“I don’t think Jeff is stupid enough to admit something like that out loud,” she retorted matter-of-factly.
“You’d be surprised how stupid some people really are under the assumption that no one is watching, Anni,” Malloy countered. “After all, Jeff was stupid enough to walk out of the penthouse with his own two feet, and the first thing he did was go to the hotel to meet up with Sadie. That alone already proves his affair and that he’s been lying out of his teeth the entire time. Plus, one of the last recorded calls contains their admission to having their affair while she was still married to Leon. That right there is sufficient evidence to reopen his case and file an appeal. Not to mention, the video you took of them is date stamped.”
“Why is this hard for me to swallow? I know what Jeff’s doing; the evidence is right in front of me, and I’ve seen it first-hand. I’ve heard all of his most recent calls where she does nothing but degrades me and talk shit, and he just validates her while assuring her that I’m nothing to him. And yet, it’s like I’m suffering from spontaneous brain and heart failure because I can’t seem to accept the fact this is happening right now!” Annika exclaimed as she slammed her hands on the desk and stood from her seat.
Mutually sensing it was wise to keep quiet, Malloy and I watched as Annika turned to face the city skyline and approached the skyscraper window. Soon, the faint sound of sniffling began to fill the room, and we saw her shoulders bobbing up and down, indicating her emotions were getting the best of her. We gave her more time, but her cries grew more intense as her entire body began shaking. Annika then unleashed her pain against the window with her fists, wailing in pure agony. I instinctively jumped to my feet and brought her into my embrace since I couldn’t bear to see her like this. This led her to switch targets, and Annika hit me instead, which was perfectly fine since she couldn’t hurt me anyway. I glanced over at Malloy and noticed his eyes were also tearing up. I knew that he regarded Annika as his younger sister, so this must be killing him inside.
“Let it out,” I whispered to her. “Don’t hold it in anymore. Cry, scream, curse, hit me all you want. I know a part of you blames me for what’s going on. I should have considered others’ feelings and images back then. I should have outed Jeff as her partner in crime. Maybe then, you wouldn’t be going through this right now,” I gently murmured, opening my heart to Annika so only she could hear. It took a moment for her to respond, but Annika eventually shook her head as she looked up at me with tear-stained doe eyes.
“I don’t blame you, Mr. … I mean, Leon. I blame myself. I should have listened to my family and never hidden my identity all those years ago. Maybe if I had just been unapologetically my true self, then maybe I wouldn’t be in this sham of a marriage,” she explained, burying her face in her hands.
“Then we never would have met.” Annika sniffled again and slowly returned her gaze to me as she tried to digest my words. I patiently waited for her reply, but the sound of Malloy’s phone ringing diverted everyone’s attention.
“Hello? … Uh-huh … Yes, they’re here now …” Annika and I furrowed our brows as our eyes briefly met before we circled back to Malloy’s desk, and he immediately put the phone on speaker.
“Mr. Von Doren, Ms. Silverton, we struck gold!” Jorge’s voice boomed through the phone while the three of us exchanged sideways glances in reaction to his sudden gung-ho announcement.
“What’s going on? What did you find?” I asked him, growing impatient for Jorge to reveal his findings.
“That idiot D.A. just confessed to evidence tampering. We have him on record admitting to trashing the evidence of his affair with Ms. Galloway during your marriage to her, Mr. Von Doren. She even goes on to thank him for his actions because they paved the way for her to receive the money she wanted from the divorce. Sir, she even admits that her marriage to you was a plot she and her mother came up with to get their hands on your wealth.”
“Are you serious?” I gnashed my teeth and narrowed my eyes. A plot to get my wealth.
“That’s not all, Mr. Von Doren,” Jorge continued, collectively piquing everyone’s interest. “Ms. Silverton, after the D.A. left a few minutes ago, we kept the recording device on since Ms. Galloway was still in the room. She made another call, and even though we can’t access who’s on the other side since the number wasn’t pre-programmed to be recorded, her input alone was sufficient.”
“And? What did she say to this person that has you all riled up, Jorge?” Annika asked while moving closer to the phone base and wiping her residual tears away.
“Counselor Malloy, I think you might want to get a warrant for Ms. Galloway’s arrest ready soon,” Jorge cryptically replied. The three of us were speechless as we blankly stared at one another, trying to unravel his words.
“I’m sorry. What did you just say?” Malloy asked to verify we didn’t mishear him. “Did you say arrest warrant?”
“Yes, sir, I did. Listen to this …” We heard a click on the other end of the line, and the most unwelcoming and malicious voice echoed throughout the office.
“Hey, it’s me. I need a favor … I need you to find some of the best guys you know who can be discreet, and I need you to cause an accident. Make sure the target doesn’t make it. I want her D.O.A … I was going to wait for him to divorce her, but it’s taking too damn long. If she’s dead, then he doesn’t even have to divorce her. Her death means he gets everything. Which, in turn, means I get everything. And I mean everything … Don’t question me! Just do as I say! Remember, make it discreet and a complete accident! Do you understand!? … Good. You’ll get paid as soon as I see her body has been found on the news.” We heard another click, indicating that Jorge had turned off the recording, and an eerie silence blanketed the room after hearing the contents of Sadie’s phone call. Annika was gaping at the phone for some time before breaking the awkward silence.
“THIS BITCH IS PLOTTING TO HAVE ME MURDERED!?!”