked face and stood at the window where my mother had sat last.

The sky outside was clear, and the sunlight came through the glass clean and bright.

I shut my eyes and I could almost feel her arms around me again. It was warm, and nothing bad could reach me there.

“Mom, I did it. You can rest now.”

Wind moved outside and lifted the curtain.

I thought I heard something, very faint, close to a laugh. Then it turned into words.

“Josie, I’m so proud of you.”

The End