Wife's Bitter Revenge Against Neglectful CEO Husband-Chapter 81: Everything I Wanted

I groaned and melted into the mattress.

"Too hard?" Jake asked.

"Un hunh. Perfect."

Jake wasted his time in the military. He was a massage god. Ten minutes under his hands, and I was pretty sure sex was overrated. The real path to heaven was a full belly, just enough alcohol to let go of the guilt, and Jake’s magic hands.

Why was it again that I turned him down? Oh, yeah, magic hands or not, I didn’t feel that way about him.

He moved down my back and over my buttocks, which were so sore. Jake was right, as usual. I overdid it at The Red Dragon. I’d be lucky to walk tomorrow.

By the time Jake worked his way down to the soles of my feet, my eyelids were drooping. Jake was right again. I would sleep.

Before I dozed all the way off, Jake covered me with a blanket and shut off the light.

"I owe you," I mumbled.

"I’ll collect one day. Now, sleep."

I slept and woke up feeling better than I had in a long time. In fact, I felt so good that I considered turning my phone back on, but I couldn’t find it.

I wasn’t exactly sure where I was. A hotel—that I knew—but it took a little sleuthing to discover which one. I considered calling Stiff or Bea for a ride back to the church, but without my phone, I had no numbers. My laptop was also missing.

The cords to the TV and the hotel phone were missing. I was essentially cut off from the world. Well, short of doing the old-fashion thing and walking down to the front desk.

Or I could do the smart thing and sit tight until Jake returned. If Jake had left me here without electronic devices, he would have had his reasons, and those reasons would probably have been in my best interest.

So, I kept myself busy stretching sore muscles and making bad hotel coffee. I was finishing the second cup when there was a knock at the door.

It had to be Jake, only it wasn’t.

King stood there in a navy blue blazer and a button-down shirt that was open at the collar. Blue smudges stained the skin under his eyes, and he grimaced as if he didn’t want to be there.

What a coincidence. I didn’t want to see him either.

"How did you find me?" I asked, not moving aside to let him in the room.

"You’re not the only one with resources. With enough money, I can find anyone."

"True. What do you want?"

"Can I come in?"

A couple passed by in the hall behind King. I heard a cleaning cart down the hall as well.

"Sure."

I let him in and motioned him to a chair.

"I’m not staying." King handed me a manilla envelope. "Sign this."

"What is this?"

"Divorce papers and a settlement agreement. Sign them, and I’ll expedite processing through the court. You won’t have to do a thing."

"Okay. Got a pen?"

King pulled one from his breast pocket and handed it to me. "Aren’t you going to read it?"

"Why? Will it change anything?"

"The settlement terms are generous."

I signed the divorce petition and ripped up the settlement agreement.

"I don’t want your money. I never did."

"Night Shadows did."

"Point taken," I conceded.

King exchanged the signed documents for another envelope. "That’s the termination of your Night Shadows contract. I won’t ask for a refund of the retainer, but I won’t make any more extortion payments either."

"Extortion?"

"Isn’t it?"

I shrugged. "Whatever."

"Last thing. Mom had a stroke. I’m taking her to a private care facility. She’ll live out her days there."

"Wait. What? You can’t do that."

Lettie had to go to jail. That was the plan. That was what we had been working toward all along. That woman was evil incarnate. Short of killing people, as far as we knew, she had destroyed lives. She needed to pay for her crimes.

"Teela, she can’t go to prison. She won’t survive. Her left side is paralyzed. She can’t speak, can’t walk, and she’s scared. I can’t throw her to the wolves and walk away, if not for her, then for the company. I’ve worked too hard for too long just to throw it all away."

"King, she stole you and fed you lies your entire childhood. You don’t owe her anything."

"I say I do. Yeah, she did all those things, but she also made sure I received the best education money could buy. She pushed me ahead in my career, and Teela, of all the boys, she gave me her company. That must mean something."

"No, King, she gave you the legitimate business. The real money was in buying and selling real people and that business, she entrusted to Daniel. You’re just a shield to hide her dirty underbelly."

"I don’t see it that way."

I turned away. "Of course you don’t. Do what you want, King. I’ll find her wherever you hide her away. I don’t care what condition she is in. I will see her prosecuted."

"Leave her alone, and I’ll give you Drake."

"What the hell! Where is Drake? How do you know where to find him?"

"I visited Daniel in jail. We made a deal. If you want Drake back, I can give him to you, but you’ve got to drop this witch hunt against Mom."

I didn’t know what to say. Drake was important, but the bigger picture was Lettie’s operation had to be shut down permanently.

"Teela, she’s sick. Even if you win, the judge won’t send her to prison. He’d send her to a medical facility, which I’ve already done. And I can promise you, she will never leave. I’ll make sure she can’t harm anyone else, ever. I will be her jailer. I will see to it that, yes, she is well taken care of, but she won’t live in luxury or have access to anyone to help her continue her illegal operations. I swear it.

"Yesterday, you asked me to trust you. Now, I’m asking you to trust me. Let me do this. It is the best answer for everyone."

I didn’t like this. Not one little bit. It felt like failure. But Drake...

And then there was CK’s brother. I wanted him back too.

"I want the rest of the logs. I want the names and locations of the rest of Daniel’s victims. Give me all the records so I can get those kids back to their families. Do that, and I’ll let it go, but King, I have ears all over the world. If I hear one word that leads me to believe Lettie is back in business or even breathing in the direction of someone in the same industry, I’ll destroy you and you mother."

"Alright. Let me see what I can do."

Jake was waiting in the hall when I let King out. He followed me back inside.

"Did you know about this?" I asked.

"About what?"

"King’s visit? Lettie’s stroke? The deal King wants? Any of it."

"I knew about Lettie. I didn’t know King was coming until I saw him in the lobby. He asked for a few minutes alone with you. He didn’t say why, and it wasn’t my place to ask."

"He’ll give us Drake in exchange for letting Lettie go."

"How do you feel about that?"

"Conflicted."

"Yeah, me too."

Suddenly, nauseousness overwhelmed me. I covered my mouth and sprinted to the bathroom. Too much bad coffee on an empty stomach combined with too much tension and just the whole losing control over the Lettie situation was too much for my stomach. All my frustration and bitter regret emptied into the toilet bowl.

I heaved with all my might. The entire process feeding into the nauseousness and causing me to continue eliminating the bile in my stomach until nothing was left and I was cold and shaking.

Jake handed me a warm, wet washcloth and helped me back to bed. I clutched at the covers as my teeth chattered. Jake found an extra blanket in the closet and covered me with it, then laid down on top of the covers next to me, wrapping me in his arms.

"It’s okay. You’ll be okay. You’re strong. Whatever you decide to do about Lettie and Drake, I’ll understand. We’ll find Drake with or without King’s help. You know that, right?"

I nodded and focused on trying to control my body.

Why was I so upset. King was giving me what I wanted. I wanted a divorce. Check that one done. I wanted out of all the Heavenly drama. He was giving me that too. I wanted to make Lettie’s victims whole. King was providing me with the rest of the information we had yet to secure.

Lettie’s health let her down, but I wasn’t sure stroke paralysis was permanent. What if I let her off the hook and in six months, she was right as rain again? Lettie had a way of running over anyone who got in her way. Was King capable of keeping her in storage if she was feeling better?

King was right. I’d asked him to trust me. I should trust him. But I didn’t.