Chapter 5 - The Shadow of the Past
I sat in Marcus’s car outside the estate, the rain pounding against the windshield.
The silence between us was suffocating.
"Are you going to explain what happened in Chicago?" I finally asked, staring straight ahead.
Marcus let out a long, ragged sigh and ran his hands over the steering wheel.
"One of my best students was about to be deported because her family couldn't pay a legal fee," he began.
"The student council had a surplus budget that was just going to be spent on a lavish party."
He turned to look at me, his eyes pleading for understanding.
"I diverted the funds to pay her lawyer, and I planned to replace the money with my next paycheck."
I felt a tight knot in my chest begin to loosen.
"But they caught you before you could pay it back," I guessed.
He nodded slowly.
"The principal gave me a choice: resign quietly or face charges."
"I resigned, and I paid the money back entirely, but the rumor followed me."
I reached across the console and took his hand.
It was a stupid, reckless decision, but it was born from kindness, not greed.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked softly.
"Because your family already treated me like garbage, and I didn't want to give them ammunition," he confessed.
I squeezed his hand, choosing in that moment to trust the man I had married in Tuscany.
"Stephanie has had this bullet loaded for years, waiting for the right moment," I realized.
My phone buzzed again, Derek's name flashing on the screen.
"I have to go meet him," I told Marcus.
"Are you sure that's safe?" he asked, worry lining his forehead.
"Derek is the only one who can stop this circus," I replied.
I asked Marcus to drop me off at a quiet diner near the wharf.
Derek was already sitting in a corner booth, looking like he hadn't slept in days.
He looked up when I approached, his eyes bloodshot and dark circles bruising his skin.
"She lied to me about everything, Amanda," he said before I even sat down.
"She told me you were completely unhinged and dangerous."
I slid into the booth opposite him.
"And now you know the truth," I said plainly.
He nodded, rubbing his temples in exhaustion.
"I'm filing for an annulment tomorrow morning," he revealed.
Just as the words left his mouth, Derek's phone began ringing frantically.
He looked at the screen, his face draining of all color.
"It's Stephanie's mother," he whispered, answering the call on speaker.
May you like
My mother's voice echoed through the small phone speaker, completely hysterical.
"Derek, you have to come to the emergency room right now, Stephanie just swallowed a bottle of pills!"
