A Tangled Web Ch. 03

Intro from the Author

Hello everyone. This is the final chapter of the three-part series, "A Tangled Web." I highly recommend you read Chapters 1 and 2 first as they provide the backstory for the characters and develop the plot.

I hope that you enjoy it. I appreciate votes and comments—even the negative ones if they include an explanation.

Legal Caveat - This is a work of fiction. The characters, plots, narratives, etc., have all been created from my imagination and are in no way intended to represent real people or situations. All characters are 18 or older.

******

"You're a good man, Dan Caddel. It replenishes my soul to support someone like you. Trust me, my helping you has done more for me than you. I need to feel like my life hasn't been wasted."

"Maggie, it's time for me to go home and confront Cindy...if only to gather my clothes. We have a busy couple of days ahead of us."

"Would you like me to go with you?"

"Thanks, Maggie. But I need to do this one on my own. Seeing our relationship will only make it harder to get Cindy to give me the answers I need."

"I understand, Dan. It's almost 11 AM, so I think I'll head home. You can call and update me this afternoon on how you're doing and what the police tell you."

Chapter 3

******

Earlier that morning, Jack summoned Bruce to his office.

"Hi, son. I want to get your advice on something important. I've been talking with some of our current and former clients, and it's clear that MW Designs is continuing to make inroads into our core business market. But I've also learned there's one guy that everyone credits for their success. Some architect named "Dan Cowbell' or something."

Bruce wanted to laugh at the misstated name, but he was wary of revealing he knew it.

"I was thinking of trying to hire him away from them. Eric is a cheapskate, so I'm sure he is not paying him nearly what he's worth. But I didn't know whether you knew anything more about him. I'd like to either hire him away from them, or find some way to knock him off his game."

"Do you have any thoughts?"

Bruce sat quietly for a moment as he collected his thoughts. He had never knowingly given his father bad advice and was equally vested in Foundstone's success. But Bruce knew he did not want Dan working at Foundstone, so he was glad but surprised that Jack was open to targeting Dan.

"Yes, I'm familiar with him, and you shouldn't be looking to hire him. I'm already way ahead of you on this."

"Oh, how so?" Jack feigned surprise.

"Let's just say I understand he's been having a series of personal problems recently that will soon affect his work."

"Well, that's excellent news! We can't let one man take away all that we've built. Is there anything we can do to ensure he doesn't recover enough to be a threat still?"

Bruce briefly wondered who this strange man sitting in front of him was. Jack's ethics were usually unimpeachable, but Bruce supposed a threat to a man's life's work would push anyone to the edge.

"Dad, I know about his personal problems because I've orchestrated them. Some of what has happened has already made his life harder, but soon he'll know the rest. I'm confident I will have taken him out of the game."

"That's very proactive of you, Bruce! Why didn't you tell me sooner? Perhaps I could have helped."

"Well, I didn't know if you'd be on board with intentionally messing with someone's life. But I also figured I was giving you plausible deniability should anything go wrong."

"Oh, I see. Brilliant. But I'm sorry you didn't think I'd be on board with going after the guy. I indeed look for ways to help everyone I can, inside and outside our company. But this Dan guy is a sworn enemy actively attacking our employees' livelihoods and us, so I can't stand idly by and do nothing. He must be dealt with swiftly and firmly."

"I take it that when he discovers these personal matters, he'll be of no use to us as an employee here?" Jack probed.

"Yes. And if he survives all this, Foundstone will be the last place he'll want to work."

"Bruce, you're not going to physically harm him in a way that can be traced back to us, are you?"

"No, not directly, at least. I can't control whether he offs himself. But he will soon know I'm the cause of his problems."

"Ok, Bruce. Please, sit down. I think it's time you brought me up to speed on everything you've done so that I can help us deal with whatever fallout is ahead."

So Bruce did just that. Bruce watched Jack's face during each revelation, cautious about revealing the cruelest parts. He saw a look of surprise on his father's face for each act of revenge, but he received no criticism. Instead, Jack asked many follow-up questions, which his son mistook as signs of excitement and awe. The notion that his bold actions had made his father proud encouraged him to reveal his darkest plans and the video recordings.

He realized his father was right. Jack would be instrumental in Foundstone's navigating any fallout from Bruce's actions.

******

After Maggie left his hotel room, Dan turned on his cell phone and stared at voicemails that had been left. Sixteen were from Cindy. He listened to only a few, heartbroken and angry as he heard her increasing desperation while trying to reach him...pleading with him to return home. He had no desire to do anything she wanted, yet he knew it was time to go home— if only to get the protein powder as evidence.

For a moment, he thought about calling Cindy and asking to meet elsewhere, using the time instead to take what he needed from the house. He had seen firsthand how her affair had evolved and thought there was little a conversation with her would add. He even knew the why—his absence left her vulnerable to the flattery and embrace of a predator. He felt Bruce, Cindy, and he all bore some responsibility in the affair—albeit not equally.

He knew Cindy was unaware of some of Bruce's darker plans, as evidenced by his need to grind up pills in her coffee. But he didn't know whether she was aware of Bruce's competition with Dan's business interests, the prescriptions he'd fed Dan, or the videos. If not, she needed to know about them and the perilous situation they were in. God, he hoped she didn't know.

Dan dialed Cindy's number. While her phone rang, he practiced steadying his voice. But it was only a few seconds before she answered.

"Dan! Are you okay, honey? Where have you been?! I've got everyone looking for you!"

Dan hoped everyone didn't include Bruce. "I'm fine, Cindy. I've thought a lot about what happened and how I'm feeling. We need to talk. Can I come by the house now?"

"Of course, Dan! It's your house too! But, wait...should I pick you up? Maybe you shouldn't drive if you've been drinking."

"No, Cindy. I'm completely sober. I'll see you in a half hour." He then hung up.

On the drive home, Dan realized he hadn't given her much time to call off the search hounds, or do whatever women do to prepare for a homecoming. It was all unnecessary anyway, he figured. It was hard to see how their relationship could survive.

Arriving home, Dan was practically mauled by Cindy at the front door as he found himself wrapped in a big hug for the second time that day. She had dressed in one of the skimpier casual outfits she knew he found sexy, and had spent time applying makeup—which she rarely did. With her natural beauty and youthful age, makeup was almost always unnecessary.

She whispered in his ear so neighbors couldn't hear, "Dan, come upstairs with me, honey. Let me help you feel better. Then we'll talk."

Dan was tempted, and might have fucked her one last time. Well, in truth, he had only ever made love to her before. But fucking her wasn't possible right now. It was a miracle that he'd been able to have sex with Maggie earlier, but the combined effects of the hormonal changes had once again left him limp."

"I'm sorry, Cindy. But we need to talk now."

Cindy had rarely seen Dan refuse her advances, and she grew even more concerned. He must really be worried about our financial future and the impact on our plans for a family. She planned to encourage him to apologize and beg for his job back. She knew she had been selfish, putting too much pressure on him and leading him to act impulsively. She would promise to stop, and even call Eric, if it would help.

"Okay, honey. Let's sit at the kitchen table," she said.

As they sat down, Dan realized he didn't have a plan to start the conversation and sat silent for a moment. Cindy reached across the table to hold his hands, and he did not stop her. Dan guessed there were millions of ways to start, but his emotions were interfering with his logic. So he chose the first one that popped into his head.

"Cindy, I know about Bruce...your affair...all of it." Tears began to form in the corner of his eyes before moistening his cheeks.

"Oh, Dan! No! What did Bruce tell you?!" Cindy panicked as she saw her world collapsing. Over the past few months, she had been monitoring Dan closely for signs he might have discovered her arrangement with Bruce, but she hadn't seen anything suspicious. She now thought Bruce must have contacted Dan yesterday to get back at her for changing their arrangement. She was not prepared for this conversation.

"Cindy, I'm only going to say this once. I'm 90% sure our marriage is over. But if you lie to me or withhold even one thing in this conversation, I will be 100% sure. Do you understand?"

The full weight of the consequences of her actions hit Cindy, and she began sobbing. Finally, she nodded for Dan to proceed.

I'm going to ask you a number of questions, and for now, I only want "yes," "no," or "I don't know" responses—no other words. You'll have time to explain or expand upon the answer later. Do you understand?

Cindy nodded.

"Cindy, do you know how Bruce knows me?"

Cindy suddenly realized how hard it would be to give a truthful answer with the limitations of the answer choices. Bruce told her they had once worked on a project together, but nothing beyond that. She was more afraid of saying "no" and having Dan not believe her, so she answered, "Yes." She hoped he'd ask follow-up questions.

"Do you know that he competed for projects against me and was bitter he lost?"

"No!" Cindy exclaimed. She thought, "Oh God, was he an enemy of Dan's all along?"

"Have you and Bruce had sex?"

Cindy paused, wondering whether he might be bluffing about how much he knew. But, on the other hand, she had rarely seen him bluff, so she didn't want to risk lying.

"Yes," Cindy said, putting her head down and withdrawing her hands from his.

"Did you start seeing him more than a week ago?"

"Yes"

"More than a month ago?"

"Yes"

"More than a year ago?"

"Yes"

"More than two years ago?"

"No"

"Have you had an affair with anyone else since we married?"

"No"

"Did you enjoy sex with Bruce more than me?"

"Ugh. The sex was different, but Bruce and Dan were both good," Cindy thought. She knew he could never be sure of her answer, so she gave the only one that might preserve their marriage.

"No"

"Was he bigger than me?"

"Uh...Yes"

"Did you talk about me with him?"

"Yes," Cindy said, suddenly concerned about where he was heading with this line of questioning. "He couldn't possibly know, right?!" she thought.

"Did you compare him favorably to me, or say things that would belittle me?"

Cindy now knew Bruce must have spoken with Dan. This question couldn't be a coincidence. The answer would be the most shameful of all, and she knew it would devastate Dan. But, on the other hand, she'd been truthful so far, so maybe she could get away with a lie here? After all, why wouldn't he take her word over Bruce's? But part of her didn't want to lie anymore. So, she took a third path.

"I don't know."

"You don't know if you made fun of my cock size or my stamina?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know whether you don't know?"

"I don't know."

Dan realized she must not be comfortable with her options and must be stalling until she could speak about it in complete sentences. He was annoyed. She should have said "yes." She must be considering lying, although she didn't do it flat out.

"Okay, we'll move on. Did you know he is married?"

"Yes"

"Did you sleep with him at his home?"

"No"

"Did you sleep with him in our home?"

"Yes"

"In our marital bed?"

"Yes"

"Did you know he drugged me to feminize me?"

"Oh God, No!"

"Has he fucked you in the ass?"

"Yes"

"Did you know he has been preventing you from getting pregnant by feeding you morning-after pills?"

"No"

"Wait, what?" She thought.

"Cindy, did you know he's been aborting our babies?!"

"Oh God, Oh God, No!!!" Cindy wailed and thought, "What kind of monster did I fall for?!"

"Last question. Do you know if he recorded any of your times together?"

"No"

Okay, thank you, Cindy. I'm no longer holding you to the three answer choices, only that what you say must be the complete truth.

"I ask again, did you compare him favorably to me, or say things that would belittle me?"

Cindy no longer had any energy to lie, even if she had wanted to. If what Dan said about drugging him and aborting their babies were true, she knew Dan would never forgive her. She didn't need the extra words.

"Yes"

"Did you enjoy doing that?"

"No!"

"Okay, Cindy. I appreciate your honesty. Now, there's something you need to know."

"Brue videotaped every appointment you've had with him. I have had the unfortunate task of watching parts of all of them."

Cindy wanted to crawl into a hole and die. She couldn't fathom Dan seeing and hearing all they had done. She was mortified and ashamed.

"Brue targeted you to get revenge for my winning some of the large contracts our companies had both bid on. He was apparently willing to do whatever it took, for as long as it took, to wear you down and humiliate me."

"I get the why of it—my long hours away from home left you vulnerable to the attention and flattery of a sexual predator. But I am disappointed you didn't have stronger defenses. You knew how important fidelity was to me. So why didn't you wake up to what was happening and talk to me?"

"I don't know, Dan. My brain can't process anything right now. I'm so appalled by my behavior and stupidity, and sad for you. You know I've always loved massages; he gave excellent ones."

"I didn't want a sexual relationship, but I kept taking baby steps in the wrong direction. Then he made a convincing case for me to try a sex toy machine called a Sybian, and I think that was when my defenses started to fall. Part of me knew you wouldn't have approved, and I felt guilty. I had focused on his technical argument about why it wasn't cheating instead of asking myself one question...if I knew you were watching, would I have done it? The answer is "no," so that should have been my answer to him. As time passed, I tried to fool myself that it was just sex and that it wasn't taking anything away from you. But I knew that was a lie. I had betrayed the promise I made to you when we were dating, and the vows I made at our wedding. I also no longer had as much pent-up sexual energy around you because I'd given it to him."

"Cindy, the hardest thing for me to deal with is knowing how you degraded and belittled me. I understand why he wanted that, but it's tough for me to understand how you were willing to do that. I don't know how I'll ever know what parts were true. And I don't know if there's any way I can get over that enough for us to rebuild our life together."

"Oh, Dan. I'll do anything! You are the love of my life. I want to be the one who makes you a father! Cindy continued sobbing. "I don't know why I did it! I didn't believe any of it. I convinced myself it was just a role fulfilling his fetish. That it was no different than if he wanted me to pretend to be a nurse, a schoolgirl, or a dominatrix. But again, if I had asked myself whether I would do it with you watching, I would have known it was unconscionable."

"Okay, Cindy. Look, I'm going to pack a bag for a couple of days while I think about what we've discussed and where we go from here. I will respond to your calls, but I'm asking you to give me some space to clear my head and take care of a few things."

"Oh Dan, please don't go! Let me start to make things up to you!"

"No, Cindy. Not right now. Maybe not ever. I love you, but you have no idea the depth of pain I'm feeling. Last night I was inches from jumping off the highest floor of my new project—to stop the pain and despair."

"Oh, Dan! You should have killed me instead! I would never have survived if I knew my actions led you to that. Please don't go! I'm worried about you!"

"I'm working with Bruce's wife, Maggie, and she's concerned and keeping an eye out for me. She's also got some ideas on doctors I need to see to understand how the months of hormones have compromised my health and sexual performance. I may be infertile, Cindy."

"Oh, no! Dan that can't be! We'll get the best doctors to fix whatever he has done!"

"I have to go. But first, I need two things from you."

"The first is a promise that you will not contact Bruce or communicate with him in any way. I do not want him to know I'm aware of what he has done before I've had a chance to see him.

"I promise. But you're not going to do anything that will get you in trouble, right? I couldn't live with you getting in trouble for what I've done. So if you really need something to do something bad, could you let me do it instead?"

"I'm not planning to do anything to get in trouble, but I make no promises that I won't. I'm sure Maggie will help keep me in check. Although come to think of it, you should probably be more concerned about what she'll do to him."

"The second thing I need from you is the address where you had your appointments."

"Okay, I can text it to you."

Cindy texted the address to Dan as he grabbed the tub of protein powder and headed upstairs to pack a bag. When he came down, Cindy intercepted him at the front door, trying to kiss him. But, instead, he stepped back from her.

"I'm sorry, Cindy. I'm not ready." Then he turned and walked out the door. Cindy collapsed, catatonic, on the floor. An hour later, she was still there crying.

******

Maggie's phone rang, and she saw it was her father-in-law, Jack. Maggie always got along well with him. But, it was unusual for him to call on a weekday.

"Hi, Jack!"

'Hello, Maggie! How's my favorite daughter-in-law?"

"Jack, I'm also your least favorite daughter-in-law." They both laughed. She was happy she no longer had to address his question directly.

"What would you say if I invited you to late lunch at Remington's, say 1:30 today?"

"Gosh, Jack. I always like spending time with you, but I've planned a busy day. Is it urgent?"

"I'm afraid so, Maggie. Tell you what...can I stop by your house at 1 PM? I promise I won't take up too much time." Jack was not willing to have another conversation like this over the phone.

"Jack, you're scaring me. But I'll be here."

"Thanks, Maggie. I'll see you then. Oh, and please...not a word of this to Bruce, okay?"

"Uh, sure, Jack. See you soon."

Maggie forgot to ask Jack if she could make him lunch, so she made some sandwiches just in case. When Jack knocked on the door, Maggie was looking over the divorce petition Nancy had prepared. Tucking it away in a drawer, she went to the front door and let Jack in.

Jack and Maggie hugged before she invited him to the kitchen, where a couple of plates of food awaited them.

"Maggie, you know I've always been fond of you and tried to look out for you."

Maggie nodded.

"I recently discovered that Bruce is doing some things that are unethical and, in some cases, illegal. If it all comes out, I'm afraid you may be one of the people hurt the most. So, I want to be the one to tell you and to let you know that I will stand beside you no matter what."