Our Wicked Lies Gledé Kabongo (summer reading list .txt) 📖

“Because you’re a terrible liar.”

“What?”

“I knew when you asked me to recommend a divorce lawyer that you were asking for yourself, not some ‘friend’ from your old neighborhood. I didn’t want to push. Figured it was none of my business. But now you’re asking me to do something illegal, so it is now my business.”

Despair gnawed at Alicia. She was desperate, and Rina knew it. What would she do if Rina refused to help her? “Are you saying you won’t help me?”

“I’m not saying that at all.”

“But you want something in return for helping me?”

Rina shook her head. “No, but before I start anything, I need to be sure you want me to do this.”

“Yes, why wouldn’t I? That’s why I’m here. I need to put a name and a face to the woman who’s been tormenting me and threatening to dismantle my family.”

“The wife always thinks she wants the details, but sometimes, Alicia, you’re better off not knowing.”

Was this a warning? There was no logical reason Alicia could see for Rina saying it might be a good idea to back off. “What do you mean?”

“Things aren’t always as they appear.”

The statement further deepened Alicia’s confusion. Rina wanted to help but something was stopping her.

“Please, Rina,” she begged. “I’m fighting for my family, my marriage. When I saw his signature on the sales agreement for the house, something inside me snapped. I won’t hand over my husband to this woman. It doesn’t matter if Eliot and I eventually collapse. I owe it to my daughters. They can’t fight her for their dad, so I have to do it for them.”

“I feel for you, Alicia, but before you take this step, is there any chance you and Eliot can work this out? I’m guessing you haven’t told him any of this?”

“No. That’s why I want information about her. He can dismiss the emails, the sonogram, and the house as someone messing with me. But naming her and presenting details about her… He can’t lie his way out of that.”

Rina sighed and stood up, leading the way to the home office where her computers were set up. All kinds of tech gadgets, cables, USB ports, and something that looked like a small circuit board spanned two desks. Alicia had no idea what any of this equipment was, or how they worked, but just as long as they did, that was all she cared about.

After Alicia provided Faith’s email address, Rina typed faster than Alicia thought humanly possible. Data populated the computer screen, coding, a series of numbers and letters. A stone-faced Rina continued her task with an intense focus, as if she wasn’t Rina, but some crazy computer genius in action. This task seemed to get her juices flowing. Alicia now understood why she yearned to return to the workforce.

“If she uses a Virtual Private Network, VPN, when she signs online to communicate with you, it would hide her IP address,” Rina explained, never taking her eyes off the screen. “There are also firewalls to get through.”

As Rina typed and clicked and scrolled, for what felt like eternity, Alicia paced the room. She had no idea how long this would take or whether Rina would be successful. Alicia didn’t want to think about that. How else would she find out who Faith was?

Rina turned in her office chair to face Alicia, a pained expression marring her face.

“What? What did you find?”

“Your husband’s mistress lives in this town. On this street.”

CHAPTER 30

“I don’t understand,” Alicia said, through quivering lips. “Are you sure it’s not a mistake, some technical glitch in the results or something?”

“No, Alicia. It’s not a mistake.”

“Well, who on our street would Eliot be having an affair with? Faith sounded young and immature. I could tell by the things she said to me. She must be in her twenties. Goodness, what a cliché! The man goes through a mid-life crisis and takes up with a woman in her twenties to make him feel young and vibrant.”

“Not always. There are exceptions to every cliché.”

“What are you saying? What does this information mean?”

Rina looked away.

“You’re scaring me. What else did you find out?”

“I extracted details, down to the actual address.”

“Who is it?” she asked. Her eyes darted from Rina to the screen and back again.

“Katalina Torres DeLuca.”

Alicia shook her head. “No. No way. It’s a mistake. Check again. There is no way that Faith is Kat. Kat wouldn’t say those things to me. She wouldn’t try to steal my husband. Maybe someone visited her house and used her computer to make it look like she’s the one sending the emails?”

“Then the person would have to go to her house every time she wanted to message you.”

She had arrived looking for answers, but she had found only more questions. What Rina uncovered made no sense. There had to be a logical explanation.

“Last week I visited Kat at her office in Boston and showed her the email. She wrote a response and showed it to me before I hit send. How could she have done that if she was Faith?”

“You told her about this?”

“Well, yes. We’re best friends.”

“Oh, Alicia,” Rina said. Her voice oozed with pity. “I tried to warn you.”

“What do you mean?”

“The notes.”

Alicia’s mouth hung open. “You were behind the anonymous notes?”

“Yes. I hoped that you’d see, find out for yourself, but you didn’t.”

“Explain.” Alicia almost growled.

Rina gazed at Alicia with compassion. “Alicia, I like you. You’re a wonderful woman. I couldn’t just sit by and let this happen. You know that Katalina and I have had our differences, but I didn’t just dislike her because she flaunted her looks and her body.”

“Go on.”

“David saw her and Eliot on Atlantic Avenue, outside her office building, kissing, with their hands all over each other. That was two years ago.”

Alicia let out a harsh breath and said nothing. She just stared at Rina. Nausea snaked its way up from her stomach. “Two years? You said two—”

She stalled.