Chapter 4 - The Exposure
The scandal hit Ryan and Claire like a freight train.
Because Ryan had used his corporate expense account to book the hotel suites for his rendezvous with my sister, his company launched an immediate internal forensic audit. Within six days, he was terminated from his executive position for gross misconduct and embezzlement of company funds.
Claire, who worked as a junior buyer for a high-end boutique firm, found herself completely socialized out of her peer group once our mother—devastated and furious—confronted her at her apartment.
My mother didn't hold back. She stripped Claire of her family key, demanded the return of all family heirlooms, and told her in no uncertain terms that until she sought help and apologized to her pregnant sister, she was no longer welcome at any family gathering.
A week after I moved into the farmhouse, Ryan showed up at my front porch.
He looked unkempt, his eyes bloodshot, wearing a wrinkled dress shirt. He had lost his job, his prestige, and his mistress—Claire had blocked his number the moment her career went down in flames alongside his.
“Sarah,” Ryan choked out, standing on the wooden porch steps as the cold autumn wind blew around us. “Please. I lost the job. The bank is freezing the house accounts. I have nowhere to go.”
I stood behind the screen door, wearing my comfortable maternity dress, holding a hot cup of tea.
“You have your choices, Ryan,” I said through the mesh screen. “You called me an idiot. You told me I believed everything you said. But the funny thing about trusting someone is that once you wake up, you never go back to sleep.”
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“I’ll go to therapy!” he begged, tears streaming down his face. “I’ll give you total control of the finances! Just let me see the kids! Let me be here when the baby comes!”
“You will see your children according to the custody schedule my lawyer drafts,” I replied, my voice steady and unyielding. “And you will pay child support from whatever job you manage to find next. But you will never set foot in my home again.”
