Chapter 6 - THE SILENT PRISONERHook: The ultimate poetic justice requires no words.
Three months later.
The Visiting Room of the Colorado State Medical Correctional Facility was sterile, smelling of industrial bleach and cheap floor wax.
I sat down at the heavy stainless-steel table. A moment later, a guard wheeled in a man in an orange jumpsuit.
Daniel looked twenty years older. The arrogant, handsome executive who had stood in the downtown Denver ballroom was completely gone. The left side of his face was entirely slack, his left arm pinned uselessly against his chest. His eyes, however, were wide and alert. They darted toward me with a mixture of absolute fury and desperate, pathetic pleading.
"Hello, Daniel," I said, placing my designer leather handbag on the table.
He made a guttural, clicking sound from the back of his throat. “Ah... uh...”
"Don't strain yourself," I said smoothly, leaning back. "The doctors said your cognitive functions are perfectly intact. You can understand every single word I’m saying. You just can't respond. Frankly, it’s the most peaceful conversation we’ve had in twenty-six years."
His right hand twitched against the armrest of his wheelchair, his knuckles tightening.
"I thought you’d like an update on the family," I continued, smiling gently. "Sophia started her master’s program at Stanford this week. She received a full scholarship. She didn't need a single dime of your money. She’s using my maiden name now. Sophia Lumer. It has a beautiful ring to it, don't you think?"
A tear of pure rage spilled from Daniel’s right eye, tracing a path down his wrinkled cheek.
"Oh, and about Apex Designs," I added, pulling a document from my bag and sliding it across the table. It was the new corporate prospectus. "The board of directors completely dissolved your shares as part of the criminal restitution asset forfeiture. Mike Peterson is the new CEO. And as for me? Well, Mike offered me a position on the executive board as the Head of Corporate Integrity and Public Relations. We just signed a contract to rebuild those residential towers downtown—using the highest grade material available. Your name has been completely stripped from the blueprints."
Daniel began to hyperventilate, his chest heaving as he made frantic, desperate noises. He wanted to scream at me. He wanted to call me dramatic. He wanted to tell me to not make a scene.
But he couldn't.
"You asked me that night in the ballroom who would ever want a woman my age," I whispered, leaning in close so only he could hear. "The answer is: everyone. The courts wanted my testimony. The business world wanted my expertise. And as for my personal life... well, that’s none of your business anymore."
I stood up, adjusting my tailored white blazer.
May you like
"Goodbye, Daniel. I’ve signed the final divorce papers. The judge granted it yesterday. You are officially single. I’d tell you to enjoy your freedom, but... well, you know."
As I turned and walked toward the heavy steel exit doors, I didn't look back. The sound of his pathetic, muffled groans faded behind me, swallowed by the heavy slam of the prison doors.
