by Mia Grandy
Nothing seemed to be broken or stolen just a lot of my things were rummaged through and scattered all over the place. There was defiantly forced entry into my home, but other than the physical mess nothing was “really” missing. 1 of the officers sat down at my table with me to ask me a few questions. “Is there anything missing, or broken, have you noticed anything out of the ordinary lately at home or work, ma’am do you know anyone that would want to harm you or your baby?”
These were all valid questions that deserved so well thought out answers. I told the officer I would still need to look through everything once I clean up and re organized everything. I have had this strange feeling that I am being watched or followed. I just thought it was the pregnancy hormones you know. I remember coming home one day and a few bags were placed in a different location. I know where I put them down but for some reason they were in a different spot when I came back.
My boyfriend just kept reassuring me that it was just in my head, and that I just needed to rest up. The cop asked me are you and your boyfriend having any relationship trouble. I told him no we were doing well. They said in most investigations they always look at the spouse of significant other first. After an hour of back and forth they finally left. I called Andrew and told him everything, he said that he was at the office and couldn’t get away. He was meeting with a huge client and that he would be there as soon as he could. So I hung up and called my mom, I know I can count on her to come over now. I really needed someone to sit with me and talk things out. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t going crazy. My mom answered and said that she was already in town, and that it will take her about 20 minutes to get to me.
As soon as she got there she hugged me and reassured me that everything was going to be ok. We sat down and I went over everything with my mom. My mom stopped me halfway through my story and asked where Andrew was. I told her he is still at work. “Julie its past 6:45pm, he is not a lawyer he is in charge of the money not legal stuff.” She actually made a great point, now she had my wheels spinning about my relationship with Andrew. She told me to think clearly not like a person in love. “Julie when there is a family emergency they let you leave work no matter what.” She said she had a funny feeling about something. She told me to check my calendar and compare it to Andrews work calendar. She said “Julie didn’t you say something about Andrews divorce being finalized in 2 weeks, well hasn’t it been over 2 weeks since you told me that. Has he mentioned anything about you moving into his house or even inviting you over?”
You know mom you are right about all of this. Andrew has never invited me to his home or said lets move in together so that we will be settled before the baby gets here. My mom asked me if I believed that he really left his wife. At that moment I was frozen and said I really believed him when he said he did. My mom grabbed her phone and called one of her guy friends. She asked where Andrew lived and if anyone has seen him with his wife within the last month. She hung up and told me to grab my purse; we needed to take a drive. I asked where we were going and she said “just get your purse, let’s go.” So we headed out the door and as we get buckled into the car she says Andrew never left his wife he is at home with her right now.
My face went numb, not my Andrew, he wouldn’t do something like this to the woman who is carrying his child. I asked my mom if she was sure and she said “well we are about to find out very soon how right or wrong I am.” We drove about 30 minutes in the opposite direction of my apartment and came up on a nice quiet suburban neighborhood. We drove though very slowly and came to a big house at the end the street. It was one of those houses where the windows don’t have curtains to them. I hated people like that, just wanted to flash their wealth in your face. We parked a few houses down and got out slowly to walk closer to the house. And what do you know Andrew and his wife dancing around the living room, looking “all in love”. Once my mom saw my face she grabbed my arm and said “not here, not now, you need to handle this with a clear head.”
I am so glad that she grabbed me, because every part of me wanted to go confront him. We got in the car and I cooled down just enough to speak my feelings out loud. My mom said “revenge is so much sweeter when it’s planned out just right. We went back to my place and worked out how I should approach this situation. The father of my unborn child is a liar and “a thief”. He used me to get exactly what he wanted; money from the company. My mom said Andrew was using me to be the person to take the fall for his crime. Since I had access to his office and his appointments, there was no way anyone would believe me about not knowing anything at all.
My mom knew about all the money that we were embezzling from the company, she said “that I needed to gain access to his office computer and find the information about the separate account and move that money into a completely different account. She made another phone call. She found out more info on Andrew, his wife and what the company was planning to do with him. She found out that Andrew was broke and that he and he wife were filling chapter 11, bankruptcy. He made a few bad business investing decisions and was in the process of losing it all. I asked my mom about the promotion that I was given; she said the original position was the one set up for me and Andrew snuck in and took advantage of me.
He had no intentions on leaving the country with me he was going to be leaving with his wife. I would have been the one with the evidence in my hands and they would have been long gone. I sat there totally speechless, why did this have to happen to me, how did I not see this coming. I should have known that he wouldn’t leave his wife. I needed to show him who was in control. So I called him back and as you might have guessed it, voicemail picked up the call. How convenient for him. I told him that I was alright that my mom came to my rescue. I also told him that I have changed my mind and that we need to leave in 2 days, that someone is watching me and that very same someone probably broke into my house. This was no place to raise a baby.
My mom drove me to my job and we went into Andrews’ office. I am allowed to have after hours’ access, since I work for the CFO. Luckily the guard was on his rounds so I just walked right on in and went straight to his office. I opened his computer and went into the folder charitable donations. It was hiding in plain sight. I copied all the files to a flash drive, shut the computer back down and left. My mom was waiting around the corner with the engine running. I hurried and got in and we went straight to my mom’s house. No one from the office knows my mom or where she stays. So I would be safe at her house.
We sat down at the computer to see what Andrew had been up to since he devised this plan to get all this money. I checked the file and it was loaded with all this information about the amount of money that was acquired, the charity it was coming from, the name and location of the bank abroad. My mom concocted the best plan ever. As long as I followed it everything would turn out just like she described. All I wanted to know was why Andrew lied to me about divorcing his wife and would he honestly have left us high and dry to take the blame for stealing money.
My mom told me that every time a man says he is going to leave his wife for another woman he never does. “Guys always want a piece of dessert on the side, and their “Mrs. Faithful” at home.” I followed my mom’s instructions, to purchase the 2 tickets to Cuba for me and Andrew to leave in 3 days. I called him and since it went straight to voicemail I left another message saying call me back a.s.a.p. My mom took me back to my place to gather some of my things so that I could stay at her house. The fact of the matter was that someone unknown to me broke into my house, and just made a huge mess of everything. The police were baffled and so was I. I really had to think about who would want to harm me or my child. My mind raced but I couldn’t think of anyone. I went out of my way to make others happy or at the least bit happy with me. As we drove back to my mom’s house I kept going over the plan in my head, hoping that there was another way to settle things but I wasn’t about to be hurt by someone who claimed to love me: let alone let someone hurt my child. I was able to ge
t a few hours of shut eye before Andrew called me in the middle of the night. I was really enjoying my sleep and he wanted to meet, since I left him a message to meet me earlier.
I told him that I bought 2 tickets to Cuba to leave in 3 days. And that he needs to pack his bags, take care of any loose ends, because I didn’t feel safe and I was ready to leave with the man that loved me. He said that he needed to take care of a few things and that he would call me around 7pm tomorrow. I rolled onto my other side and rubbed my belly, talking to my baby. I felt very “mama bear” like, trying to protect her young from potential predators. I knew what had to be done, and I was ready to do it. I woke up early the next morning and called the number that my mom gave me. I was instructed not to use any names just say a time and place to meet.
Once I did that I left the house for the meet up. I met with this guy and I told him what I needed and when I needed it to happen. I gave him $8,000 for the job and we went our separate ways. I went back to my apartment since it was daylight. I wanted to grab a few items that I just absolutely needed to take back to my mom’s place. While at my apartment I decided to go through the mess that was all over the living room. I wanted to see if there was something specific that someone was looking for that I might have overlooked. I rummaged through papers and picture frames on the floor, I didn’t see anything that could be of value to anyone else. Nothing was stolen, which was odd; whoever did this just wanted to vandalize my place to say they did something “cool”.
I packed my bag and walked back to the car to leave. As I walked to my car I had the strangest feeling that someone was following me. I walked a bit faster, and jumped in my car to lock my door. It felt like that mall incident all over again. Except this time no one knocked on my window to give me something. I was just having one of those feelings. I sat for a while and then drove back to my mom’s house. It was getting to be around the time of the meet that I scheduled earlier, so I dropped off my stuff and picked up my mom so that she could go with me to handle the “unfinished business”. I parked in a parking garage and called Andrew, I told him to meet me there so we can talk. He said he would be there in 20 minutes.
By the time he got there I was standing outside of my car looking over the barrier. He pulled up next to me and got out. I told him that I didn’t want him to do any talking just listening. I explained to him that I knew about his wife and that there was no real divorce between the two of them. That he was never intending to leave his wife for me. I asked him what was he planning to do with all the money, take it and run with your wife; leaving me to hold all the blame. I told him how much I can’t stand liars and cheaters. How could you lie to me Andrew, the mother of your unborn child? His response was “how did you find out?” I told him to never understatement a clever girl with an agenda. He said that he was having financial problems at home and that he was on the brink of filing for bankruptcy and that he needed the money to replace what he lost in past investments that went bad.
He began to explain his case, “Julie I never meant to hurt you, I did start out with the best intentions really I did. But somewhere along the way I reconnected with my wife and wanted her more than I wanted us. I have over 17 years of history with my wife we only had a couple of months together. I do care for you, but nothing can replace my wife. I am sorry.” I told him that it was too late for apologies. That he should have just been honest with me about reconnecting with his wife, I would have moved on with my life. Now I am pregnant with this amazing child that I have to care for on my own. I told him that I brought someone with me tonight that was going to show him a lesson in lying.
I explained to him that it was going to look like he got robbed on his way from work. That if he even thought about telling his wife or the police about what happened here tonight then I would come back and give the cops all the proof they needed to convict him. The guy I met and paid earlier came out of the shadows with brass knuckles on and proceeded to beat Andrew and steal his wallet. Once he was done we left and I reminded him of my promise and told him not to cross me or next time it won’t just be a beating, something worse would happen.
We drove off and about 5 minutes up the street I called 911 and said that I think someone just got mugged in the parking garage over on 5 street. Within a matter of minutes police cars and an ambulance zoomed past me and headed to where Andrew was. I am quite sure that he will cooperate with the terms that I have given him. He got what he deserved, for lying and for his plot to double cross me. I told my mom that I wanted us to leave together, just take the money and run away. She thought it would be great just to get away and start fresh; just the 3 of us. There was nothing holding back either of us from starting over.
Chapter 8
It’s time to go
As we packed out bags to leave I sat and thought about Andrew and how badly “my friend” beat him up. I know that he had a few broken ribs, his nose was broken, and there was no telling what else happened internally. From the looks of him last night Andrew would need surgery. But that’s over now; I am off the hook and free to travel with my mom and spend all the money that was stashed away. My mom came in my room and told me that it was time to go to the airport, our flight would be leaving in 2 hours. We packed down the car with all of our things and drove to the airport which was about 30 minutes away. We got there and had a chance to grab a bite to eat before our flight. We talked about what Cuba would be like, how would we adjust the life there. We heard the boarding call for our flight, grabbed our things to head over to the terminal so that we could board early.
It was a decent flight, not to bumpy; I only had 2 trips to the bathroom which wasn’t too bad. On one of my trips to the powder room I thought I saw a familiar face in the crowd, I shrugged it off and didn’t think anything else about it. We finally landed and waited for the crowed to clear out before we got off. I hated being rushed off the plane. I figured I would just be patient and wait especially because I was carrying this baby bump. I didn’t want anyone to bump into me with anything hard. It was about another 5 minutes before the plane was empty, my mom and I were the last ones off the plane.
We went to gather our things from the baggage claim and I saw that face again. Could it just be coincidence, or was I having another “someone is following me moments” I decided that I was going to enjoy my new start, and leave the past behind me. We stepped outside the airport and felt the cool breeze and waved for a taxi. A minivan taxi pulled up and we loaded up all of our things. The driver said “where to” my mom said “to the nicest hotel in Cuba.” “Sure thing ma’am”, he replied. That was about a 30 minute drive. It seemed like the town went from a poor area to the rich area within that drive. “This is where we will reside” said my mother. I gave her a wink and smile. I was just taking it all in. I was just excited to be here with my mom.
We arrived at the hotel and it was beautiful. The driver helped us unload our things so that the bellhop could pick them up. The ceilings of this hotel were out of this world. I had never seen such craftsmanship on a ceiling before. The attention to detail was so gorgeous. We checked in under my mom’s name and got a penthouse suite. “Only the best for us” she said, as she grabbed the keys. I couldn’t agree with you more mom.
Once we got to our suite and put our things in the room, we decided that we should go to the bank before it closes for today. So we headed right back out and up the street to the bank of Cuba. It was a bank that dealt internationally, I remember Andrew saying he came to this bank when he went to help represent that client a few months back. That could have been a lie also, guess I will never know. I walked up to a teller and gave her my account number to withdraw money from the account. Of course she asked for some type of photo identification. I gave her what I had and said that my boss Andrew sent me here to withdraw money on his behalf. She said that I was actually on the account, she handed me the money I requested. I walked away thanking her. I told my mom that Andrew must have forgotten to take me off the account. Either way we have
access to all the money. We walked away excited that I didn’t have to make up a story just to get access to the money. We went back to the room to relax and unwind. My mom wanted a glass of wine so I called and requested a bottle for her, while I had a bottle of juice from the mini bar. We loved the double bathrooms that had Jacuzzi style tubs in them. I was on my side with my privacy and she had hers.
I filled up my tub, grabbed my juice and went to my side of the suite. It was nice to finally relax from all the traveling we had done today. As I drank my juice I began to feel weird like I was having difficulties breathing. I tried to call out for my mom but I wasn’t able to shout above a whisper. I didn’t know what was happening, but all of a sudden someone walked into the room and called my name. It was the face that I saw at the airport, and on the plane. Who are you I asked, what do you want? She said “oh you don’t remember me but you should. I have been watching you for some time now and I am ready to repay you with what you did to me.”
She sat on the side of the tub in the vanity chair and began to talk to me. “Julie my name is Angela Summings, you were the student of my boyfriend Professor Daniel Tenley. You had some harsh allegations brought against him about having sex with his students. You got him fired, he was found guilty and he went to jail to serve 5 years. I lost everything Julie; I could only afford so much on my limited salary. I was ridiculed and went through pure hell because of you. To top it all off I was just a few months pregnant with Daniels baby, I had a miscarriage because I wasn’t able to handle all the stress surrounding him going to jail. I BLAME YOU JULIE! So now you are going to repay your debt to me. But before I rain down my judgment on you let me give you a little back story of how I got here in your hotel room.
Remember when you got hired at Howard, Sperry, and Blackwell, and you were suddenly promoted to a higher position. Well that had nothing to do with you that was all my doing. My uncle hired you to be his personal secretary, that’s right Andrew Burton is my uncle and the entire plan of scamming money from the company was my idea. He wanted you to think it was all about the two of you but it was all a set up. I knew you couldn’t resist taking money that wasn’t yours. Let me guess did he tell you that he was in the process of filing for bankruptcy, which was a lie. My uncle is very well off; he even helped me to get back on my feet after Daniel went to jail.”
