Don't Do Anything Stupid

"Well payback is a bitch. Does he have all these videos on his hard drive?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well I found a number of DVRs his closet so my guess those are the only copies he has on disk. When you're done wipe his hard drive clean so there is nothing on it. Did you find a backup drive?"

"No but that doesn't me he doesn't have one. Let me look around and see if I can find it."

I went back to the bedroom and gathered up all the DVRs and used a backpack that I found in the closet to carry them in. I look around the room some more but was unable to find any other evidence so I went back to see hoe Joe was doing.

"You were right. I found his backup drive."

"Good. Do a full backup, wipe the drive on his laptop, and we'll take his backup drive with us."

"But if we do that he'll know someone was here."

"I know but it can't be helped. With his blackmail scheme ruined it will cut him off from this money coming in and bankrupt this bastard. I'd also like to let these women know they don't have to worry about him any more. Which reminds me print out all the emails you find from these women. I'll setup an email account and let them know they don't have to pay this asshole anymore money."

"Okay you're the one paying me. I can setup that email account from his computer if you'd like?"

"Do it."

As he finished up and I did another once around the place before we locked up and left quickly. Once back at the cars I handed Joe an envelope with the rest of his money.

"Thanks for your help. I'll call you when I want you to max out his credit cards and completely screw this guy over. Okay?"

We shook hands, "It'll be my pleasure. Hope things work out for you and your wife." with that he drove off.

I went back to my hotel and started to put the rest of my plan in motion. First I called my in-laws to see if they had my children.

My father-in-law answered, "Hello?'

"Dad its me Dave. I just wanted to see how the kids are doing. Hope they aren't giving you and mom to much trouble." I said with some cheer in my voice.

"David no no they're both being little angels. Hope Jamie is having fun on her girls weekend. Have you talked with her today?"

"No not yet. That was going to be my next call. I just wanted to make sure the girls weren't causing any problems." I knew they wouldn't. They love staying at their Grandparents' house.

So after taking with Jamie's dad it was clear he had no idea she was in Las Vegas fucking another guy. What a piece of work she is. My next call was to the house which I knew she wouldn't be there so I left a message. Then I waited an hour and when she didn't call me back I called her cell. Again she didn't pick up so I left a message saying I was worried. That I had called the house and you didn't answer or called me back and now you don't answer your cell. Please call me just so I know you're okay. I also added that if I didn't here form her within the hour I was going to call her parents. Fifteen minutes later my cell phone rang and surprise surprise it was Jamie.

"There you are. Is everything okay? I called the house but you didn't answer."

"No everything fine I was out with a few friends and I took the girls over to my parent's. I just wanted to get out of the house for a bit, that's all." she sounded a bit tense.

"I can understand that. Well I'll be home in a week and maybe we could have are own night out. What do you think?"

"Oh uh sure that would be nice." there was uncertainty in her voice.

"Jamie is everything okay? I mean you don't sound to excited about going out with your own husband." I was toying with her. Trying to make her nervous.

"Oh no I'm just tired. I think I'll go to bed early tonight." she was trying to end this conversation.

"Sure babe, I'll let you go. Sleep well. I love you." we hung up.

My anger was returning with a vengeance but I made myself calm down. Again I didn't sleep well and so I was up early doing my morning run. I got back to my hotel room and took a nice long shower. Afterwards I called the office and checked if anything needed my attention but all seemed to be going smoothly there.

Then I got the call every parent fears. Rebecca was injured at school and had to be taken to the hospital. At that moment nothing mattered to me more than the safety of my child. The school called my house first, when no one answered they tried to call me at work which in turn someone from my office called me. I called the school back and they informed me she had broken arm and was at the emergency room being treated. I rush out the door and went straight to the hospital. Once there I called Jamie's cell and when I got her voice mail screamed into the phone that if she didn't call me within the next fifteen minutes that the next call I make is to a divorce lawyer.

It was an hour later that my cell rang. I saw it was from Jamie I rejected the call and sat with my daughter as the doctor set her arm in a cast. She was crying saying she wanted mommy. I wanted to comfort her but I didn't know what to say. It took some time but she finally settled down and I took her to her Grandparents. My phone rang again and again I rejected.

When I had calmed down I made a call to a good divorce lawyer and setup an appointment for the following day. Then Jamie called again, I took this call.

"Nice of you to make the time to call me. How is Steven? Hope you had some luck at the blackjack tables. Oh by the time you make it home the girls and I will have moved out. I've contacted a divorce lawyer and with all the evidence and the videos I have of you and Steven together I doubt I'll have any trouble getting full custody of the children."

"Oh God please Dave don't do this please." she was crying.

"You seem to forget, you're the one in Las Vegas while your child was in a hospital crying for her mother. But her mother couldn't be bothered as she was with her lover living it up because she was horny. Well maybe you can start over with Steven and have the life you always wanted. You just won't have your two little girls though. Hey your still young and I'm sure Steven can give you more children. I truly hope you two will be happy together."

"But Dave its you I love its you I want to..." I ended the call.

I took Rebecca and Amy home and helped them pack their backs with some clothes and brought them to my hotel and got them their own room next to mine. Then I called Jamie's father and told him what happened at school and that for the time being we won't be living at home until some things can be resolved.

"Dave what is going on? Are you and Jamie fighting?"

"We're having some problems but you should ask her. For now the girls will be staying with me until I can be certain of their well being and safety. I hope you understand."

He didn't but wished us the best anyway and hoped we could work things out. The next call I made was to Joe.

"Hey. So what's the good word?"

"Wreak havoc on that asshole. Max out all his credit cards and make sure he has no money in any of his bank accounts. Also see if you can ruin his credit by opening up more cards and maxing them out as well. I want him under a mountain of debt he won't be able to get out from."

Joe laughed, "My pleasure man, my pleasure. Call me if you want anything else done to this creep. It will be free of charge."

After that I called my house and Jamie answered immediately.

"Hello?"

"Its me."

"Oh God Dave I am so sorry. Please can we at least talk about this? I want to try and save our marriage." she was crying again.

"If you really mean that then I have some conditions that need to be met." I said coolly.

"Alright I'll do whatever you ask just please don't leave me." she said crying. "I want to see my girls, I need them as much as I need you."

"I hope you mean that Jamie. This is the only time I'll forgive your adultery. If this ever happens again we will be through. Do you understand?"

"Yes yes I understand." she said quietly.

"First I need you to call Steven and tell him its over between the two of you and that I know the whole story. Second you and I will sit down and you WILL watch all the videos I took of you two together so you know without any doubt what I saw. Third we will be seeing a marriage counselor until they are satisfied we have mended out marriage. I do love you but your betrayal hurt me so much and when Rebecca was injured and she was crying for you I didn't know what to tell her. You have no idea the hell I went through." I paused for a moment and heard her crying.

"Dave I am so so sorry for what I did. I was so lonely and you weren't around much of the time. I know that's a poor excuse but it's the truth. I'll do all that you ask but please bring the girls home I miss them and you so much."

"Not just yet. You need to see what it will be like if you do this again. I want you to be alone with your thoughts and your pain like I was for the last several weeks. I'll call you in the next few days and let you know when we'll be home. Think about how this will affect our girls. Think how they will grow up hating their own mother because she wanted a more exciting life and was willing to give up her own family to get it. Think about that Jamie." I ended the call and sighed. I only hoped she took what I said to heart.

It was three days later when I called home to let Jamie know that I'd be bring the girls home the following morning. She was crying and kept saying we would work things out.

"I hope so Jamie, I really hope so."

The following morning the girls and I drove home. As soon as we pulled in the driveway Jamie was running out the front door to greet us. The girls hopped out of the car and into to their mother's arms. She hugged and kissed them telling them how much she loved them. Jamie looked up at me and mouthed "Thank you' then continued hugging her daughters.

Once everyone was inside and I had unloaded the car Rebecca was telling her mother what happened at school and how she broke her arm falling off the swing.

"Baby I am so so sorry mommy wasn't there for you. I promise that will never happen again. Ok sweetie?"

"Sure mom but its ok, daddy was there and he even took us on a vacation."

This made Jamie cry again realizing that I was the one who came to her when she was hurt while her mother was in Las Vegas with another man. It was to much for Jamie and she ran to the bedroom shutting the door.

"Is mommy alright? She was crying." Rebecca asked.

"She ok sweetie. She was just upset she wasn't there at the hospital when you were hurt. I'll go talk to her in a little while. She just needs some time." yeah some time with her guilt.

I brought the girls bags up stairs and they began to unpack. They seemed no worse for wear so I went to our bedroom and slowly opened the door to find my wife laying face down on the bed crying. I sat down on the edge and rubbed her back.

She looked up at me, "David I can never say I'm sorry enough to you or the girls. I feel so, so horrible. How can I make this up to you? How can I make this right again?"

I looked into her eyes, "Do you love me?"

"Oh God yes, with all my heart. I love you so much."

"I love you too, but you have to know how hurt I was when I found out about your affair. Things won't be the same between us for some time. I just don't know if I can trust you again. I want to but the pain you caused was all most to much for me. I wanted to kill that SOB. I still do, but I won't. I just need to know in my heart you won't do anything like this again and that will take some time."

"I understand and I'm willing to do anything to keep our family together. Please give me a chance." tears ran down her cheeks.

"I love you so much Jamie." I leaned down and kissed her cheek and tasted her tears. "We're going to make it thru this. We both need to work at it and I hope we can get back to where we were before all of this started."

That night we had dinner as a whole family for the first time in weeks. The girls were happy to have me home again and I told them I'd be home a lot more. Then I told Jamie of my promotion and that I wouldn't be traveling as much. Maybe a few time a year but no more two weeks every month nonsense. This made her very happy and she started to cry, but this time they were tears of joy.

Later once the girls were in bed Jamie and I sat in the family room and talked.

"I need to know a few things like why this happened. I know I wasn't around as much as I should have been but why did you feel the need to be with another man?"

She looked down at her hands, "Well I don't know why really it just sort of happened. I mean its not much of an excuse but it is the truth. You see when I met Steven he was all sweet and friendly and we talked a lot. Then I started to tell him about how much you traveled and that I really missed you. He said that if you really loved me you would be home more. He said he would never have left such a beautiful woman like me alone. I guess all the flattery got to me. Before I knew it we were having lunch together then meeting for coffee in the mornings, then I found myself at his home and in his bed. I'm so ashamed and embarrassed by all of this."

I paused and reach for her hand, "I know this is hard but if we're going to get past this I need to know. How did the two of you meet?"

She squeezed my hand, " At the health club. One of the women there, Kathy, introduced us and we...." I stopped her.

"Kathy? She knows this guy?"

"Uh yes she said they were good friends so I thought he was a nice guy but now...."

"Wait one minute." I got up and found the backpack I took from asshole's home along with the DVRs. I looked through them and found one with 'Kathy' written on it. I put it in the DVD player and turned on the TV. The screen came to life showing a very attractive middle aged blond woman being fucked doggie style. The way the camera angle was you couldn't see the man doing it to her but he did speak calling her a slut and a whore.

"Is this Kathy?"

Jamie was shocked and saw that it was Kathy, "How did you get this video? Where did you get it?"

"From your friend's home Steven. He has been blackmailing the women he's been having affairs with. It maybe part of the deal that he gets these women to introduce him to his next victim. That was you."

"Oh God. He could have ruined our marriage, it was just suppose to be a short term fling. I was so stupid." she put her head into her hands.

"It's ok, he can't ruin our marriage now but it does need to be fixed. I'd like you to talk to Kathy for me. I've been contacting all these women to let them know he doesn't have anything on them, that I've taken all of his blackmail material and that he has nothing over them anymore."

That night we talked some more but decided we needed professional help. The next day I went to work and told Jamie that we would find a marriage counselor together and start going as soon as possible. Meanwhile we would talk and be open about what each other thought or felt that needed to be fixed in our marriage.

Once at work I began to settle in my new position and try to put the last few weeks behind me. Later that day Jamie called.

"Hey honey. Everything alright?"

"No it isn't. Steven called and he was upset. He said he has a video of me having sex with him and that if I didn't start paying him he'd upload it to the internet. Dave I don't know what to do. Are you sure you got that video?"

"Don't worry Jamie, I'm sure I have the only copy. How much money did he ask for?"

"He said I needed to pay five thousand dollars in cash by tomorrow or he will upload the video if I don't show up with the money. What are we going to do?" I heard the fear in her voice.

"You let me handle it and don't worry. I'll make sure he doesn't go though with his threat. Look I'll be home soon and we can talk about it but in the meantime if he calls again let me know. Ok?"

She paused, "Ok honey. Please come home soon."

After that call I immediately looked up a home security company and called to make an appointment to come to our house and have a security system installed. I was now worried this asshole might come after my family so I didn't want to take any chances. My next call was to Joe and to see if he did as I had asked.

"You better believe it. He almost has as much debt as the US Government. He'll be buried with this for a long long time to come. Even if he can prove he didn't incur it, it will take years if not decades to repair his credit."

"Keep up the pressure. I want you to hurt him financially so he goes bankrupt. Think you can do that?"

"Already on it. Soon he'll be collecting cans on the side of the highway to get the nickel deposit so he can buy enough food to feed himself." Joe chuckled.

I smiled at the image of that, "Perfect. Thanks Joe."

My next call was to my divorce lawyer, I needed the name of a good private investigator to see if I could turn the tables on Steven. Once I got the number I called and talked with a guy named Henry. I explained the situation and asked if he could help.

"Well it's not the normal case I get involved in but I have some ideas." he told me what he had in mind and I agreed.

I asked him to meet me at my house so we could talk it over with my wife and see if she would agree to the plan. His plan was very simple. My wife would wear a wire and record the conversation with Steven when she gives him the money. The P.I. will be recording their meeting on video and I'll be near by in case anything goes wrong. With some luck Steven will incriminate himself and at that point we'd use it either to blackmail him to leave us alone or all the evidence will be turned over to the police. I wasn't sure of the legality of what we were doing but I was sure this would keep him from troubling us again.

When I arrived home Jamie rushed into my arms and gave me a big hug. She was visibly upset and needed me there to comfort her. I told her I talked with a P.I. and what he had planned for Steven.

"I don't know if I can do it. I don't want to see that bastard ever again. Is there any other way we could do this?" she really didn't want to do this.

"Jamie if we're going to get this guy out of our lives we need to turn the tables on him. Look I'll be nearby and Henry will video record the whole exchange. If things go well he will never bother you or us again. Ok?"

She nodded, "If this is what it takes then I'll do it. Just promise me you'll be there close by."

"I promise."

Then the door bell rang and Henry was waiting as I opened the door. Soon we were talking about the finer points of the plan and what Jamie needed to do and say to get Steven to incriminate himself and what will happen once he takes the money. I made the suggestion we give him an envelop filled with twenty three one dollar bills sandwich between two hundred dollar bills. As long as he doesn't look to closely he'll hopefully take the money and run. Henry said that probably wouldn't work and we should just give him the money. If things went according to plan he wasn't going to get to keep the money anyway. The most important thing was to do this exchange in a very public place. That would make it less likely Steven would get violent or do anything stupid.

The following morning I called into work saying I'd be out then Henry came by and wired up my wife with a small wireless mic to record the conversation between her and Steven. We went over what Jamie had to do and say to get Steven to confess his crimes and what she needed to do immediately after the meeting was over. I was going to be near by watch the whole thing take place. Henry didn't like the idea of me being there for fear that Steven might see me and scare him off. I promised to stay out of sight but I wasn't going to be to far from my wife if things got ugly.