CHAPTER 138 Breaking Point

CHAPTER 138 Breaking Point

Lisa's POV

“You want to meet?” Andre’s voice was tentative, surprised. “Lisa, I thought—”

“I don’t care what you thought.” My voice is cold, dead. “We’re meeting, tomorrow. 10 A.M. At the same coffee shop as last time.”

“Okay, but I don’t see why—”

“You’ll understand tomorrow.” I hang up before he can say anything else.

I sit on my floor in the hallway for I don’t know how long. The house is so quiet. So empty. Absolutely so empty, no matter how much light I filled it with and music I played.

Leo is gone.

Really, truly gone this time. Not just sleeping in another room, but really moved out. Staying at a hotel because he can't even breathe the air in the same house as me.

And it’s Andre’s fault.

Every bit of it. Every last chunk of this nightmare is because Andre couldn’t bear that I’d gotten on with my life, that I was happy without him. So he pulled me back into his mess, and when I refused to help, he escalated.

Him showing up at my office was far from the end of it. That’s just the beginning. He’s been using Claire — my own stepsister — to pretend to me. To meet with people in Leo’s business circles. Like to make it seem like I’m helping him, like I’m having an affair with him.

And it worked. 

Leo’s business partner spotted “me” dining romantically with Andre. Jennifer witnessed “me” begging for help in a hotel. How many other people have seen Claire masquerading as me?

My phone vibrates. A text from a number I don’t know, but it’s Leo. He must have texted from the hotel room phone.

I’ll come over tomorrow at 2 p.m. to pick up more of my things. Please don’t be there.

The words are like daggers.

He doesn’t even want to look at me. He doesn’t want to run the risk of being in the same room as me.

I type and delete a few replies before finally sending:

I’m going out. Leo, please. I’m begging you to believe me. That wasn’t me who people saw. Please.
Three dots appear, then disappear. Then nothing.

He's not going to respond.

I haul myself up from the floor, aching as if I’d been beaten. I automatically walk upstairs, into our bedroom—now mine, I suppose.

Everything in this room reminds me of what I’ve lost. The book on the nightstand. His cologne on the dresser. His shirts in the closet. Tangible reminders of the life we created and that is now, breaking apart.

I plop down onto the bed and look up at the ceiling.

How did I end up here? How my life went from perfect to destroyed in under two weeks? 

I know how. Andre. Andre called, and rather than immediately shutting him down and telling Leo, I committed the catastrophic error of dealing with it by myself. Of lying. Of giving Andre a crack at demolishing everything.

Now I pay the price.

But I’ve been paid for now. This has been my turn to play the unwitting pawn in Andre’s game. I'll tape every word.

And I’m going to get him to fix it.



That night I don’t sleep.

What I will say. I need to make him admit the truth. If it even matters any longer.

I get up at about 3 AM, go down and make coffee when I’ve given up on sleep. I sit in the dark at the kitchen table waiting for the morning to come.
I rise at 6 and take a very deliberate shower and dress. I’m going to wear a simple black dress – professional, serious, armor. When I’m washing my face, I pull a little makeup in to cover up the signs of my sleepless night. I gather my hair into a tight bun.

I am going to war.

The same place we met before. The place where it all began. 

The end point is where it’s going to stop.

I get there early and take a seat at a table in the far corner. I want this conversation to myself. I take out my phone and launch the voice recorder app, testing it to see if it’s recording.
This time, I’m prepared. This time, I'm finding proof.

Exactly at ten in the morning Andre walks in.
He looks even worse than when he turned up at my office. His suit is rumpled, his face is gaunt, his eyes are red-rimmed. He is a man who has just reached the end of his human limits.
Good.

He recognizes me and comes up with great caution, as if I’m some kind of wild beast that he has to be wary of. Smart of him.

“Lisa,” he says, as he slides into the chair opposite me. “Thank you for agreeing to meet. I know after what happened at your office—”

“Cut the bullshit, Andre.” My voice is ice. “I know what you’ve been doing.”

He blinks. “What?”

“Claire. You’ve been sending Claire to meet with people, impersonating me. With my name, with Leo’s name, raking in money for your non-existent business.”

He turns white. “I don’t know what you’re —” 

“Don’t. “I lean in, lowering my voice to a threatening whisper. “Don’t you dare lie to me. Not now. Not after what you’ve done.”

He swallows hard, his eyes flick to different parts of the coffee shop. “Lisa—” 

"Leo's business partner saw her having dinner with you. Holding your hand. Looking at you like you were on a date. Leo believes I’ve been deceiving him. Because of what you and Claire did, our relationship is broken.”

"I didn’t mean for—" He halts, appearing to understand denial is useless. His shoulders slump. "How did you know?"

"Does it really matter?" I take out my phone and place it on the table between us, the voice recorder application window is on the screen recording. 'What matters is you’re going to tell me everything. And you’re going to fix it.”

His eyes go wide when he sees the recording. "You're recording this?"

"Yes. And you’re going to tell me the truth. All of it. Or I report you to the police and I press charges for fraud and identity theft and the hundreds of other things which my lawyer will suggest.”

"You wouldn't—"

"Try me." I stare him down. "I have nothing left to lose, Andre. You've already taken everything. So yes, I absolutely would. "

"It was Claire's idea."

“I don't care whose idea it was. Tell me what you did." 

He takes a shuddering breath. “After you’d had me ejected from your office, I went home and told Claire that you’d declined to assist me. She was furious. Said you’d always been selfish, always put yourself first.” He chuckles bitterly. “Funny, coming from the woman who helped me cheat on you.”

“Keep talking.”

“We don’t need you guys’ permission. That she looks sufficiently like you that people wouldn’t realise the difference. That we could say that you had a connection, that your name, your link to Leo Hart, could get us in front of people.”

“And you thought that was a good idea?”

“I was desperate! I’m losing everything, Lisa. My business, my marriage, my home. Claire said this was our only choice.”

“So you let your wife pretend to be your ex-wife to commit fraud."

“Oh, it was no fraud! We were just trying to get meetings—"

“Over the past few days, questions have emerged about how she used the name and the reputation of her boyfriend for financial benefit.That's fraud, Andre. That's identity theft. That's a dozen different crimes."

“I know. I know, okay? I knew it was wrong. But I didn’t know what else to do.”

“Because here’s a thought – you just own the results of your own mistakes, rather than pulling me down with you.”

He flinches. “You’re right. You’re absolutely right. I’m sorry, Lisa. I’m so sorry.”

"Sorry won't fix this." I tap the phone. “So how many times has Claire impersonated me?” 

“Three times. The Meridian Hotel, Pinnacle Restaurant, and a meeting at an investment firm downtown.”

My stomach turns. Three times. Three times people caught “me” with Andre and that was evidence that I was lying to Leo and cheating on him.

“And what did she tell these people?”

“That you were my business consultant. That you were helping me restructure the company. That Leo Hart was thinking about investing.” 

He looks up at me, miserable. "None of them consented to assist, by the way. All for —
it was all for nothing.”

“It wasn’t for nothing.” My voice is hollow. “It destroyed my relationship. It made Leo think I was lying to him, cheating on him. So congratulations, Andre. You got your revenge.”

“That’s not what I wanted to—”

“Yes, it was.” I lean back, studying him. “You wanted me to feel as bad as you’re feeling. You wanted me to feel as bad as you feel when you’re feeling bad. You wanted to take away my happiness because yours was gone. And you succeeded.”

“Lisa, I swear, I didn’t think—”

“No, you didn't think. You never think about anyone but yourself.” I grab my phone, stopping the recording. “Here’s what’s going to happen now. You and Claire are going to reach out to every single person who saw her pretending to be me. You’re going to tell them the truth—that it was Claire, not me. That you committed a fraud under my name.”

"They'll never believe—" 

"You'll make them believe. You'll show them. Photos of Claire. Anything is possible. And I want you to call Leo's business partner David and tell him the truth."

"Lisa, if I confess to fraud, I could get in trouble—"
"You should be punished by the law!" My voice rises, and a handful of people look our way. I drop it again. "You committed crimes, Andre. Several crimes. But I'm giving you an opportunity to fix this before I get the cops."

Now he's trembling, his face buried in his hands. "Please. Don't do this. I'll lose everything."

"You've lost everything already. This is just making it official." I stand, collecting my things. "You have forty-eight hours. Contact everyone. Tell them the truth. Give me evidence you did it. If not, I’m going to be going to the cops and pressing charges.”

"Lisa—"

"Forty-eight hours, Andre." I look down at him, this man who once had so much power over me, now reduced to this pitiable, broken thing. "And then I never need to hear from you again. You and Claire stay out of my life, or I’ll destroy you both. Do you agree?"

He nods miserably. "I understand."

"Good." 

I move to leave, but stop. “You know what the worst part is? I really pitied you when you first called. Part of me wanted to help — despite everything you’d done to me. But you never accepted my no. You had to keep pushing and pushing and manipulating and trying to use me. And now I can’t even pity you.”

I leave him there, his hands over his face, and I step out of the coffee shop to the bright sunlight of morning.

I feel empty. Empty. I feel like I’ve won some battles but lost the war.

Because what if Andre does come clean? What if he tells everyone the truth, and what if that even makes a difference?…

Will I be able to make Leo believe me then? Will he trust me again?
Or has the wound proven too deep?

I get in my car and just sit there for a few moments, holding my phone. I want to call Leo. To tell him what just happened. To beg him a little for just one more chance to tell the truth.
But he told me not to be at the house when he comes by at 2 PM. He won't see me. Not want to hear from me. 

But when I speak, it’s not Leo’s voice.

“Ms. Reed? This is Detective Sarah Martinez from the San Francisco Police Department. I’m calling about Andre Morrison. We got a tip and I have to talk to you now.”

My hands clench the wheel. "What sort of a report?"

“I’d rather talk about this in person. Can you folks make it to the station this afternoon?"

"I... yes. Yes, I can do that."

“Great. We say 3 p.m.? Tell them to ask for me at the reception."

I end the call, and I’m stuck at a stoplight with my thoughts swirling.

The police? What the hell could he have done now, Andre?

Except this isn’t about what he did to me. Unless he or Claire has already attempted to pin anything on me. Unless they’re pre-empting my threat of taking legal-action by painting me as the perpetrator.

I would not put it past them.

It's now 11:30 AM. I have until 3 to figure out what’s going on and the best way to deal with the next nightmare that Andre has come up with.
And I have to do it without Leo. Without him, without his help, without even telling him what’s going on.

How much more can I take? How many more ways can Andre find to ruin my life? 

But then I remember the recording on my phone. Andre's confession. Evidence that I am not lying.

It’s not a lot. But it’s something.

And at this moment, is all I have.

I inhale deeply, sit up straight and get back behind the wheel.

I'm going to get through this. I’m going to fight back. I am going to prove the truth. And I'll find a way, one way or another, to take Leo back.

If I have to raze the rest to the ground to do it.