After that I just saved the file to the cloud. I had the germ of a plan to make them all suffer. I just had to have an alibi for when the shit came down. One of the central questions I needed to answer was if I wanted to be present when hell rained down on them or whether I needed plausible deniability. The nasty plan I was dreaming up could net me years in a penitentiary so maybe I needed some extra help and that before mentioned alibi that was unassailable.
It wasn't all that late when I finished listening to the recordings but I felt like I had been wrung through a wringer. My future and the future of my marriage were in serious doubt right now. I'm not talking about harming myself or even climbing into a bottle but I know my ability to trust and develop a new relationship with a woman was in serious doubt.
I knew that a lot of people would immediately want to see if Marie could revert back to the woman I fell in love with but I think that ship had sailed. Obviously she was enamored with Mark and Suzie and the lifestyle they seemed to represent. Maybe she felt that at forty her life was too short to not experience alternate lifestyles. All I really knew was that it wasn't my lifestyle and I didn't have to condone it.
Another thought was whether I could live in the same city as Marie when we split. Our extended families still lived here but I know of many people who had followed their dreams and found that it entailed moving. I could also. I would miss some of my friends and miss the family gatherings but airlines flew in and out of our regional airport multiple times a day. If I moved and there was a hub nearby I could fly home as often as I wanted or needed.
I had met with the headhunter a couple of days ago. He had told me that a manufacturing concern headquartered in Atlanta wanted to speak to me. My age, combined with my experience, was something they needed. This company was opening a new plant in Mexico and wanted to start off on the right foot. It wasn't any secret that we were having great success in hiring and changing the lives of many ex-cons and former drug users. While the plant wasn't located in an area overrun by Cartel, the labor force in that area of Mexico was poor at best. The headhunter had claimed the company was a faith based company that wanted to impact poor and underserved areas to raise the people out of the squalor and, at the same time, put out a cheap but quality product.
It had been intriguing but I had not been interested in uprooting Marie and Stacey. Now, it was another story. I would have to leave Stacey as I couldn't see her wanting to move to another country to finish high school. Her lifelong friends were all planning on graduating together in another year. Also, I doubted the courts would grant custody to me as Marie was still a great mother, just not a great wife anymore.
It was still early enough in the evening so I sent a text to the headhunter. He would get back to me in the morning. Maybe I would be gone this weekend when Mark wanted to get me onboard with his nefarious plans.
If not then I would think of some other reason to be gone this weekend. When I checked it was now about midnight. Time to think about some sleep. It was a cool evening and I had opened most of the windows to allow the breeze to cool everything down.
I sleep better when I am in a cool environment but the bed is nice and warm. Marie might be a cheating slut but she is still a warm body and I knew that moving forward there would be many cold lonely nights in my future. I wanted to share the bed with her a few more nights but I certainly didn't want any sex anymore. Note to self: Get tested for STDs as soon as possible.
Marie was deeply asleep when I got into the bedroom. Yes, she had locked the door but it was a simple thing to defeat and she knew it. It was more a symbolic locking me out than a serious attempt to keep me out of our bedroom.
Since she was sleeping so deep I took out the tiny flashlight I keep in my side of the bed and slowly pulled down the bedding to expose her. She was wearing her normal tee shirt and panties. I carefully lifted the tee shirt and saw a bruise on her ribs. I took a picture with my cell phone. I managed to get her to roll a little and then saw bite marks on her breasts and a hickey on her neck. I really wanted to see if she had the butt plug in but she would not probably stay asleep while I pulled her panties down.
Overall it really didn't matter.
Since I was now committed to ending this farce I slept well. If I had any doubts about the outcome I would have tossed and turned all night.
I woke early and got up without disturbing Marie and made quick work of getting ready to leave. I didn't escape as I had hoped. I was just finishing getting dressed when Marie woke and slowly got out of bed with a lot of groaning as though she was in pain. I didn't make any comments or ask any questions as she slowly walked the walk of shame to the bathroom. I quickly speculated that she still had the plug inserted and it was not a pleasant experience for her.
While she was doing whatever in the bathroom I finished dressing and headed down and made a cup of coffee and then left without saying a word to Marie.
At the office I again got with Max and Brock before Brock left for the day. I laid out my thoughts on retribution and we kicked the ideas around for a while. I wanted to keep them from getting too involved as my plan could go south very easily and jail time was very possible.
Both of them laughed at me and told me to just name the day that I wanted to put the whole thing in motion and just let it all happen. If it went well then there would be no hard evidence as to who provided the retribution and the three conspirators would be very embarrassed.
Brock knew a couple of people that would do the naughty and nasty physical interventions in such a way that there would not be any permanent damage but there would be permanent reminders to all of them.
After they left the office I made an appointment with my accountant and then a divorce attorney. I had a large pension fund and I knew that she would get at least half of it. The equity in the house was enough to partially offset the pension fund as I planned to give the house to Marie so that Stacey could still have a familiar place to live for the next few years. Jamie and Mick would also have a place to roost when they came home to visit.
My accountant informed me that the courts took a dim view of hiding assets even if there is just cause. We discussed credit cards and loans and how to handle them. We had a good amount invested in savings, money market accounts and even some mutual funds. We figured that I could easily pay down the credit cards and then get them reissued in Marie's name only. I already had one card in my name only so I didn't need another one right now. I asked about publishing a statement that I would no longer be responsible for any debts other than my own but he just laughed and told me to save my money.
He called the bank for me and soon had a new checking account opened and the bulk of my earnings moved there. I would have to move money to keep the household expenses covered but Marie couldn't go on a spending binge. He also arranged to move half of the savings into a new account. I would have to go in and move any items that I wanted to keep from our joint safe deposit box.
I received a call on my cell about the Atlanta based job and arranged a preliminary interview for the next day.
The attorney tried to get me to consider reconciliation as a way to reduce the stress and monetary loss that a divorce entails. After I laid out her betrayal and he listened to the file he agreed to serve the papers when I called for them. I told him that I was going to look for another job in another city so it might be a few weeks before I was ready to announce my plans to Marie.
It was a long day. I had to legitimately stay late at work that evening to get caught up after my time at the accountant's and the lawyer's offices.
When Brock came in we all met for a couple of minutes. Brock just sat there and gave me a thumbs up and a smile. He didn't elaborate but just gave me a note.
"I won't take the risk that we are not being monitored. After you read this give it back to me. I have found the right guy to do the work. He can get most of what we need to complete the tasks as we discussed. He will let us know how he needs to be paid."
I nodded and gave it back to him. He quickly tore it up and then ate the pieces. We discussed some regular business before they headed out. Max was going to check on some other things we needed and Brock needed to get his people working.
I sent a text to Marie telling her I was swamped at work and when I expected to get home. Surprisingly there was no answer for over an hour. I had to chuckle. She was getting complacent and seeing Mark more often than ever before.
I ordered in a freaky fast sandwich and chips for my supper and continued to work. I got home at about ten p.m. and Marie was already asleep. I guess I didn't need to act as though I was still the clueless husband, at least that night.
I managed to get another good night's sleep. The next morning was more like our normal morning even though I was up a little earlier than usual. Marie wasn't doing the slow painful waking up like the day before but she still winced a little as she went to stand up and head for the bathroom. I ignored her painful grimace. I imagine her bruised ribs were still very tender.
At nine I met with the headhunter. He informed me of what the new company was looking for. It would be a challenge but I thought I might very well succeed if I took along some decent supervisors. I immediately thought of Max and Brock. The company wanted to talk with me in person as soon as possible so I made arrangements to fly to Atlanta on Thursday. We would meet Friday at the company headquarters.
I then called Max in. "I will be gone Thursday and Friday for a meeting. I know it is soon but how far along are we with the plans?"
"Well, Boss, it would be a little quick to do something then but give me a week and I think we will be ready."
I nodded. "By the way, I don't know how this is going to shake out but there might be an opportunity to work, for better wages, at a new plant in Mexico. Would you be willing to consider an offer to be part of this?"
"Well, there's not much keeping me here but I would have to talk to my probation officer."
