by Tia Lewis
There were also several articles detailing the purchase of a treatment center, just like he’d told me. So that was the truth, at least. And in one of the articles was a photo of him. Right down to the Rolex.
I should’ve known. A man like him wouldn’t be satisfied to live in the shadows. He had to exist online since he ran successful businesses. They might have brought him the money he loved and used so lavishly, but they also left him vulnerable.
I couldn’t waste any more time. I couldn’t even stay on my computer. I closed it with a snap, then decided at the last minute to take my old machine as well. I took both phones, too, just to be on the safe side.
All of them took a turn in the microwave that morning. It was the safest course of action I could think of. There was no recovering the files from any of them once they’d been fried.
I stood in front of the microwave, watching each device spin on the turntable as all incriminating evidence was cooked away.
By the time my parents got home from work, dinner was ready. I’d cleaned up the mess in the living room and set the table, too.
“Hey, you.” My mother looked genuinely thrilled to see me sitting there in the living room rather than upstairs with the door locked. My father walked in just after her, a similar smile on his face.
“I thought it was about time I make dinner,” I smiled. We walked together into the kitchen, talking about the day. On the news was a big lead story about “self-made” billionaire and real estate mogul Richard Wallace and his arrest only hours earlier on hacking charges. I’d already watched footage of him being led from his office in handcuffs, his computer under the arm of an FBI agent.
“Oh, by the way. I’m sorry, but we must’ve had a power surge today while my laptop and phone were plugged in.” I showed my parents the broken devices—the ones they knew about, anyway. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I always use my surge protectors, but I was hanging out down here and thought it would be okay if I plugged them straight into the wall.”
“I swear, the wiring in this house will be the death of all of us,” my father muttered shaking his head.
“Don’t worry, honey,” my mother smiled, washing her hands in preparation for dinner. “We can go out tonight and get you new ones.”
I gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You’re the best.”
Chapter 25
The prison wasn’t like I’d imagined it would be. I’d watched too much TV, too many movies. The image in my head was of a brightly-lit, loud place where inmates yelled from behind cell doors, and the sound carried out to the visiting area. That wasn’t the case. The side door through which visitors entered was quiet. I didn’t have to go through much of a hassle to pass inspection to visit since I’d be sitting on one side of a partition and Richard would be sitting on the other.
It had been nearly four months since his capture, during which time a speedy trial had decided his fate: thirty years in federal prison.
I’d lived in fear during the trial, so sure he’d name me somehow. I was sure he’d figure out how I’d turned the tables on him and been the cause of his demise. I’d hardly slept for two weeks, following every moment of the action in the courtroom. But in the end, there was nothing to worry about. The trial was actually very boring, all things considered. Another thing I’d seen on TV too many times and blown out of proportion.
I still thought about him almost every day. I still couldn’t forget what he’d meant to me, even if it was all a fantasy on my part. He’d never really cared for me. I finally understood that, and I liked to think I was mature enough to handle it. If he’d done nothing else, he’d taught me what I was capable of. He’d shown me how strong and intelligent I was, how I was in control of my future—no one else—and how careful I had to be when it came to letting others into my head and my heart.
My father had been right, after all, I thought with a wry smile as I waited on a hard, metal chair to be called in with the other visitors. I hadn’t listened to my head, only my heart. Richard was a predator. He’d preyed on my innocence, my “purity,” as he’d called it. My skin crawled when I thought about how easy I’d made it for him. I was so needy in those days, only months earlier. Desperate for a friend, for someone to understand what it was like to be me and to be interested in the things that meant something to me. Someone to connect with. Then, after that, someone to love me.
It was all so clear, looking back, how he’d guided me step-by-step into his little web. He’d worked on every aspect of my personality. He’d taken control, asserting dominance from the beginning. He’d convinced me not to ask questions. He’d pushed me away, knowing I would fight to stay in his life. I would have done just about anything to be part of The Alliance back then.
Then, he’d used me sexually. He’d known, he had to know, that I’d form a deep attachment to the man who took my virginity. Once I made myself totally vulnerable and gave him control of even the most intimate parts of me, I was his. Like I’d been brainwashed.
And I’d convinced myself that he was in love with me. That I was in love with him.
I didn’t need that sort of love anymore. Sure, it might be an option in the future, I guessed. For the time being, I was more than busy enough between Harvard and my extracurricular activities. No time for romance. It was better that way.
“All right. You can come in, single-file.” I got in line with the dozen or so other visitors. There were mothers, fathers, girlfriends, and wives. Two of the young women carried a baby on their hip. I wondered what would have happened to me if I’d gotten any deeper into my relationship with the man I was visiting that day. Would I be one of the girls with a baby by a convict? A baby who wouldn’t really know her father until she was well out of college and on her way to making a life of her own? Good thing his plan unraveled when it did, or else who knew how much worse it could have gotten.
We walked through the door and took seats in front of Plexiglas partitions. The phones on the wall were one thing the TV shows got right. I realized my heart was racing. I hadn’t seen him since that night at the masquerade party.
It was so strange, all the memories of betrayal mixed with memories of the greatest pleasure I’d ever known. I wondered how long it would take for me to unravel all of it. Maybe I would never be able to.
I rubbed my damp palms on the legs of my jeans, determined that he shouldn’t see a bit of the nervousness I felt, knowing he was on his way. He didn’t know I’d be visiting—I hadn’t written or made any attempt to contact him. It was better that way. Still, I needed the closure, just like I had that day on the street when he’d tried to reject me. I needed to know why he used me. Why me? And did he ever feel anything for me? Was the entire thing an act? I didn’t know what I wanted his answer to be. Would it be easier to know he’d been leading me on all along, so I could cut him out of my heart and out of my memories for good, without a moment’s guilt? Or would it ease the blow to know he’d actually grown to care for me? Then again, if he had, how could he do what he did? It was all a mess.
The door on the other side of the partition opened, and a line of convicts stepped through. I waited, holding my breath, to see him again. What would he look like? What had prison done to him? I realized I’d only ever seen him in a suit, or naked, or in that black outfit, he wore the night of the big hack.
There he was. He wore a khaki jumpsuit, hands cuffed in front of him. Once he was through the door, a guard unlocked the cuffs while another led him to the chair across from me. Tears stung behind my eyes, but I pushed them back. I wouldn’t cry for him. I’d done enough of that once it was all over and he’d been arrested. I’d cried for days, cried myself out. He didn’t deserve any more of my tears or my grief.
He looked much the same—maybe not so tan as before, but he had the same air of confidence he always had. I wondered if a man like him could ever be broken down by prison. Probably not. He’d always come out looking like it was all a joke like he was in control of all of it. How many yea
rs would it take for that façade to finally break down?
Not many. Not even a few moments, as it turned out, since the instant he set eyes on me, it seemed as though something broke inside him. He stumbled a little over his own feet, his face blank. I held his gaze. I wouldn’t back down. I’d make him feel my eyes on him and see how he liked knowing that I knew. I knew it all.
Then, in a flash, the confidence was back. His mask had slipped, but he put it to the right. How had I not seen right through him from the beginning? I was so foolish.
He sat, picking up the phone. I did the same. His lips curved into a smile. “This in an unexpected surprise,” he murmured.
“I’m sure it is.”
“Why has it taken you so long to come?” he asked, immediately turning the tables on me. His manipulation was so clear. “I was hoping for you for so long.”
“I thought it best to stay away. I’m sure you can understand.”
“Of course. You’re right. Smart girl. Always so smart.”
“Thank you,” I said, smiling sincerely for the first time since sitting down. He had no idea how smart.
“How’ve you been?” he asked.
“Well.”
“How’s school?”
“Great. Harvard, you know.” I shrugged. “Lots of rich kids.”
“You’re a rich kid, too,” he reminded me. “Your parents aren’t paupers.”
“True. I guess I never thought of myself that way.”
He smiled again. “You’ve never seen who you really are. I hope I gave you the chance to get a look at that person. I hope you get to see yourself the way I see you. You deserve that.”
The bastard. Rage boiled in me, though I did my best to keep my face composed and my voice low. I dug my nails into the palm of the hand not holding the phone and counted to five before replying. “How you see me? You mean, as a fall guy?”
His smile faltered. He blinked. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Don’t you? Think hard. I know it’s been several months, but it’s not like you came up with your little scheme overnight. I know if I’d spent that much time setting someone up, I’d remember it.” I stared at him, boring holes through his skull with my eyes. I’d never hated anybody so much in my life as I did him at that moment.
He let out a long breath, his shoulders falling a little. “So you know.”
“Correct.”
“How long have you known?”
“How long do you think? Come on. You can figure it out. I know you’re a smart man.” I gave him a little smile.
“What?” His jaw fell a little, then understanding sparked behind his eyes. To my surprise, he smiled. “Congratulations,” he murmured, nodding.
“Really? You mean that?”
“Yes, I do. Bravo.” He even chuckled. “Hell. I don’t know why I never thought of it. I guess I underestimated you, after all.”
“I guess you did.”
We stared at each other for a moment, sizing each other up as if for the first time. “How did you find out?”
“It didn’t take a rocket scientist. You read my mind, didn’t you? You knew exactly what I’d do that night. You were counting on it.”
He nodded. “You’ve got me. I did predict what you’d do.”
“You used me,” I murmured, my eyes still locked on his. “You used my loneliness and fragility against me.”
“I wouldn’t say fragile,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re anything but fragile.”
“Gullible, then.”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Definitely. I fell for the whole thing. Did it ever amaze you how easy I made it?”
“No,” he admitted. “I knew exactly who you were when you first reached out to me. Desperate to connect with something, anything. Desperate to prove yourself up to the task. You made it all very easy for me.” He smirked. “Not to mention enjoyable.”
I nodded. “You know what I enjoyed the most?”
“No, what?” He leaned forward like he was getting ready to hear something dirty. I mimicked his posture.
“Turning. You. In. You piece of shit.”
I watched his eyes widen ever so slightly. He moved away from the glass again.
“You?”
“Yes, me.”
“How? Why?”
“Why? You just admitted you set the whole thing up with the end game in mind and you wonder why?” I shook my head. “Come on, Richard. For a smart man, you’re not always quick on the uptake.”
Instead of dissolving in rage, as I’d feared he might do, he laughed. “Well done,” he said, shaking his head. “Well done. I have to hand it to you.”
“Thank you.”
“I feel like you should know one more thing,” he murmured, laughter dying. He leaned toward me again.
“What’s that?”
“I really did love you, Sophie.”
His words took my breath away, but just for a moment. I reminded myself who I was speaking with. A man I couldn’t trust. A man who’d tried to send me to prison while he enjoyed the money I’d unwittingly helped him steal. Even if he was telling the truth, he was less than nothing. His love wasn’t worthwhile. Looking back, I was foolish, naive, and attracted to his power. I was captivated by the thrill, danger, and his erotic games. Yes, I was a fool all right, but I’ll be damned to let him fool me again.
“More lies, huh?”
“It’s the truth.”
I shook my head. “Whatever, Richard. That’s the past. I’m interested in today, and the future.”
“Good girl,” he murmured.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not your girl anymore, in case you forgot. I don’t need your approval, and I certainly don’t miss it.”
He smirked. “You know what I miss? Your pussy.”
I looked both ways to be sure we weren’t overheard. “That’s a shame,” I whispered back. “Since you’ll never come near it again—it or any pussy. Not until you’re out of here, and you’ll be an old man by then.”
“I wouldn’t count my chickens,” he replied with a sly smile. “The scales of justice might just balance out in my favor. There are all sorts of loopholes a person can get through if they have the right representation. I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m out of here in five years. Maybe less.”
“Good luck with that,” I replied with a smirk. Was he right? Would he get out? And what would happen to me if he did? I didn’t think he’d try to hurt me, though I couldn’t trust him.
“Meanwhile, what about you?”
“What about me?”
“What will you do, knowing nobody will ever make you come the way I did?”
Damn me for blushing. I couldn’t help it. The memory of the ecstasy he’d brought me to was still fresh in my mind, and I couldn’t deny that. However, his mind games were enough to make me stand my ground.
“I’ll figure something out.”
“I’m sure you will. You’re a very resourceful woman.” He looked around with a sardonic grin. “Evidently.”
The guard spoke then, his voice booming through the room. “Two minutes.”
We looked at each other, Richard and me. He was right. I’d never find anybody who did to me what he did—and I knew that wasn’t a bad thing, either, since what he’d really done was use me. All the pleasure, all the manipulation of my body and my heart, it was all with one purpose in mind. His gain.
“One more question before you leave,” he murmured.
“What do you want, Richard?” I wondered what he could possibly want, as my eyes took their last look at him.
“How did you do it? I mean, and I’m not kidding, we worked for months to create an airtight plan. How did you break it all down?”
“It took you months to come up with something it took me roughly five minutes to bring down?” I shook my head. “I guess I should be flattered by that.”
“But how? How did you know just what to do?”
I grinned as I stood, the r
eceiver still at my ear. “How do you think? I learned from the best, didn’t I?” I hung up the phone with a wink, gave him the middle finger, and then turned to leave. I could’ve sworn I heard that bastard laughing as I walked away.
Chapter 26
I never thought I’d be relieved to get back to school—any school, ever, since my “real” life was always so far away from anything I could ever learn from a professor. I was so sure there was nothing left for me but hacking, and learning how to be better at it. There I was, thinking I had already lived such a full life. I had no idea how small my world was until I went to college. I was proud of myself for making the decision to go and couldn’t believe how irrational I was to think not to in order to be with Richard.
I reflected on that as I walked down the hall to my dorm, pulling a suitcase behind me. There was a bag of laundry over my shoulder, too, since there wasn’t a college kid alive who didn’t take every last bit of laundry they could home with them during a visit. A few of the doors were open, my hall mates all getting in from break. They called out to me, asking how the holidays went. I hardly recognized myself as I called back to them and promised to stop in to say hi once I was settled. Who was I? I couldn’t be the mousy little thing who didn’t have a friend in the world.
My room was empty, which I’d expected. My roommate, Molly, had already texted to say she wouldn’t be in until Monday morning—she didn’t have Monday classes that semester, lucky her, so she was taking an extra day at home. I had the room to myself all day and night.
I tossed my laundry bag into the closet, telling myself I’d put it away later, then unpacked my laptop. My trusty laptop. We didn’t get into nearly the sort of work I was used to. No, I actually did homework and wrote papers on it. Only sometimes did I venture into my old “hobbies.” It wasn’t easy, but I was determined to do the right thing.
