I Took My Husband’s Mistress To Her Appointment. Then Sent Them Both To Prison Chapter 16
I did not meet Livia alone.
The meeting took place at my attorney’s office. A clear notice outside the conference room stated that audio and video recording would be in progress.
Livia signed an acknowledgment before entering, and my attorney remained present throughout. She looked terrible when she walked in.
She had lost weight. Dark circles bruised the skin beneath her eyes, and one hand rested protectively over her stomach.
Even so, the first word out of her mouth was, “Genevieve…”
I cut her off.
“Don’t act like we’re on the same side.”
“You and I have never been sisters, and we have never been allies.”
Her expression stiffened.
She bit her lip, and tears appeared on command.
“I know you hate me.”
“But he lied to me too.”
“We’re both women. You should understand.”
I looked at her.
“I don’t.”
“I would never knowingly move into a married man’s home.”
“I would never wave forged court judgments and marriage records around and call myself Mrs. Sterling.”
“And I would never use a child as leverage.”
Her face turned white, then red.
She tightened her grip on her purse strap and lowered her voice.
“I didn’t come here to fight.”
“Then get to the point.”
She removed a flash drive from her purse and placed it on the table. She did not slide it toward me.
“This contains the transfer records from when Rhys arranged the crash.”
“It also contains records of his contact with the document forger.”
“And…”
She glanced at me.
“Messages between us discussing why your baby couldn’t be allowed to survive.”
I stared at the flash drive.
Under the table, my fingers slowly curled into my palm.
My attorney spoke.
“What do you want, Ms. Kessler?”
Her answer came immediately.
“I want a cooperation agreement.”
“I’ll testify and give every original record to the district attorney.”
“But Genevieve has to drop her civil claims against me, and she has to tell the prosecutor that I came forward voluntarily.”
Silence stretched across the conference table. Then I laughed.
Unease flickered over Livia’s face.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Livia, have you forgotten something?”
“You aren’t here to help me.”
“You’re here because Rhys can no longer protect you, and now you want to barter evidence for a lighter sentence.”
She shot to her feet.
“Genevieve!”
“I’m still carrying a child!”
“He is innocent!”
I looked up at her.
“Wasn’t my child innocent?”
She went silent.
I rose and faced her across the conference table.
“You say Rhys deceived you.”
“But you knew he had a wife.”
“You call yourself a victim.”
“When you flaunted those wedding pictures, did you ever think about me?”
“You say your baby is innocent.”
“Six months ago, when you paid the driver extra to make sure I could never carry another child, did you think about mine?”
All color left her face.
“I didn’t…”
My attorney’s voice was even.
“Ms. Kessler, the recording provided by the driver’s family has already been turned over to law enforcement.”
“There is no point denying it now.”
Her legs gave way. She dropped back into the chair.
This time, her tears were real.
“I was scared.”
“I was only trying to secure a future for myself…”
I watched her.
“Why did your future have to stand on my child’s grave?”
Her sobbing stopped.
My attorney continued.
“Leave the evidence.”
“Whether you receive a cooperation agreement and what charges are filed are decisions for the district attorney. Sentencing belongs to the court.”
“Ms. Rowland will not obstruct your cooperation, but she will not ask for leniency for either you or Rhys.”
Livia’s head snapped up.
“Then why should I give you anything?”
I met her gaze calmly.
“You don’t have to.”
“But if you walk out with it today, Rhys won’t let you live in peace.”
“The Sterling family won’t protect you either.”
“In your hands, that evidence will become a target on your back before it ever becomes a bargaining chip.”
Her lips trembled.
She reached for the flash drive.
My attorney spoke again.
“One reminder, Ms. Kessler.”
“Before entering, you signed an acknowledgment that this meeting would be recorded in full.”
“You have already admitted that you possess critical evidence and that you intended to trade it for immunity or leniency.”
Her hand stopped.
Hatred and fear warred across her face.
“Genevieve, you’re much more ruthless than I thought.”
“I wasn’t ruthless before.”
“That’s why my child is dead.”
Livia had no answer.
After a long silence, she slammed the flash drive onto the table.
“Take it!”
“Let’s see how happy you are when Rhys is rotting in prison.”
I picked it up and handed it to my attorney.
“I don’t need happiness from this.”
“I need justice.”
At the door, Livia stopped with her back to me.
Her voice was very low.
“It’s not that he never loved you.”
I said nothing.
“He was just too certain you would never leave.”
I looked at her back.
“That’s his problem.”
After Livia left, my attorney quickly delivered the contents of the flash drive to law enforcement. That evening, LAPD officers arrested Rhys on a warrant obtained by the prosecutor. His face remained cold as they placed him in the police car.
His expression changed only when an officer told him the evidence had come from Livia. Before they drove him away, he made one request.
“I want to see Genevieve.”