Chapter 6 - The Unraveling
The fallout from the deposition was spectacular.
Because Chloe and David worked at the same law firm, Victoria was legally obligated to report the potential embezzlement of funds, as some of the money had been routed through the firm's payroll system to hide it from our joint accounts.
Within a week, the partners at David's firm launched an internal investigation.
Chloe was fired immediately.
David, already on thin ice because the partners had seen my viral Facebook post and heavily disapproved of his lack of ethics, was suspended without pay pending a disciplinary hearing.
He was unraveling.
One evening, I was in the kitchen, chopping vegetables for a salad, feeling the baby kick against my ribs—a strong, reassuring flutter. My phone buzzed. It was a notification from the Ring camera on the front porch.
I pulled up the feed.
David was standing on my porch in the pouring rain. He was soaked to the bone, holding a soggy cardboard box containing his office supplies. He looked pathetic.
I walked to the door, keeping it locked, and spoke through the two-way intercom.
"Leave, David."
"Sarah, please," his voice crackled through the speaker, thick with tears. "She left me. Chloe left me. She took the money from the condo and moved to Chicago. I have nothing. I lost my job. I lost you. I lost my baby."
"You didn't lose anything," I replied, my voice steady and completely void of sympathy. "You threw it away. You tried to burn me at the stake to keep your hands clean. And you got exactly what you deserved."
"I was manipulated! She got into my head! Sarah, I love you. Please, just open the door. We can fix this. We can be a family."
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"We are a family," I said, placing a protective hand over my belly. "Me and this baby. You're just the sperm donor who abandoned us. Do not ever come to this house again, or my next call is for a restraining order."
I turned off the intercom and walked back to the kitchen. I didn't feel a shred of guilt. I just felt hungry.
