Chapter 17
Leon
It was business as usual for the past two weeks since our run-in with Sadie at the mall, and things seemed to have quieted down on her side. It was quite astonishing, given she’s typically not the silent type, but I knew it was in our best interests to proceed with caution. The last thing we needed was to be lulled under false pretenses when, in reality, the stillness represented the calm before the storm.
Annika and I have been working non-stop with Counselor Malloy and Jorge in our pursuit of vengeance. Although my initial meeting with the counselor was rather unpleasant, he and I have become quite close on a professional level now that we’re all on the same side. Seeing his enthusiasm for taking down the current D.A. of our city made him seem like a teenager trying to take down the school bully, and it was pretty entertaining to watch him sift through all the evidence Jorge and his apprentice dug up.
After Jeffrey realized he was locked out of the penthouse and subsequently removed from the premises by Annika, he too has been laying low and hasn’t met with Sadie as often. But that didn’t stop them from their nightly phone calls, which were easily recorded through a sound amplification device. Some of the calls we listened to thus far were the same old script, Sadie bitching and whining while Jeff consoled her. At first, it was hard for Annika to hear the phone calls, and she bolted out of Malloy’s office the first time she heard one of their recorded calls. The counselor later explained that it was because the way that jagoff spoke to Sadie was how he used to talk to her exactly, and it must have triggered her pent-up emotions all over again.
But now, after hearing about a dozen of these calls, Annika has grown indifferent and detached. Granted, no one could actually blame her for the sudden change in demeanor either. The problem was that as she became more hostile about Jeff and Sadie’s relationship, she also became increasingly distant towards me. I couldn’t help but feel her resentment, considering Sadie is my ex-wife and the common denominator of our current predicament. It was hard not to blame myself for not taking the divorce and her affair more seriously because if I did, maybe Annika wouldn’t be suffering this way. Perhaps she would have known sooner and could have saved herself from further humiliation.
Leading up to the dramatic shift in Annika’s behavior, things were progressing smoothly, and despite the drama that ensued at the mall, she didn’t stop texting or calling me. We even transitioned from only discussing our revenge plot against Jeff and Sadie to having more personal and, dare I say, somewhat flirtatious conversations. But as of now, those calls and texts have stopped altogether, and I couldn’t deny that her newfound iciness towards me was beginning to worry me. The only time I had the chance to hear her voice was during our meetings with Jorge and Counselor Malloy, and I looked forward to my upcoming opportunity as I waited in the lobby of Malloy’s office building.
“Mr. Von Doren, Counselor Malloy is ready for you,” the receptionist informed me, interrupting my train of thought.
“Thank you,” I replied and followed her to the elevator, where she bid me farewell before I went up alone. To my surprise, Annika was already there, but Jorge wasn’t. “Aren’t we missing someone?” I asked as I took my seat. I peeked over at Annika, but she didn’t even glance my way. Things with Annika were rapidly going south and were concerning in many ways.
“Jorge is running late. He said that Jeff and Sadie met at his hotel again, and according to his inside man at the hotel, they were arguing about Jeff’s apparent refusal to meet her parents,” Malloy explained.
“What? He hasn’t met her parents?” I asked, finding it odd since he played an integral role in helping her father get rid of the evidence of her affairs.
“From what I can tell, Jeff hasn’t met them formally. You once mentioned that he had helped conceal and tamper with evidence about Sadie’s affairs during your divorce hearing, right?” he asked me. I nodded my head and waited for him to continue. “Hmm, then from what I can ascertain, Jeff helped Sadie’s family from afar without revealing his identity to them. Regardless of whether they knew of his existence or their ongoing relationship, the Galloways may be unaware that he’s the D.A. and that he’s a married man.”
“He’s probably just waiting for our divorce to be finalized so it won’t humiliate him to be seen as a man-whore,” Annika grumbled and crossed her arms over her chest with a huff.
“Not only that, but if it becomes known that Jeff was the one Sadie was having an affair with during her marriage with Leon, they’ll reopen his case, and Jeff could be seen as a suspect on account of the evidence tampering. His role as a D.A. would have just enough merit for speculation and doubt. And if that is proven to a judge in court, it won’t just ruin his image; it will be disastrous for his career. The D.A. tampering with evidence? That’s career suicide. He would be disbarred, have to stand trial on his own case, and he would most definitely be sent to prison.”
“That would also mean Jeff’s family wouldn’t get their monthly dues from him. He pays for all their shit now, and if Jeff goes to prison, his family stands to lose everything. So, you better believe that he will fight tooth and nail to keep any of this from becoming known,” Annika solemnly insisted.
“Once we can catch Jeff admitting to the evidence tampering, then we have him dead to rights, and he will lose no matter what,” Malloy assured her. I nodded my head as well because he spoke the truth.