Chapter 5
Early the next morning, I was jolted awake by loud banging on the door.
I opened my eyes and saw the room flooded with sunlight.
I wondered how long I'd slept.
Honestly, I hadn't slept this well in forever.
The knocking kept going, and a man's rough voice shouted, "Police! Open the door!"
I frowned and sat up.
When I opened the door, two uniformed officers stood outside. Between them was a middle-aged man, his face twisted with rage.
He looked to be in his fifties. His skin was rough, his eyes bloodshot. He stared at me like he wanted to tear me apart.
He looked a lot like Mia.
It was John Linford.
Behind him stood a middle-aged woman, also burning with rage. Apparently, it was Clara Linford.
"That's her!" John pointed straight at me and yelled at the officers. "She's the one who ruined my daughter's reputation. Arrest her. Right now!"
Clara didn't bother arguing. She shoved past the officers and reached for my hair.
"You vicious bitch! How could you do this to Mia? What did she ever do to deserve this?" Clara screamed.
I stepped back, keeping my cool as I looked at them.
"What did she do? She slept with a married man. She destroyed my family. She sent me photos of herself in bed with my husband just to provoke me. Is that what you call innocent?" I said.
My voice wasn't loud, but it was clear.
Clara froze.
John coughed hard and then shouted even louder, "That's between you and your husband! Who gave you the right to plaster those photos everywhere? That's illegal!"
"Illegal?" I laughed softly. "I only showed the truth. But your daughter chose to have an affair with a married man and spread explicit photos herself. Tell me, isn't that crossing the line?"
The two officers exchanged a glance. The older one stepped forward.
"Please calm down," he said to John and Clara. Then he turned to me. "Ma'am, we'll need you to come with us and give a statement."
I nodded. "Sure."
On the way to the precinct, John and Clara followed behind me, throwing every insult they could think of.
They called me a freak for not being able to have kids.
They said I was old and ugly, and that I couldn't keep a man interested.
I just listened, my face blank.
Their words felt like a scalpel cutting into flesh. At first, it stung. Then the nerves went dead. All that remained was numbness.
When we got to the precinct, I learned that John was the one who reported me.
He accused me of disturbing public order, violating his daughter's privacy, and ruining her reputation.
The officer taking my statement was pretty young.
He looked at me, with a hint of sympathy in his eyes.
"Ms. Nolan, we understand what you're going through. But the way you handled things was a bit extreme," he said.
I met his eyes. "Officer, if someone kept messaging you every day, telling you your wife was cheating, and even sent you clear photos as proof, what would you do?"
His face flushed. "I..."
"You'd call the police," I cut in. "But would anything really happen? You'd be told it's a personal matter, and you should calm down and talk it out.
"But when someone's already thrown away their shame, what's left to talk about? When your marriage is already dead, what are you supposed to save?
"I didn't have any other choice. I just gave her a taste of her own medicine."
The room fell silent.
In the next room, John and Clara were still raising hell, shouting for the police to throw me in jail.
My phone rang.
It was Charles.
I picked it up.
He sounded tired and pissed off.
"Susan, where the hell are you? Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused? Mia's parents are here right now, and they're saying they want you locked up!" he spat.
"Oh, really?" I replied coolly. "Then tell them I'm at a precinct in Oakridge County. They can come find me here."
Charles was stunned. "You... You went to Oakridge County?"
"Yeah," I chuckled. "I'm here to clean up your mess. What, no thank-you?"
"Susan, you crazy bitch!" he finally dropped the act and yelled at me. "Why did you do this? You've ruined Mia! You've ruined me!"
"Ruined you? Really?" My voice suddenly went cold. "Charles, be honest with yourself. Who actually ruined who?"
I pressed, "I was the one who stayed with you when you had nothing. I scraped by with you and helped you build your business from nothing.
"I was the one who kept covering your losses, pouring my own salary into your company every time it was about to collapse.
"I took you from some nobody in the middle of nowhere and turned you into Mr. Jennings, the man everyone respects now. Ruined you? Hell, I built you!"
I went on, "And how did you repay me? You spent my money on your mistress. You let her live in my house, drive my car, and even send me those photos just to humiliate me.
"Ten years together, Charles. And this is what I get?"
By the end, I was yelling at him.
All the hurt, anger, and frustration I had swallowed over the past decade, especially these last few days, came rushing out all at once.
The line went completely silent.
After a long while, Charles finally spoke. His voice was hoarse and unfamiliar. "Sue... I'm sorry."
"Too late," I said.
I hung up, feeling completely drained.
In the end, with no solid evidence and since this was really just a domestic dispute, the police stepped in to mediate.
I apologized to John and Clara, just verbally.
My words were polite and sincere, but my voice held no emotion.
John and Clara kept pushing, but there was nothing more the police could do.
As soon as I walked out of the precinct, they blocked my path.
John glared at me and snapped, "This isn't over!"
I looked at them, and suddenly, the whole thing just felt absurd.
I said, "You should be blaming Charles. He's the one who slept with your daughter and gave her money. I never gave him a dime, and I never even touched your daughter.
"So why come after me? Is it because I look like the easier target?"
I walked right past them and got into my car.
I didn't go back to Sunfield.
Instead, I checked into the best hotel in town and booked a suite.
Then I called my lawyer, William Warren.
I said, "William, I need you to draw up a divorce agreement for me.
"The asset split is simple. I'm taking half of the company shares acquired after marriage. The apartment is mine. It was a premarital asset. All savings and investments under my name stay with me.
"As for Charles... he leaves with nothing but his clothes."
Since he was tired of everything and wanted to be free, I'd grant his wish.
I'd send him back to where he started ten years ago, broke and alone.
I wanted to see if Mia, young and beautiful as she was, would still think he was worth it then.
Would she still stick around, telling him she loved him?