Betrayed 2(78)

I was expecting her to say that whatever we needed to say could be said in front of the board. Instead, she looked at the smug look on Marshall’s face and decided that it was in her best interest to convene this meeting. She dismissed everyone and they left without putting up a fuss or complaining in the very least.

Once the door was closed, she stood with her hands firmly planted on the table. “I don’t know what the meaning of this is, but I can assure you that you’re not going to get away with it. It’s obvious to me that you two are working together. You have less than a minute before Susan returns. I’m going to make sure that your bodies are never found.” She looked like she had all the cards and then Marshall very casually put the briefcase on the table and opened it.

“I think that you should take a look at these.” He dropped the file folder as thick as his wrist on the table. She opened it with a cocked eyebrow and began to go over the marked details of those guys playing her for a fool. “I have it on good authority that your business would suffer if this were to get out. I have my hand on the send button for an e-mail that is going to circulate amongst journalists and business CEOs alike.” It did pull her back on your heels, but she wasn’t about to stand for this.

“Go ahead and do what you need to do. It won’t matter. The both of you will be gone shortly never to be heard from again. My business might suffer, but I will rise above it like I always do. You are foolish to think that I was going to give into your demands. I’m sure that your one and only demand is for me to leave the both of you alone. That is the one thing that I can’t do. I can’t stand betrayal in any form. I hope that you have made your peace.” She really did want us both gone. I think that her main focus was Marshall, but that was before I decided to jump into bed with him literally and figuratively.

The door opened and we were all expecting to see Susan return with armed guards to take us into their custody. Instead, Julia looking a little disheveled with her eyes bloodshot from being drugged out of her mind walked in and took center stage.

“That same e-mail that will give you a black eye also contains my affidavit about you imprisoning me against my will in an institution for the criminally insane.” She was wearing a pair of jeans and a sweater. “I can have you imprisoned, but unlike me, you’ll have no way to escape.” The color in Lillian’s cheeks vanished and she was left with this ghostlike appearance. “I have statements from the doctors and they were most anxious to throw you under the bus. I think that I can be reasonably sure that you won’t be able to survive hard time. This won’t be some cushy little Sunday school prison where you are treated like royalty. You can make all of this go away by signing the document at the back of all of those pages in front of you. Don’t worry, we’re not asking you to step down. All we want is for you to be responsible for our well-being. If something were to happen to us, then your company will revert to a proxy of our choosing. I’m thinking about having it sold and the profits given to various charities.” Julia looked like she had gone through the wringer.

With Marshall’s influence and money, it didn’t take all that much to get her released into our custody and care. She was angry, understandably so, but she didn’t think that her testimony would hold up in court. She didn’t want to take the chance of being grilled mercilessly on the stand until she broke down in hysterics.

“I’ll sign your damn paper. You won’t have anything to worry about when it comes to me. This does not concern the contracts. That is something that is separate from all of this.” I thought that Marshall was going to put up more of a fight, but he was happy just to get that paper signed and have our lives back.

The door opened and there was a buzz of activity outside in the hallway. Susan was in handcuffs and the police came in and read Lillian her rights. “I thought that you said that all I had to do was sign the paper and all three of you would leave me alone.” She was confused, but she was about to learn that she had to learn to listen.

Julia wanted to be the one to break the news. “I said that I wouldn’t press charges, but I said nothing about the doctors that you bribed. They weren’t exactly happy with the way that you used your influence. They decided that you had to be called in for your actions. I’m not going to testify, but I don’t have to. They already have my affidavit and that is a matter of public record.” I thought for sure that she was going to scream bloody murder, but she stayed perfectly calm and let them lead her away in shackles. It didn’t take much to learn that Susan was responsible for having Julia drugged. We just had to wait until the police could arrive with a warrant for her arrest.