“I, Petra Van Gatt, agree to cooperate with the office of the State Attorney General and the Department of Justice in the prosecution of Alexander Van Dieren for the alleged homicide of my mother, Tess Hagen.” She pauses, taking a breath. “In exchange for immunity, I accept that I will be a witness in the upcoming trial and provide taped conversations that can help the case. I shall only assist the prosecution and not the defense and keep my cooperation totally confidential.”
There are no words to describe the pain that is watching my wife betraying me as she sides with the man who eagerly wants to ruin my life and send me to jail.
I felt angry when Roy and Sebastian betrayed me, but when it comes to her? I can’t find the right words. None of them would be suitable. Why? Because of all the people who I thought would betray me, Petra never made the list. And yet, I was wrong. I swallow the lump in my throat, looking away as I gather my thoughts. Despite her betrayal hurting more than anything, I can’t say I was caught off guard. Yet the bruises I have inside me are bleeding and I don’t know how to make them stop. It’s hard, so fucking hard to keep my composure in front of Ryan while her words replay in my mind.
“Are you okay, Alex?” I hear him asking as I look to the void.
“How did you get that video?” I manage to pull out of myself.
“Eric gave it to me.”
I chuckle at Eric’s brilliant move. If he wanted to destroy me by showing me my wife’s true nature, then it’s working pretty well. As I come to think of it, my intuition was right. Deep inside, I knew since the moment Petra was ignoring my phone calls and only replied back in order to get me arrested that something was off. At the time though, I just couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
“Look, when it comes to the abduction, the act was committed in the Netherlands, so you don’t have to worry about it here.” I think Ryan is talking to me, but I can’t help thinking about my wife and all the amazing moments we spent together. Seeing her betraying me like that has left me totally numb. She could’ve contacted me, she could’ve asked Eric for some time to think about the deal before jumping right into it. But she didn’t. She simply sided with them, throwing her loyalty for me under the bus. “Alex?” I blink twice, my gaze drifting back to him. “Are you okay?”
It takes everything in me to say, “I wasn’t expecting such a statement from her. I’m just shocked, that’s all.” Blowing out a breath, I look away for a moment, yet my mind can’t stop thinking about that video. “I’m so… disappointed.”
Ryan keeps quiet while considering me. “Look, I’m sure there’s a good reason for her to have done that. In a way, she has immunity. He’s leaving her out of this mess. So, it’s not really a bad thing.”
Despite his reassuring words, I don’t buy it. After all, Petra could’ve talked to me about this whole ordeal first, but she didn’t. Plus, if she is innocent, she doesn’t need that immunity for anything. It sounds more like she’s really doing it for revenge because I lied to her and now she thinks I’m the one who killed her mom. But to be fair, she made herself very clear when she said, “Next time I might not be as forgiving…”
“Alex?” I look again at Ryan. There’s something in his gaze that switched; it’s now more empathetic and friendlier. “I know it’s gonna be hard with the trial, the media portraying you in a bad light, and your wife testifying against you, but you can’t shut yourself down.”
I stand up and stroll toward the floor-to-ceiling windows at the end of the living room, still ruminating about what Ryan showed me. Then I stand in front and contemplate the magnificent view to the Hudson River. “You have to warn Julia,” I tell him. “Make sure it’s not a tracked line, but contact her and see if she’s attending the funeral or not. If she is, then make sure she’s carrying her judicial immunity with her. And kindly ask her to check with the rest of my family.”
“Okay, I will talk to her.” While I remain standing in front of the window, I hear Ryan rising from his seat and walking toward me. Then he stands beside me and asks, “Do you want me to say something to your wife?”
I ponder his question for a moment. “No.” Then I stare back at the horizon ahead of me and take a deep breath. “I’ll do it myself.”
“Alright,” Ryan mumbles before proceeding. “I’m sure there’s a reason why she did what she did. Maybe Eric coerced her, you know how they are.”
I look at him, a small smile playing on my lips. It’s touching to see him worrying so much about us. Most lawyers wouldn’t give a fuck. On the contrary, they’d maybe encourage a divorce procedure or so at this point.
“I’ll also need a new line and phone,” I tell him.
“That has already been taken care of.”
I nod, and for the sake of trying to think about something other than my wife’s betrayal, I ask, “Do we know when the trial is?”
“Only after your second arraignment we will,” Ryan replies.
“Mr. Van Dieren?”
I turn to look at the butler who stands at the entrance of the living room.
“Eric Bradford is here,” he announces.
I glance at my watch and realize it’s time for our meeting with that son of a bitch. “Sure, let him in.”
Ryan tenses, so I put my hand on his shoulder to ease him a bit. “Let’s say hi to our friend,” I whisper to him.
My eyes alight on Eric who walks in and I’m even more surprised he came alone. I can only come to the conclusion his department is not aware of this meeting.
I observe him as he takes in his surroundings—from the ample entryway, the minimalist sculpture that stands in the corner, the high ceilings, the abstract paintings… “You’re gonna have a hard time adapting to a federal cell,” he says with a smirk on his lips.
“I won’t have to adapt to anything,” I riposte just as fast, returning the smile.
The living and dining room being in an open space, Ryan and I start walking toward the glass table and we take a seat, waiting for him. Then Eric does the same and pulls a chair in front of us.
Once we are all seated, Eric skips the civility and goes straight to the point. “I’m gonna make it very clear for you, Alex. As you probably know, we’ve got some strong evidence against you.” The fact he’s calling me “Alex” which is only for friends and acquaintances makes me want to punch him in the face. “This isn’t a case you can win.” His tone is irritating, but I take a deep breath, and let my attorney do the talking.
“Do you have anything new for us?” Ryan asks, keeping a professional posture.
Since Eric is legally obligated to show us everything that will be presented to the court, he opens his briefcase and takes from there a document that he hands to us. “This report here clearly shows us that Tess knew about the death of your friend’s daughter. She knew you and Roy were involved. I’m pretty sure Jan isn’t gonna be happy about it once he knows.”
I can’t help but chuckle, already anticipating his next move. “Let me guess, you want me to plead guilty at the arraignment or else you tell him?”