The Trap Springs Shut The call came at 6.47am, three days after Wade had set his plan in motion. Maria Gamble’s voice was tight with excitement and disgust in equal measure. Wade, you need to see this.
Can you be at my office in an hour? Wade arrived to find Maria’s desk covered with financial documents, photographs, and bank records that painted a picture of systematic betrayal that went far deeper than he’d imagined. Your wife is smart, Maria began, but Patrick Mullins is smarter. And greedier.
She spread out a series of bank statements. Jessica has been moving your money for 14 months, not 8. But here’s the interesting part. Patrick’s been moving her money too.
Every account she’s set up, every investment she made with your stolen funds, he’s been skimming from. She thinks they have $400,000 together. He’s actually got closer to $600,000, and $300,000 of it is hidden from her.
Wade studied the documents, feeling a cold satisfaction settle in his chest. He’s planning to disappear. More than that.
Look at this. Maria produced a lease agreement. Patrick signed a two-year lease on a house in Jessica’s name, using her social security number and forged signature.
If things go south, she’s liable for 24 months of rent on a place she’s never seen. Where? Costa Rica. Non-extradition jurisdiction for financial crimes under $50,000 per incident.
Wade leaned back in his chair, pieces of the puzzle clicking together. Patrick wasn’t just stealing from Wade. He was setting Jessica up to take the fall for everything.
When the time came to disappear, Patrick would leave Jessica holding the bag for fraud charges while he lived comfortably on money stolen from both of them. There’s more, Maria continued. Patrick’s been recording everything.
Phone calls, hotel meetings, even intimate encounters. He’s got enough evidence to destroy Jessica’s reputation and implicate her in every aspect of the theft, while painting himself as a manipulated victim. Wade felt something that might have been admiration for Patrick’s thoroughness if it weren’t directed at destroying Wade’s life.
The man was a professional predator who had perfected the art of leaving his accomplices to face consequences alone. But Patrick had made one crucial error. He’d assumed Wade Woo was just another mark.
I need copies of everything, Wade said, and I need you to do one more thing. That afternoon, Wade implemented the next phase of his plan. He called Jessica at work and asked her to meet him for lunch at their favorite restaurant, the same place where they’d had their first date 16 years ago.
Jessica arrived looking beautiful and nervous, checking her phone constantly, a habit Wade now recognized as Patrick maintenance. I’ve been thinking about our future, Wade began, echoing the text he’d sent nights ago, about what we want out of life. What do you mean? Wade pulled out a folder and set it on the table between them.
I mean, I think it’s time for us to make some changes. Big changes. Jessica’s face went pale as she opened the folder and saw the first document, a property listing for a house in Costa Rica, complete with photographs and a purchase agreement.
Wade, what is this? Our new life. I’ve been looking into retiring early, maybe moving somewhere we can really be ourselves. Wade watched Jessica’s face carefully.
I found this place through a business associate, Patrick Mullins. You remember Patrick, don’t you? He used to work for me. Jessica’s hand trembled as she turned the pages.
I, I don’t understand. Patrick’s been helping me research expatriate living, taxes, property laws, the best ways to transfer assets internationally without triggering government oversight. Wade’s voice was casual, conversational.
He’s got quite a bit of experience with international finance. The color drained from Jessica’s face as she realized Wade was describing exactly what she and Patrick had been doing with his money. But there was more.
Wade was describing it like it was his idea, like he was planning to do it legally and openly. Wade, I don’t think. Patrick suggested we could liquidate most of our domestic assets and reinvest them offshore.
He estimates we could have everything transferred within a month if we move quickly. Jessica’s phone buzzed with a text. She glanced at it and Wade saw her face go from pale to gray.
Whatever Patrick had just sent her, it wasn’t good news. I need to go. Jessica said suddenly, closing the folder.
I’m not feeling well, of course. Take the folder with you. Look it over and we can discuss it tonight.
Wade watched Jessica hurry out of the restaurant, clutching the folder like it was evidence of her own execution, which in a way it was because Jessica now had to choose. Warn Patrick that Wade somehow knew about their plan, risking exposure of their entire relationship, or stay quiet and hope Wade’s interest in Costa Rica was coincidental. Either choice would lead to the same result.
Patrick would realize the situation had become too dangerous and would begin implementing his exit strategy, which meant he would begin cutting Jessica loose. Wade’s phone buzzed with a text from Clarence. Package delivered.
Phase three was ready to begin. That evening, Wade came home to find Jessica pacing the kitchen. The Costa Rica folder open on the counter.
Her phone pressed to her ear. She hung up quickly when she saw him. Everything okay? Wade asked.
Fine. Just work stuff. Jessica’s smile was strained.
I looked over those documents. It’s an interesting idea, but maybe we should think about it more. Actually, I was hoping we could speed things up.
Patrick thinks there might be some regulatory changes coming that could make transfers more difficult. Jessica’s face went through a series of micro expressions. Fear.
Confusion. Calculation. Desperation.
Wade cataloged each one. Maybe we should meet with Patrick together, she said finally, so he can explain the details to both of us. Wade smiled.
Great idea. How about tomorrow night? After Jessica went to bed, Wade called Clarence. Tomorrow night, Patrick Mullins is going to realize he’s been outplayed.
Wade said. I need you to make sure he doesn’t have any options for running. Consider it done.
Wade hung up and walked to his study where he opened his safe and removed the item Clarence had delivered that afternoon. A digital recorder containing every conversation Patrick and Jessica had shared over the past month, courtesy of surveillance equipment that made their hotel room into a confessional booth. Wade had heard his wife’s voice describing how easy it would be to bleed Wade dry, how Patrick made her feel alive in ways Wade never could, how they would disappear once they had enough of his money.
But the most interesting conversation had been the one where Patrick explained to Jessica how he would eventually need to cut ties cleanly when the time came to relocate permanently. Jessica had no idea she was talking to a man who was planning to destroy her life along with Wade’s. Wade smiled as he locked the recorder back in his safe.
Tomorrow night, Jessica and Patrick would discover that they weren’t the only ones capable of planning a betrayal. They were just the only ones stupid enough to think they could get away with it…
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