The Reckoning. Wade didn’t go home that night. Instead, he drove to his first auto shop.
The one he built with borrowed money and 18-hour days when he was 25 and hungry enough to fight for every dollar. He sat in his office until dawn, watching surveillance footage of Patrick and Jessica’s increasingly desperate phone calls and text messages. By 3 a.m., Patrick had attempted to access three different bank accounts, only to discover that Clarence’s people had frozen all his assets pending federal investigation.
A fiction that would hold long enough for Wade’s purposes. Jessica had called in sick to work and spent two hours frantically searching her apartment for documents that would prove her innocence of crimes she was actually guilty of. Wade’s phone rang at 6.15 a.m. Patrick.
Wade, we need to talk. I’m listening. This has gone too far.
Let’s work something out. Wade smiled. Desperation always sounded the same, regardless of who was wearing it.
I gave you my terms yesterday. Have you complied? I can’t transfer money from frozen accounts. Then you’d better figure out how to unfreeze them.
Wade, be reasonable. I’m being reasonable. Unreasonable would be letting Clarence handle this conversation.
The line went quiet for a long moment. What do you want? I want you to disappear, Patrick. Permanently.
I want you to understand that stealing from Wade Wu was the worst mistake of your life, and I want you to spend whatever time you have left remembering that lesson. And Jessica? Wade’s voice went cold. Jessica is my wife.
What happens to her is between her and me. He hung up and immediately called Clarence. How long until Patrick cracks completely? He’s already cracking.
My boys picked up some interesting chatter this morning. Seems Patrick’s been in contact with those Russian friends of his, trying to negotiate more time to pay his debts. And Russians aren’t known for their patience.
Word is, they’re sending someone to discuss the matter with Patrick personally. Wade felt a dark satisfaction settle in his chest. Patrick’s past was catching up with him at exactly the moment when his future was disappearing.
Perfect timing. Make sure the Russians know where to find him. Already handled.
Wade’s second call was to Oliver Doyle. I need divorce papers drawn up. Adultery.
Fraud. Theft of marital assets. I want everything protected under irreconcilable differences with evidence of criminal activity.
Wade, if you have evidence of criminal activity, you should involve law enforcement. Law enforcement moves too slowly. I need this handled privately.
What about Jessica? She’ll fight this. Wade’s laugh was humorless. Jessica is going to be too busy trying to stay out of prison to fight anything.
By noon, Wade had received confirmation that Patrick had attempted to flee the state, only to discover that his passport had been flagged for suspicious financial activity. TSA had detained him for three hours before releasing him with a warning that his travel was being monitored. Wade’s third call of the day was to Jessica.
We need to meet. Her voice was shaky. Defeated.
I’ll sign whatever you want. Good. My lawyer’s office.
3 p.m. Wade, I’m sorry. I know that doesn’t mean anything now, but I am sorry. Wade considered this for a moment.
No, you’re not sorry you did it. You’re sorry you got caught. There’s a difference.
The divorce proceedings took less than an hour. Jessica signed every document without reading them. Her hands shaking with exhaustion and fear.
When it was over, she looked at Wade with tears in her eyes. What happens now? Now you learn to live with the consequences of your choices. Will you? Will you press charges? Wade studied his ex-wife’s face, seeing perhaps for the first time the person she actually was beneath the mask she’d worn for 15 years.
Weak, selfish, willing to destroy anyone to get what she wanted, but ultimately a small person who had made the mistake of trying to prey on someone stronger. No, he said. Finally, you’re not worth the effort.
The relief on Jessica’s face was pathetic. She actually thought she was getting away with it. Wade walked out of the lawyer’s office a free man, but he wasn’t finished.
Not yet. That evening, he sat in his study and made one final call. Clarence, it’s time.
You sure about this, Wade? I’m sure. Two hours later, Wade received a text message with an address and a time. He drove across town to a warehouse district he’d known well in his youth.
Places where problems were solved permanently and questions weren’t asked. Patrick Mullins was waiting for him, tied to a chair in the center of an empty building. His face was bruised, his clothes torn, and his eyes held the desperate terror of a man who had finally realized the game was over.
Wade, Patrick gasped as Wade approached. Thank God. These men, they’re insane.
They think I owe them money. Wade pulled up a chair and sat down facing Patrick. You do owe them money.
A quarter of a million dollars plus interest. That’s impossible. I never borrowed from Russians.
No, but you stole money that was going to be used to pay them back. Wade’s voice was calm, conversational. You see, Patrick, I’ve been doing business with Arturo Haynes for years.
When I needed investors for my first shop, Arturo connected me with some international financiers. Russians, as it happens. Patrick’s face went white.
You paid them back years ago. I did. With money that technically belonged to you, since you’d stolen it from me.
Wade smiled, which means you owe them the money I used to pay my debt. With 15 years of compound interest. The math was fictional, but Patrick was too terrified to question it.
Sometimes the most effective lies were the ones that sounded just plausible enough. I don’t have that kind of money. I know.
That’s why we’re here. Wade stood and walked to where Clarence was waiting with two other men Patrick probably recognized from his nightmares. Patrick Mullins, Wade said formally.
You made the mistake of thinking you could steal from me. You made the mistake of thinking you could seduce my wife and destroy my life. Most importantly, you made the mistake of thinking I was just another mark to be conned and discarded.
Wade nodded to Clarence. You were wrong. The last thing Patrick saw was Wade walking away, leaving him to face the consequences of a life built on destroying other people’s trust…
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