Chapter 18 - The Man I Married
Ryan made it four blocks.
Police found him hiding beneath a delivery truck behind a closed restaurant.
He still had the gun.
Then an officer shouted his name and Ryan looked up at the circle of weapons aimed at him.
He let the gun fall.
The man who had controlled nearly every part of my life ended his escape face-down on wet pavement in handcuffs.
Mostly I felt tired.
Mom was taken to the hospital for cuts on her feet and a bruise on her shoulder. She asked to see me.
I said no.
The next morning Ryan appeared before a judge.
The charges included identity theft, bank fraud, conspiracy, forgery, unlawful surveillance, witness intimidation, and weapons offenses.
His attorney asked for bail.
The prosecutor described the fake passport, the edited video, the cash, and the attempted flight.
Bail was denied.
Ryan looked toward the gallery.
Our eyes met.
For a second I saw the man I married.
Or maybe I saw the version I had invented because I needed to believe him.
Then he mouthed two words.
Your fault.
Even now.
Even in handcuffs.
He still needed me to carry what he had done.
Dad offered to testify against the others in exchange for consideration at sentencing.
Jason looked at me. “Do you care what happens to him?”
“Yes.”
“After all this?”
“He’s my father. Caring doesn’t mean protecting him from consequences.”
Jason nodded slowly.
It was a lesson both of us were learning.
Total losses across the family accounts exceeded $600,000. Some could be recovered. Some was gone.
The condo was seized.
Ryan’s investment account was frozen.
Dad’s company entered receivership.
Mom finally gave a full statement.
Then Daniel brought me a sealed envelope.
“This was recovered from Ryan’s safe-deposit box.”
Inside was our original prenuptial agreement.
“We didn’t have a prenup.”
Daniel’s expression was grim.
“Apparently Ryan intended to claim that you did.”
May you like
The signature at the bottom looked exactly like mine.
This time, even I could not tell the difference.
