Chapter 1 - The Gray Folder
Victor Delgado did not sit down when he entered the office.
He tossed a thick gray folder onto Theodore’s mahogany desk.
Theodore stared at the manila edge of the paper as if it were a loaded weapon.
His heart hammered wildly against his ribs.
"Tell me everything," Theodore demanded.
Victor crossed his arms over his broad chest.
"Every single piece of evidence against Gabrielle was entirely fabricated," Victor said coldly.
The words struck Theodore like physical blows.
Victor opened the folder and pointed to the photograph of Gabrielle entering a hotel with a strange man.
"It is a digital composite," Victor explained.
"We tracked down the original image from a fashion blog and found the raw file used to paste her face onto another woman's body."
Theodore felt the air completely leave his lungs.
He had thrown his pregnant wife into the streets because of a cheap digital trick.
"What about the missing diamond necklace?" Theodore asked, his voice trembling.
Victor pulled a pawn shop receipt from the folder and slid it across the glass surface.
"Brianna sold it three days after Gabrielle was evicted," Victor replied.
"She used the money to pay off a massive debt to an offshore shell company."
Theodore closed his eyes as the sickening weight of his own blindness crushed him.
He had allowed a monster into his bed and destroyed the only pure thing in his life.
"Where is Gabrielle right now?" Theodore asked, grabbing his car keys from the desk.
"She lives in a dilapidated trailer park on the outer edge of the city," Victor warned.
"It is an incredibly dangerous area controlled by a local criminal syndicate."
Theodore did not care about the danger.
He rushed toward the private elevator with a desperate need to fall at her feet and beg for forgiveness.
But as the elevator doors began to close, Victor’s phone suddenly rang.
Victor answered it, and his face instantly turned completely white.
He looked at Theodore with absolute terror in his dark eyes.
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"Theodore, you cannot go to the trailer park," Victor said urgently.
"The local police just reported a massive explosion at her exact address."
