Chicken

I interrupted then and told her we'd signed a pre-nup in which if proven, the unfaithful partner would only walk away with a little more than their clothes... it was harsh one. Her father had insisted I sign it to protect their family interests but Janet had insisted on signing it as well. I didn't have a copy with me but could get one to him as soon as I returned home. I could almost hear him smiling.

My private investigator visited to give me his regular briefing and to let me know he'd sent copies of what he'd recorded to my lawyer. I could see he was upset and I asked him if there was a problem. His response made me think a little.

"Because you're still in here I've sent copies of everything to your lawyer then phoned him and told him to pay particular attention to some of it. When I said I was coming over to see you he asked me to let you know he was ready and waiting.

"I was checking on the recordings before I sent them. I hate doing it now because I know what it means to most marriages. Look, I wished I'd paid more attention on that first night. He drugged her you know; I don't understand how I missed it at the time.

"If I'd seen him do it I would've rescued her. By the way she was flirting with him I honestly thought they'd already had sex. I confirmed it all when I watched the recording when he phoned his brother and told him how successful the whole thing had been.

"In the recording he's boasting that what they put in your chicken worked great and they'd have to get some more from their cousin while he's still working at the laboratory. He's under the impression the doctors didn't have a clue so they're going to use it again real soon on another couple, only it'll be his brother's turn to get the bride.

"Anyway, it left Janet vulnerable and then he drugged her after convincing her to have dinner with him. Shit, the bastard was even raving about how he'd even got her cherry. I'm so sorry. I'm really sorry.

"The thing is, he only used it on her the once. Since that first time she's been insatiable and can't get enough sex from him. I've got a separate DVD here of his admission of your poisoning for you to pass on to the police. I can send it to them if you like.

"My sister's told me the police already have the medical and lab results and are waiting for you to return to give your statement and of course this recorded confession then they'll arrest and charge him and his brother. When they track down their cousin he talks about, he'll be arrested as well if the Feds don't get to him first.

"When I told your lawyer about the poison, he told me he'd start on the paperwork to have it ready to sue the catering company for contaminating your food, not that it'll save your marriage. He's also got the paperwork ready for you to sign when you get home to proceed with your divorce.

"If you were thinking of forgiving her you need to be aware they've planned to keep on meeting and keeping their affair going. She told him she wouldn't leave you for him because she still loved you. In any case he's married and his wife's family owns the catering company so I'm sure he would be dumping Janet when he gets bored.

"You know your wife planned to get pregnant during your honeymoon... it has something to do with a fortune her grandmother left her in her will that had conditions attached. It only gets worse when you listen to them talking about maybe her already being pregnant and you raising his kid.

I knew he was trying to help me but every time he opened his mouth to bring me up to date it only got worse. I had no reason to doubt what he said and it only made me more distressed. Then he did it again when he added, "The bastard is even wearing your clothes now. Your wife told him he should to improve his image."

All I could do was shake my head knowing I'd never wear those clothes any more just as I knew I'd never touch Janet again.

Some strength returned much quicker than anticipated so I thanked everyone for their support and assistance then discharged myself. I booked myself on the first available flight home and caught a taxi to the airport.

There was no one to meet me when I flew in; no one was expecting me and certainly not without my beautiful bride. Without Janet and her family around me I was alone in the world again. I'd already moved all my clothes into the mansion Janet's parents had given us as a wedding present so I went there.

On my way home; what a joke that was - what fucking home - I phoned my lawyer asking him if he could call over to my house in the morning so that I could sign everything he needed. It had been a long hard day and although I didn't think I'd be able to sleep I soon nodded off while watching some television.

The next thing I knew I was awakened by shouts and being roughly manhandled to the floor. I was kicked and punched while I curled up on the floor trying to escape what was happening to me. They handcuffed me then read me my rights and I was being charged with so much.

I couldn't believe it! I'd done nothing wrong; just sleep in my house. They said they were charging me with breaking and entering, trespassing and when they could find what I'd stolen there'd be theft added as well.

Every time I tried to speak I was kicked hard and told to shut up. All was quiet for a moment then I heard one of the police ask someone if they knew me or had seen me around before.

I couldn't see her but I knew her voice straight away as she demanded they throw the book at me for what I'd done. At the same time I heard another familiar voice over near the door asking to come in. I was kicked again then felt a policeman under each arm then they roughly dragged me to my feet.

I heard Debby gasp then my lawyer explode as he read the riot act to all the police in attendance.

"He's the owner you fucking morons!" he screamed. "I'll have all your badge numbers; you're all in deep shit. Why have you cuffed and assaulted him?"

Debby was crying and ran towards me. The police let me go and I dropped to the floor still hurting from the numerous heavy kicks I'd received.

There was a deathly silence as I heard my lawyer obviously on his phone demanding to be put through to the Police Commissioner. I heard muttering all around me and quiet swearing under their breaths as my cuffs were removed far more gently than they'd been applied.

They tried to pick me up again but I screamed in agony from some obviously badly hurt ribs. Debby was screaming hysterically not to hurt me as I pleaded for no one to touch me; she was leaning over me crying and telling me Janet was franticly looking for me in Hawaii and she'd phone her to tell her she'd found me.

I was feeling quite faint, probably caused by the kick to my head but I managed to reach up and grab her arm and beg her to tell no one I was back and if she wanted the reason to watch the DVD sitting in front of the television and talk to my lawyer. I couldn't finish what I wanted to say as everything when black about me, yet again.

In my semi-conscious state I could hear the beeping around me and I prayed everything had been a bad nightmare and I still had my honeymoon ahead of me. Was it Janet holding my hand ever so gently and were they her tears I could feel on my hand that was held to her cheek?

Slowly I opened my eyes and had trouble becoming accustomed to the bright fluorescent lights above me. I could already feel my chest strapped from where I'd been repeatedly kicked. As my other senses slowly kicked in I could hear whoever it was sitting next to me whispering over and over, "I'm so sorry James. Please forgive me for what I've done. It shouldn't have happened. James; my god what've I done?"

I began to recall the worst two weeks of my life and wondered if my loving wife had finally found me and was begging for my forgiveness.

Wait; the perfume was wrong and her voice was much gentler; it wasn't Janet. My eyes finally opened and before I could focus she jumped up and started yelling, "He's awake! He's awake!"

I saw it was Debby beside me still holding my wet hand and her cheek was red from holding my hand against it. I looked around and saw my lawyer; I remembered his face from the photos his daughter had shown in hospital and from seeing him at my house. Then I closed my eyes and sighed as I remembered the pain I had woken to god knows how long ago now.

I heard a mad scramble and felt hands on me and a bloody cold stethoscope. Someone was pulling my eye lids up and shining a stinking bright light into my eyes. I could hear the heart monitor beeping steadily beside me so I knew I was alive; why couldn't they leave me alone. I'd have to remember not to sigh again if that was to be the result. Slowly they pulled back away from me.

When I opened my eyes and looked around the room seemed nearly full but I only recognised two of them. Debby was still crying as she introduced my lawyer to me then he took over and did the honours; my treating doctor was first and there was a nurse who'd be in my room the whole time until I recovered; the State was picking up the bill.

Next came the Police Commissioner and then the District Attorney and because my lawyer suggested I already feared for my life after a very recent poisoning attempt they even introduced the two police who'd be stationed at my door until I recovered. In truth it was all very chaotic.

Then there was silence for a few moments with the only sound being that of Debby still crying and the heart monitor beating away steadily, thank goodness; at least that was reassuring.

The Police Commissioner broke the silence and approached me saying he wanted to apologise on behalf of the Police Department for the actions of a few very over-zealous men. Then he happened to mention that he was having a hard time dealing with the knowledge of what his son had done. I was sure he didn't want assault charges brought against his men.

I wasn't sure why the District Attorney was in the room until he said they were keen to finalize the paperwork to set the arrest of the two brothers and their cousin in motion but they still needed my signed statement. My lawyer stepped in and read me a prepared statement we'd discussed while I was still in Hawaii so I quickly signed it and the DA left.

The doctor was called away and the two police followed him out the door but then stationed themselves each side of the doorway. When everything settled I finished signing all the documents my lawyer required. He'd found my copy of our pre-nup on the floor next to where I'd gone to sleep the night before. I'd been reading it.

I whispered some suggestions to my lawyer and as he heard them he just kept nodding with that silly grin on his face. The Police Commissioner had made a slight error in judgement in apologizing for his son who'd been one of the uniformed police who'd attacked me and was obviously concerned now for both their careers if I went public about the police attacking me in my home totally unprovoked.

We closed the door for some privacy and offered some suggestions to the worried father. None were outrageous but never the less he agreed to see if it was possible with his political and legal connections.

I didn't want much and I wouldn't sue them if I was able to obtain a very quick divorce and I wanted to inflict maximum pain and jail time on the two brothers. If that didn't happen my PI in Hawaii had suggested he'd like to help me out as he still felt a bit responsible.

Debby stayed with me all that first day and night hardly leaving my side; she refused even when I suggested she go home and change. Several times Janet phoned her in tears saying that she still hadn't found me. She'd even mentioned that my luggage was still in our room.

While she cried Debby confessed to me it was her who'd called the police. She'd visited the house like she did every morning to make sure all was secure. When she arrived she'd seen the mess in the kitchen I'd left and a couple of beer bottles on the floor. My arm was draped over the end of the lounge and without seeing who I was she called the police who'd overreacted. Of course I forgave her as she held my hand to her cheek again.

On one occasion as Debby had her phone on loud speaker when Janet spoke to her, I heard the sleaze bag murmur something in the background. I muted the phone then asked Debby to ask Janet who the man was in her room who was talking in the background. Janet's phone quickly disconnected but then she phoned back minutes later saying the signal must've dropped out. This time there was no noise behind her.

In the morning my lawyer was back. Somehow I think he was enjoying a case that held so much variety. He confirmed the State officials had agreed in principal to grant the divorce at the first sitting that day based on the evidence we held, the pre-nup and my attempted murder. Maybe the attempted murder was exaggerated more than a little but that was the charge we wanted the brothers prosecuted on.

Although it held no stead, the fact that our marriage had never been consummated and she'd continuously cheated on me while I lay "near death" in hospital had been taken into account. On top of all that she declared her intent to keep cheating and have the sleaze bag's children. Then he left for court to see if the State would keep its word.

He was back well before lunch with my Final Decree of Divorce and suggested Debby fetch her father without giving reason or destination until he was here with us so the situation could be explained to him. His reputation for explosive reactions to certain situations was well documented.

Debby agreed and left to get her father knowing it was going to be very difficult to get him to our hospital room. She texted me when she was leaving his office with him in hot pursuit and when they arrived our room was darkened with the blinds closed. We could see he wasn't a very happy man and we had no idea what Debby had told him to follow her. The police at the door had him worried.

The police had been briefed to let them in without stopping them and as their eyes adjusted to the darkness I saw the look of surprise on his face. We could easily see he was about to explode so my lawyer quickly intervened and asked him to sit and listen then he could ask his questions.

My lawyer was good and I wondered how much I was going to end up paying; I'd never asked and he'd never said anything. I was surprised when Debby sat next to me on the bed and held my hand and as her father sat he shot an evil look at both of us.

So then my lawyer proceeded to bend the truth a little... but it was sort of based on fact. Besides it sometimes went with the profession I'm told. My father-in-law - well ex-father-in-law now - was quickly told that I was under police protection as the authorities feared for my life after having been deliberately poisoned at my wedding. I could see the look of horror on his face.

He continued and told him that while I lay near death on my hospital bed my loving wife had stopped visiting me and I couldn't even get her on the phone while she proceeded to cheat with the man who'd poisoned me. Our marriage had never been consummated and now she was going to probably say she was pregnant to claim her grandmother's huge inheritance.

Debby's father just sat there shaking his head in disbelief then Debby told him she'd seen the DVD evidence of her betrayal of me and listened to their plans to cuckold me well into the future.

He sounded defeated when he finally said, "But Janet phoned every night telling us all how she was so worried about you and that you were very sick the whole time from a virus. She said she'd stayed by your side the whole time. Then the other day she rang in panic saying you'd just disappeared from hospital while she was away and no one could find you.

"We were going to fly out to help her but she insisted we meet her here as she had a friend who was going to help her there. She was sure you'd show up before it was time to leave. She even suggested you might've even been a little delirious. She's flying home tomorrow using the return ticket hoping you'll be by her side.

My lawyer continued, "You need to understand that Janet wasn't part of the conspiracy to poison James and is as much of a victim here but sadly she has committed adultery and continued with her infidelity on a daily basis completely ignoring James in his near death situation.

"Both James and the hospital tried to make contact with Janet in the days before he was released but she didn't respond to their calls so he flew home not knowing where she was anymore.

"As such the State has made special provision and allowed their divorce to be finalized based on their pre-nup. They're no longer married. Here's some of the photographic evidence taken and you can see it's date and time stamped so you can see her behaviour was not a once only or very occasional thing. I suggest you don't look at them."

My ex-father-in-law looked over at me with a look of sadness I'll never forget but then cocked his head the same way Janet did that first time as he looked at Debby holding my hand.

"Are you two?"

"No!" We responded together.

"Debby discovered me at home when I got back from Hawaii and she's stayed with me and helped me through some painful situations over the past few days while I've been hospitalized. Without her, god knows what would've happened to me. She's been like my guardian angel that Janet should've been."

"Debby, I need to ask a big favour of you honey. Can you stay close to James and look after him for us. Our family owes him so much for what your sister has done. I'm not sure we'll ever get around her total disrespect and lies to all of us. I'll have to talk to your mother and warn her so she doesn't collapse when she finds out what's happened and what Janet's going to find when she gets home."

I spoke again, "Please let Janet stay with you at your house. There's court order forbidding her coming near me because of her association with the caterer while I was sick. Remember she was drugged to start with, and then taken advantage of.

"I'm so sorry but because of her actions and her blatant infidelity I can never stay married to her. If it had only been the once with that dirt-bag when he drugged her it would've been different and I would've somehow forgiven her; but over the past couple of weeks she has totally destroyed my trust in her. I'll never forget how much I loved her."

While they were talking about what had happened a nurse came in and injected something into my drip then I must've drifted off to sleep. When I awoke it was morning and the others were gone of course but Debby was still beside me sleeping peacefully in a big old arm-chair someone had found for her.

We still had quite some time to go before Janet's plane arrived so I let Debby sleep. I somehow knew she'd been awake late into the night just sitting there watching me every time I twitched or moved a little.

The Police Commissioner arranged for us to be present when the sleaze-bag was arrested and that of course meant we'd be there when Janet was served her papers. The Commissioner's driver with his car picked us up and dropped us at the main entrance to be met by the head of airport security; his cousin. As we walked in with Debby supporting me a little we were escorted to the mezzanine floor to wait for the show. Strange how after all the times I'd been there over the years I'd never noticed the mezzanine floor before.

It blended in extremely well with the building design and was a security feature after 9/11. Although all the glass was mirrored if viewed by the general public below in effect they were one way mirrored glass on sliding window tracts. The concept was to provide some additional safety without the public realising they were being watched and monitored the whole time they were in the terminal.