SAPPHIRE
Though years had passed, I recognized ‘the woman’ instantly. There was no mistaking her. Her image had been burned into my brain that fateful evening. My heart began to race and I felt fury rise in me. How dare he bringherto my apartment?
“I’ve been telling you the truth all along, and these ladies are here to prove it. I think you’re going to want to take a seat,” Zade said.
Blankly, I stared at the three pairs of eyes looking at me. The truth? Was there truly another truth than those terrible photos?
“Please, Sapphire,” Zade urged softly.
I tuned in on his face. His jaw was tight with tension. He didn’t look like a liar. Then again, he never did look like one. Yes, I wanted to hearhis truth.He deserved that much. Wordlessly, I stepped aside and they entered.
I walked to the nearest armchair and sank into it. The women sat on the couch, while Zade stood behind them. He looked like he wanted to pace, but was deliberately holding himself still. The older woman spoke first.
“We’ve never met in person, Sapphire. I’m Lillian.”
Immediately, I recognized her voice. “Lillian? Zade’s old secretary?”
“Yes, that’s right. We’ve spoken a few times when Zade got bogged down with work and was going to be late. I may have sent you a big bouquet of flowers or two as well.” She smiled sadly. “It’s nice to meet you even under these circumstances.”
I felt no kindness towards her. She never once called me to ask how I was. I crossed my arms and said nothing.
“Let me get straight to the point,” she continued. “Randy set Zade up, Sapphire.”
My eyebrows rose skeptically. Not beating that old drum again.
“I have the documents from the accountant to prove it. Randy forged Zade’s signature on check authorizations over a period of months. My task was to find a woman and set it up to make it look as though Zade had cheated on you and was being blackmailed, hence his need to steal money.”
I gasped, my gaze flying over to Zade. He was standing as still as a statue and his eyes were without guilt.
“I’m sorry, Sapphire. I’m so ashamed of what I did and have regretted my part in Randy’s scheme ever since. In my defense it was a very bad time in my life. My aunt was dying and I couldn’t afford the surgery she needed. I was so desperate to help her I wasn’t thinking straight anymore. Randy told me he would pay for her operation if I would help him. All he wanted to do was get rid of Zade from the firm. He promised me you would never see the photos. He would just use them to ask Zade to leave the company. The way I saw it, my aunt would have died without her surgery and it wouldn’t really matter to Zade if he got kicked off the company. I already knew Zade’s big dream was to start up his own company… and from a couple of documents I’d seen on his desk it was clear he was already in the process of moving away. I swear, I truly never dreamed Randy’s intention was to send Zade to prison. Not only were they childhood friends, but not once had I seen any kind of animosity between them. My circumstances made it easy for me to fool myself into believing that Randy was a greedy, ungrateful bastard and Zade would actually be better off without him. Once Zade was taken away, I was immediately fired and told in no uncertain terms that if I was ever to breathe a word about Randy’s plot, I would be the next one going to prison for my part in it.”
My jaw dropped, and I stared at Lillian in shock.
“That’s my part in this sad, sordid story. I’ll let Rachel take it from here.”