In reality, his situation was dire. Released on bail pending trial for the assault on Lauren, he had been doing everything to get her forgiveness. He figured if the victim—Lauren—forgave him, the court might be lenient. He was even ready to marry her to shut down the case.
But Lauren was resolute. She refused to see him. She didn’t need a husband who could dispose of her at a moment’s notice.
“Sweetie, I love you so much!” James had begged on his knees outside her door just days before. “You must forgive me!”
“James, I forgave you long ago,” Lauren sighed from behind the chained door, tired of his daily visits. “I have one request: leave me alone.”
“How can I?” James sighed dramatically. “I need you. Especially since we’re having a kid.”
“My kid,” Lauren corrected sharply.
“You want to keep me from my son?” he asked, trying to tear up.
Lauren laughed at the cheap acting. “James, go home!”
She slammed the door, leaving him kneeling in the hallway. James was alone, with no one to turn to. His loyal friend Steve had vanished into thin air. James had visited the police station multiple times asking for him, but no one told him anything.
In reality, Steve was already in custody.
Emily and Ethan had filed a formal complaint against him for extortion and bribery with the Internal Affairs Bureau immediately after the park meeting. They had set up a sting operation.
“Got the money?” Steve had asked, approaching Emily in the park a week after their first meeting.
“You mean the half-million you’re demanding for the crash video where James Johnson is at fault?” Emily clarified loudly for the recording wire she was wearing.
“Yeah,” Steve nodded, his eyes gleaming with greed. He regretted asking for so little. In that moment, Steve lost all reason.
“You didn’t think it was a key piece of evidence?” Emily couldn’t hold back her disdain.
“What?” Steve was caught off guard.
“I brought the money,” Emily said quickly to keep him from bolting. “Where’s the video?”
“Right here, on this flash drive,” Steve handed it over.
“Here’s your payment for the evidence you should’ve given to the investigation,” Emily said, handing him a bag filled with marked bills and paper scraps.
As he rummaged through the bag, oblivious to her words, Internal Affairs officers swarmed from the perimeter. The former cop confessed to everything, including falsifying the accident report to favor James, hoping for a lighter sentence.
Naturally, James didn’t know about Steve’s arrest. He thought his friend had ditched him and fled town with someone else’s money.
Two months passed.
Today was the day of James’s sentencing. He seemed oblivious to the gravity of his situation, sitting in the dock and smiling at his mother. Susan supported her son, convinced he’d walk free.
But justice, though slow, was thorough. Tax inspectors had found James’s car wash was operating illegally, laundering money. Combined with the assault charges on Lauren and the fraud regarding the accident revealed by Steve’s confession, the judge was not lenient.
James faced a real prison term. Steve was already serving seven years in a general-regime colony.
Neither Emily nor Lauren attended the sentencing to support James. Both women had erased him from their lives.
Emily’s romance with Ethan was blossoming beautifully. They took it slow, enjoying the simple things—walks in the park, cooking dinner together, watching sunsets.
“Emily, when are you inviting us to the wedding?” Sarah teased one evening over dinner.
“Let things flow naturally,” Emily smiled, clinking her glass with Ethan’s. “Besides, I’ve been married before, and I didn’t like it.”
“You just need to marry a good man, not some James,” Sarah sighed, watching them.
Emily looked at Ethan with loving eyes, grateful to fate for the twist that brought them together. Without the accident, without the struggle, she might never have met a man who treated her as an equal. She even found common ground with Lauren; they weren’t best friends, but they texted occasionally about the baby.
They say life unfolds as it should. If not for James’s betrayal, Emily might still be living blindly in a loveless marriage. Now, she was truly happy, and her life would never again know betrayal, infidelity, or deceit.