Divide and Conquer

Coldly I interrupted her, handing her another set of papers. "And in case you're wondering about Mark, here's a copy of the email I sent to Bobbi this evening with a copy of the detective's report attached. Underneath that, you'll find a similar email I sent to your sister Miriam explaining why I'm divorcing you."

She moaned in anguish and began to sob again. "I just don't understand. You were so loving and caring all these weeks. I can't believe you'd do such a cruel thing now. Didn't all that mean anything?"

"My dear," I said evenly, "when you embarked on your sordid little affair, you ended all the love I felt for you. So I've spent the last few weeks working to end your relationship with Mark. As for the way I treated you, well, I wanted to make sure you'd know how much you'd lost when you betrayed me. My goal was to take away from you the same things you'd taken from me, and as best I can tell, my plan has worked perfectly!"

Ann collapsed on the sofa, sobbing piteously. Before I walked away, I reached over and set the book of Poe short stories I'd been reading on top of the other documents I'd given her. The text was still open to "The Cask of Amontillado," and I'd used a highlighter to mark the passage containing the Montresor family motto for her to see:

"No one dishonors me with impunity."