A Tangled Web Ch. 03

Maggie nodded again, wondering whether Jack knew the same things, or something else.

"Bruce has been having affairs for a while now, and from what I've seen, you probably knew or suspected that. But he's decided to target this one guy's wife just because he works for a rival firm. Unfortunately, he has gone to great lengths to destroy the man. I won't burden you with all the sordid details, but sex and drugs are involved. I heard the entire story directly from Bruce this morning. Unfortunately, I had to put on a nauseating act to convince him I was on board with his plans to accomplish that."

"Anyway, I was also informed this week that the SEC is investigating whether there was any insider trading of Foundstone stock. Quite a few shares were dumped the day before it was public knowledge that Foundstone lost a $400 million contract. From what I've heard, several of Bruce's former fraternity brothers benefited the most. I expect things will get harder for you living with him when he learns of the SEC investigation and when his revenge plans invariably boomerang back on him."

"I'm sorry to dump all this on you, but you may want to give serious consideration to filing for divorce. I feel bad that I had you sign that prenup, and I promise I'll provide you more than enough to live on if you decide to leave him."

Maggie walked over to the drawer and pulled out the divorce petition, laying it on the table.

"Thanks, Jack. I'm way ahead of you," Jack heard for the second time today. He figured he must be getting old.

"I wasn't aware of the SEC investigation, but I am aware of everything else. For example, do you know there are videos of him having sex with married women? Over 900 videos in total."

It was Jack's turn to be shocked. "How could she know all this? And Bruce never mentioned that many videos," he thought.

"Bruce's target, Dan Caddel, is a wonderful man who deserves none of this. I am working with him to unravel this situation before it does any more harm to us. We both have the videos and have removed them from Bruce's account. It's unlikely he has discovered that yet."

"I see. Well, I certainly hope that will prevent him from disseminating them further. Oh, by the way, does Dan know Bruce is drugging him?"

"If you mean the hormones in his protein powder, then yes. Unfortunately, they have already damaged his health and may have made him infertile."

"That's terrible news. I will see to it that he gets whatever medical care is best. Do you think he'd be willing to meet with me?"

"I don't know, but I'll ask him."

"Okay, Maggie. I see you've got things well in hand. I shouldn't be surprised. But listen, I meant every word about being here for you through the divorce and beyond. We'll talk soon, okay? Oh, and thank you for lunch. It was delicious as always."

"Thanks, Jack. I promise I'll be in touch. Thanks for coming to see me."

"You're welcome, Maggie."

******

After leaving home, Dan headed to the police station and met with Detective Mark Alvarez. When he called the precinct early this morning, he thought it might take a while before he could speak with someone. But after Dan summarized the potential list of crimes Bruce committed and told them he had proof, Detective Alvarez was all too happy to meet.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Caddel," said Detective Alvarez.

"Please, call me Dan."

"Okay, Dan. I understand you've come to hand me a case on a silver platter," he said before grinning.

"Yes, I think that's fair. But I do have one request. I want to know when you plan to arrest him, as I'd like to meet with him beforehand."

"Well, that's an unusual request and not something entirely within my control. However, if the information you have is as good as you say, I'll do my best to let you know. We may have to run the case by the DA or get search warrants, so a lot is up in the air until we see what you've got."

"Understood."

Over the next hour, Dan walked the detective through everything he knew, providing access to his cloud account and a list of key videos and files that implicated Bruce in crimes. He also turned over his protein powder so they could have their lab run a chemical analysis.

******

After Cindy finally found the strength to get up off the floor, she didn't make it far before collapsing again on the living room sofa. Cindy thought of all the horrible things she'd admitted to Dan and was certain she had ended their marriage and ruined her future.

The more Cindy thought, the more she became convinced that Dan and Bruce were on a path toward hurting each other. She loved both men, of course Dan the most, but she needed to get Bruce's side of the story. She also wanted to warn him so he could defend himself and beg him not to hurt Dan.

Around 2 PM, Cindy called to inform Bruce that Dan had confronted her about their affair. Bruce didn't know what she now knew, so he thought he'd play dumb. The worst-case scenario would be that she'd catch him in a lie, but that would be irrelevant if she really did know what he'd done. So, Bruce told her the allegations of his drugging her and Dan were a lie made up by Dan to turn Cindy against him.

"Did you honestly feel forced to do anything against your will? Dan is lying and maybe even trying to set me up out of revenge."

"Dan is obviously hurt about the support and affection I've provided in his absence and trying to invent things to allay his guilt and responsibility in all this. I would never, ever do the things he accused me of, and I think in your heart you know that." Cindy listened to his pleading, earnest voice and knew he could not have.

"But Bruce, Dan also said you took videos of us together and that he's seen them."

Bruce laughed more confidently than he felt. "And did Dan show you any?"

"No."

"Of course he didn't, because there aren't any! He's bluffing. He's trying to turn my feelings for you into some vile act so he can turn you against me and win you back. Ask yourself this...wouldn't he have shown you videos if they existed?"

Cindy couldn't deny Bruce's logic. A woman can tell when a man is lying. Dan had been hurt and must be trying to turn her against Bruce and win him back. She cared about both men and feared they were headed for a confrontation that would harm at least one of them. She tried to keep that from happening by warning Bruce. If neither Dan nor Bruce were oblivious, maybe they'd both find a way to protect themselves. She'd forgive Dan for his lies because she knew he was hurting and desperate to win her back. What was most important was the security Cindy felt being with Dan and that he would provide as a father. So, above all else, she needed to keep him from getting hurt.

"Cindy, I care about you so very much! Don't you care about me?"

"Yes, Bruce, I love you. You know that. But I love Dan too. I don't want either of you to get hurt. This is such a mess!"

"I will be careful and make sure no innocent parties are hurt."

Reassured by his words, Cindy decides to share one more thing.

"Bruce, Dan and Maggie are working together. You should be cautious of her too."

Bruce sighed and thanked Cindy for the information, then hung up.

Bruce was at the gym, so he could only use his phone to check his cloud account. "I hope they aren't too bright, and I can save the videos." At first, he was relieved when his username and password worked; however, seconds later, he saw that his account contained no files. "Fuck! Fuck!! Fuck!!!" I'm gonna kill that bitch!" Bruce is enraged as he heads out of the gym to his car.

Arriving home 15 minutes later, Bruce barely pulled into his driveway before he got out of the Mustang and ran to the front door. He unlocked the door and listened for any sounds from Maggie to alert him of her location. He heard the television on in the kitchen and headed there, finding a shocked Maggie staring back at him. Bruce quickly circumvented the table and grabbed Maggie by the throat, raising her so her feet could no longer touch the floor.

"What did you do with my videos, bitch?! You've destroyed my life's work! You had no right, you miserable hag!"

Maggie was feeling the life drain from her. She remembers thinking, "Is this how my life ends? How sad." Before Maggie suffocated in Bruce's grip, he threw her towards a counter. She later thought, "Who knew having your head slammed into a granite surface hard enough to cause a concussion would be a welcome reprieve?"

"Bitch, you're going to tell me where you put copies of my files! I know you would have wanted to keep them as evidence! So, tell me!"

Maggie briefly thought of telling Bruce about her cloud account and giving him access to them. Dan had copies Bruce didn't know about, so she could always copy them from Dan's account later. The problem was that she thought Dan didn't have all the files in the Admin folder, including the all-important list of Bruce's revenge plans and actions. She also suspected Bruce would copy the files before deleting them, giving him enormous power to hurt Dan.

"No," Maggie thought, "I have to endure this for Dan. I care about him too much."

"Bruce, I never thought to copy them. You know I'm not good with computers! I just wanted them gone. I guess I thought if I erased the evidence, then maybe I'd be erasing the betrayals as well. I was so upset I wasn't thinking clearly!"

"I don't believe you!"

"I'll give you until the count of five to change your answer!" As Bruce started counting, Maggie strengthened her resolve. Hearing nothing when he reached the number five, Bruce reared back and unleashed a punch on Maggie's face harder than anything he had accomplished, sparring in a ring. Maggie's nose crunched loudly as it collapsed almost flat on her face. The shattered remnants left blood to cascade like a waterfall over her lips, chin, and chest.

Bruce looked at the unrecognizable face that was still in shock and knew he should flee. He raced back to his Mustang, leaving Maggie clutching her face as she looked for towels to stop or at least contain the bleeding.

******

A few minutes later, Maggie's cell phone rang. She was still in shock, wondering what to do, and holding a towel over her nose. She was not surprised at Bruce's actions, only that he had discovered her. The ringing phone jolted Maggie from her nearly passed-out state, and she saw it was Dan calling her. She quickly fumbled with the phone and answered it. Dan was calling to update Maggie on the day's events and almost plowed ahead with his news after she replied, "Oh, Dan!" But he quickly realized something was off in her voice and paused to ask whether she was all right.

"Maggie, is everything ok?"

"No, Dan, Bruce is furious and knows we're onto him. He hurt me trying to find out where I copied his videos to, but I wouldn't tell him. We need to make more copies, just in case."

"What do you mean, he hurt you!? Maggie, what did he do?!"

Maggie relayed the details of her confrontation with Bruce and Dan insisted that she go to the hospital immediately.

"Maggie, call an ambulance, and I'll meet you at the hospital."

"Ok, Dan," she said, still trying not to cry from the pain, fearing that crying might make her face feel even worse.

Thirty minutes later, when Dan arrived, Maggie was being treated in the ER. Dan had called Detective Alvarez, who agreed to stop by the hospital to take a statement from Maggie on his way home.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there to protect you, Maggie. I should never have left you alone."

"No, Dan, it might have been even worse for us if you had been there."

Dan brought Maggie up to speed on his day while she waited for her nurse to return. When Detective Alvarez arrived, he spoke with the doctors before spotting Dan.

"So, this is Maggie, I presume?" Alvarez said to Dan, keeping his eyes on Maggie. He had seen enough injuries to know the disfigured woman had been attractive. "I'm sorry for what happened to you. Are you up for giving me a statement?" She looked at Dan, who nodded.

When they finished talking, Detective Alvarez turned to Dan. "I know you plan to confront Bruce tomorrow, but I'm still not sure we'll be ready with all the charges. I don't suppose you'd be willing to hold off another day?"

Dan shook his head "no," saying Maggie's injuries require there be no further delay. Alvarez laughed, "I didn't think so, but I had to ask. Listen, we're waiting for a judge to sign off on a search warrant of Bruce's home, apartment, office, and car. The DA has already approved you wearing a wire for your conversation with Bruce. We have a lot of evidence already and wouldn't normally put you in harm's way. But seeing as you're going to meet him regardless, it would be a great opportunity to see if you can get him to confess to some of the more serious crimes."

"Sure, I'll do whatever it takes to help nail this bastard."

"Dan, you understand that we'll need to pat you down before you meet with him. We can't be complicit in any physical confrontation. We'll be right outside if you need us, though."

"Dan, I'm worried about you. Bruce might try to kill you." Maggie said, fearful of any meeting between the two men.

"I need to do this, Maggie. I'll be all right." Dan smiled at her, his stomach still nauseated by the evidence of what she'd been through.

"Will Nancy be ready at 1 pm, Maggie?"

"Yes, she's ready to go."

******

At 9 AM the next day, Dan texts Bruce saying he wants to meet at 1 pm. He told him that he would take his story to the police unless Bruce met with him and explained why he pursued Cindy and had her humiliate him.

"That dumb fuck, he hasn't figured it out. Well, we can't have that, can we?" Bruce thought. Bruce also knew Dan might be feigning ignorance so he could attack him or gloat about the deleted videos, but Bruce was confident he held cards Dan didn't know about. "Yeah, I'll meet you, motherfucker. But it will be on my turf!"

Bruce texted the address of the massage studio and said, "1 PM sharp."

At 10 AM, Dan sits down with his college friend and lawyer, Steve Harrington, to discuss some options. He explained the events of the past few days and wanted to know his options for a divorce.

"Dan, Illinois has been a pure 'no-fault' divorce state since 2016. In other words, the only grounds for divorce recognized in the state are 'irreconcilable differences.' Cindy's affair will have no bearing on the marital division of assets, which will strongly favor her both because she is female and because she makes less money than you. You should be thankful no children are involved, or you'd be giving up almost everything."

"I was afraid of that. Okay, so can I sue Foundstone and Atlas?"

"Actually, you have a pretty strong case against both. Would you like me to start drawing up the paperwork? Atlas managers lied to facilitate a sexual assault by a non-Atlas employee under the guise of a legitimate massage. Meanwhile, Foundstone executives directly benefited from harming you, and we need to uncover whether they were complicit."

"Steve, go ahead and draw up the lawsuits and prepare my divorce petition. Call me when they are ready, and I'll stop by."

******

Dan knocked on the door to Bruce's apartment at precisely 1 PM. The Chicago PD had already taped the wireless microphone to his chest. Two uniformed officers waited with Detective Alvarez in a car outside.

Dan heard someone inside the apartment yell through the door for him to come in. He was almost surprised to find himself suppressing rage, not fear, as he opened the door and walked inside. Bruce was sitting at a small table on the far side of the room.

"That's far enough. Sit down," Bruce said, sounding agitated. He almost regretted agreeing to this meeting, but he knew that watching Dan's face as he groveled would be the payoff he had long hoped to see.

As Dan's eyes adjusted to the darkened room, he noticed Bruce had a 9 MM pistol in his lap aimed in Dan's direction.

"Don't worry. I'm not planning to shoot you unless you try something stupid. But you will sit here and talk to me." Bruce said.

"I know you brought something to record this conversation with. I want you to slide your phone and the recording device over to me."

"All I have is my phone. Here..." Dan slid it across the floor.

"Bullshit!" "Give me the recorder now!" Dan winced out of frustration and removed the small digital recorder from his pants before sliding it across the room. Bruce turned off the phone and removed the batteries from the recorder.

"Tell me something...how does it feel to be so thoroughly cucked?"

"Could you point your gun somewhere other than at me?" Dan said, trying to confirm the situation in the room for the audience listening in.

Bruce shifted the gun slightly, so it was pointed about 15 degrees off Dan's trajectory.

"I'll answer your question. What you've done has hurt me. I think you thought it would destroy me, but I'll survive. I saw on the videos that you only got Cindy to do what she did by drugging her. You basically raped her. The question I have is, why?"

"I only drugged her one time! The rest of it was all her. She said she wasn't getting what she needed at home and begged me to fuck her."

"So, you didn't drug her with morning-after pills in addition to the ecstasy?"

"Oh, well, that. Yes, I enjoyed killing your sperm inside little wifey. It wasn't cheap, but so worth it. Now we can't have a wimp like you procreating, can we? Your dream of a large family has taken a step backward. Tick tock, tick tock, that's Cindy's biological clock!"

"Oh, and can you even make babies anymore? I hear your balls have shriveled up, and your cock is limp. Is that your body's beta-male reaction to my alpha-male dominance? Do you want to bend over now and let me finish dominating you? You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"Fuck you! I can undo the damage if I haven't taken the hormones for more than three or four months. How did you inject me with them anyway?" Dan tries to hide his knowledge of the contaminated protein powder.

"Well, you're almost certainly sterile then; it's been over six months," Bruce lied. "And I didn't inject you. You swallowed a high-dose cocktail of hormones voluntarily every morning when you drank your morning shake. It was so easy after Cindy explained your morning routine and gave me free access to your house. During my visits, she let me defile almost everything in your house while we made fun of you. Here, have a look at this." Bruce tossed a photo of Dan's defiled toothbrush across the room.

Dan fought back bile as he thought about how many times he'd used that brush and worried whether Bruce was telling the truth that everything else had been defiled too. He also realized he hadn't considered that Bruce might have photos he could use against the couple.

"Do you want to see my favorite one?" Bruce said as he tossed Dan another photo.

It took Dan a second to understand what he was looking at. But it soon became apparent that it was Cindy's wedding rings in her cum-filled pussy, with her face visible in their marital bed. Dan heaved almost instantly, covering the parts of the floor and photo with his vomit.

"Don't worry, I can get you another copy," Bruce smirked. He was upset that Dan had defiled his apartment but didn't want it to distract from their conversation.

Dan forced himself to recover and press onward.

"So, how many married women have you seduced with your massage job at Atlas? And why did you target Cindy?"

"Probably only 11 or 12 at Atlas, and I only worked with the management there a few times to pose as a fake employee. I transitioned them all here pretty quickly. I'm just that good."

"As for Cindy, you still don't get it, do you? You stole all my big contracts, and I wanted revenge. I learned you were madly in love, and I knew I'd hurt you most by taking that away. Based on how pathetic you are, I figured I'd have to fuck a cow of a wife to do it, but it turns out Cindy was someone I would have gladly seduced anyway. So, I was restoring the natural order of things by taking her away from you."