“My company… Olivia… we’ve been laundering money,” he choked out, the words tumbling out in a panicked rush. “A huge, fraudulent scheme. And his office,” he pointed a trembling finger at Thomas, “is the one leading the federal investigation against us! They’re arresting people, Emily! They’re seizing assets! I knew I was going down. I knew they were coming for me. I thought… I thought if I divorced you, if I cut you off completely, they wouldn’t touch you. They wouldn’t connect you to me. I was trying to keep you and the baby safe!”
I stared at him, my mind reeling. The betrayal now had a new, agonizingly complex face. He had still cheated on me. He had still lied. He had still abandoned me in my darkest hour. But he had done it, in his own twisted, cowardly, and desperate way… to protect me.
Thomas Reed stood up. He was no longer just a father. He was a prosecutor. He looked at the broken man who had so thoroughly destroyed his daughter’s life.
“You used the worst possible means to protect her,” Thomas said, his voice a low, hard growl. “You humiliated her to save her. You broke her heart.”
He told us that Olivia, the co-conspirator, had been arrested by FBI agents in the hospital lobby, right after she had fled my room.
Daniel just sat there, weeping. “I know. I know. I’ve lost everything.”
“You are a terrible husband, Daniel,” Thomas said. “But you are the father of my grandson.” He looked at the man he had been hunting for a year. “I’m going to give you one choice. One. Cooperate. Fully. Testify against Olivia, against the entire operation. Plead guilty to your part. I will see to it that you get the most lenient sentence possible. You will not save your career. You will not save your fortune. But you might, just might, be able to start saving your soul.”
