Forgive?

"Baby, what's wrong?"

"The son-of-a-bitch got me pregnant! Nate, what do we do?"

Now I'm not the sharpest tool in the toolbox, but I knew Beth would be on the edge of a major breakdown if I failed to hold it together. As calmly as I could, with the same tone I'd use considering wall paint colors, I laid out our options.

"No matter what, we're in this together and I'm with you. Obviously, neither of us believes in ending the pregnancy. You have a life inside of you. So I see two options. First, if you go full term and deliver, we put the baby up for adoption. Personally, I think that would be hard for you. The other option is to love the baby and accept it as ours."

"Nate, can you do that? Can you love the child of that weasel as if it were yours?"

"Beth, I don't know. Can you look at the baby without thinking of this whole nightmare?"

"I can't answer that. It's too soon."

"That's how I feel. We have time. But know this—it has to be your decision in the end, and I will love you and stand with you no matter what."

Beth seemed relieved, so I guess I was as well. I was determined to deal with it exactly as I described it to Beth. I loved her with every fiber of my being, and I would love any child placed in our care.

Beth gave me an update on the other two women visiting our home tonight. I called Paul while he was talking with Tom, and Tom agreed to be there too. As we talked, he mentioned that the test on the wine glass would be finished by morning. He also heard from Judge Dunn and Hanna Ames from the D.A.'s office. Everything was coming together.

Chapter 9: The Others

Beth's two co-workers and their husbands were due at our house at 7:00 PM. Beth called me late in the afternoon and told me more good news. The one woman was good friends with two of the others who no longer work at Coulton Industries, and both agreed it was time their husbands knew. They would join us as well.

I called Tom Willis to warn him, and he suggested an approach for the evening. The ladies would meet on the back porch when they arrived while Tom and I broke the story to the husbands. We needed to control emotions, and those of us of the male gender are rather unpredictable when it comes to our wives.

Our guests had arrived and were separated per our plan. Initially, I would explain while Tom kept the peace. Once the ladies were brought in, Tom would run the dialog.

"Guy's, I'm Nate Freed. All of you met my wife, Beth, when you came in. I'm sure you're wondering why you're here. Over the last two weekends, while my wife was on a business trip for Coulton, she was molested by a fellow employee. One night she was given a drug we expect will prove to be a date-rape drug, and the other night she was physically forced to perform sex acts against her will. As you may have figured, I've forgiven her, but I never had to. It wasn't her fault."

One husband was anticipating the reason they were there and looked like he was getting hot. "Are we here because our wives screwed this guy?"

He got out of his seat and looked ready to find his wife and attack. Tom took charge.

"Sir, sit down please and let Mr. Freed finish."

He grumbled but complied and I continued.

"To answer your question, you're partially right. The man accused admitted to molesting all of your wives."

The husbands didn't take that news well. They were getting restless. I forged ahead.

"Guys, please listen. Don't be fools and blame your wives. They are victims. The jerk responsible has threatened them all. He took videos and said he would release them to the internet and to their families, friends, churches, and everyone else he thought would keep them in line. Your wives have all held this awful burden within themselves to protect everyone they love, including you. They need your love and support. That means we all need to stay calm and understand the pain they've been carrying. Detective Willis will be monitoring each of your families so we know everyone is in control. We need each other to stay appropriately focused to nail this guy and make him pay. To help assure that, his name will not be divulged. Your wives have received an order from Judge Dunn to be sure they never reveal his name to anyone until he is charged and on trial. That order includes not telling any of you because we want to nail this guy, and any reprisal could jeopardize the process."

We fielded questions, calmed tempers, and had sustainable control within 30 minutes. The women joined us, and Tom questioned each one in private with their husband present in order to get their statement. Beth and I acted as counselors as each married couple processed this new reality. By the end of the evening, there were four couples who we were proud to call new friends. Each couple, at some point, started the healing process with the husbands holding their wives and crying with them. We agreed to meet every Monday night for the foreseeable future so Tom could keep us informed.

On Tuesday, the result from the glass showed Don and Beth's fingerprints, and the remaining wine tested positive for one of the date rape drugs. The D.A. had obtained both an arrest and a search warrant that would be enforced as soon as Don reached his front door from the airport late Wednesday evening. He would be taken into custody and formally charged.

Next target—Coulton Industries.

Chapter 10: The Company

Thursday morning, the president and owner of Coulton Industries arrived at his office to a hoard of serious-looking individuals. Beth hated this portion of the process. She loved her job and liked Mr. Coulton, but there was no choice.

Bob Coulton looked like a confused and defeated man as the team joined him in the main conference room. Tom Willis led the discussion.

"Mr. Coulton, I wish I could tell you today was a good day for your company. Unfortunately, that would be a lie. Your sales manager, Mr. Baird, was arrested last night and is facing multiple counts of rape among other serious charges. We exercised a search warrant on his house last night, and we are in the process or enforcing a similar warrant here, in your offices this morning. Before you arrived at the office, detectives seized the computers associated with Don Baird and his team. Remote salespeople across the country who reported to Don were having their computers seized at the same time by their local cooperating law enforcement agencies. A team of computer specialists descended on your Information Technology department to scan all shared folders in the mainframe and network. It will take two days, essentially shutting down the business for the remainder of the week. Do you have any questions at this point?"

"I can't believe this nightmare. Other than Beth and Sonia, who are all these other people?"

"Let's start with who you know. Beth is the woman alleged to have been attacked by Mr. Baird. Her husband, Nate, is sitting to her right. To her left is their lawyer, Mr. Gaines. Sonia Parson from HR is here to respond to allegations of gross negligence on the part of your company in regards to protecting employees from a known predator and enforcing the company morals policy. The others are law enforcement officers and representatives from the D.A.'s office to answer your questions and advise you of the process. Right now, Mr. Gaines, his clients, and Mrs. Parson will be staying to meet with you while the rest of us conduct interviews with a number of employees. Your building is currently on lockdown until those interviews are complete. Do you understand or have any questions?"

"No, sir. Oh, my God."

I looked at Beth who seemed concerned for Mr. Coulton. Tom and the team left, and Mr. Gaines took over the discussion.

"Mr. Coulton, I regret what we are compelled to do about this, but there are a number of people whose lives have been greatly impacted by the actions of Mr. Baird, and the horrendous and unprofessional actions of your human resources department. Mrs. Freed wanted you to have a chance to know what's coming. She loves her work here and does respect you, but this process will most likely compromise her ability to function in your company. If you're not already aware, Mrs. Freed was raped by Mr. Baird on two different occasions at two different trade shows in the past two weeks. One occasion was aided by a date-rape drug, and the other was by force."

Bob Coulton was visibly shaken and upset. "Oh, Beth. No. I'm so sorry." Tears filled his eyes. I knew this wasn't his fault directly, and I felt bad for him.

Beth was shaken too. "Bob, I'm sorry you got caught in this. I hope you weren't aware of things Sonia knew."

Bob's look turned to anger. "Sonia, you knew?"

"No, Bob. How would I know?"

Mr. Gaines was ready. "Perhaps, Mrs. Parson, you'll remember this conversation from Monday a week ago." He played the recording.

Beth speaking: 'Sonia, Don raped me at the trade show. I don't know what to do?'

Sonia speaking: 'Come on, Beth. You got horny and now cry rape? Others tried to accuse Don and I never found any proof. Just suck it up and move on. Don't waste my time with wild accusations.'

Sonia was shocked, mad, and embarrassed all at the same time. "You recorded that, you bitch?"

I stood to defend my wife, but Mr. Coulton beat me to it.

"Sonia, sit your ass in that chair and shut up. We'll discuss this and your career after this meeting is over."

Sonia's tears were silent but plentiful. Her quivering lips were pitiful. I smiled at her knowing she was toast.

Mr. Gaines continued. "Anyway, Mr. Coulton, the Freeds have grounds for a sizable lawsuit for numerous failures on the part of your company, and we will pursue them since Mrs. Freed's career is greatly impacted. You should know that there are four other victims that your HR director probably already knows about, as well as two other known victims who have not decided on a course of action. The strongest evidence we have supports Mrs. Freed's claim, and her demand will be the most sizable. I will take a meeting with you and your legal team after you've had a chance to review your position. Again, this is a courtesy we are extending because Mrs. Freed feels loyalty to you, but she deserves justice. Do you have any questions?"

"No. Beth, I'm so sorry. I hope we can agree without dragging this to court. I want to be fair. If your demand is fair, I'll do my best to meet it."

Chapter 11: And Justice for All

Mr. Coulton was a fair and honorable man. Beth and I asked Mr. Gaines to settle for five million or seek ten if it went to trial. We settled for $4.5 million in a structured settlement. Eventually, all six other victims settled for $1 million each.

Sonia was fired 5 minutes after the meeting in the conference room. At the time she was the breadwinner in her family. She decided to disappear with her daughter, thus leaving a dead-beat husband to fend for himself. Nobody knows where she went, but it's suspected she went to live with relatives in the Dominican Republic.

Five months into her pregnancy, Beth had severe abdominal pain. Joshua Freed was stillborn a day later and the family deeply mourned his passing at his funeral. I had no mixed emotions. I grieved for our son as did Beth. There was no blessing in disguise. Our child died. That tiny casket was the most heartbreaking sight I'd ever seen.

Don Baird was convicted for raping Beth and two of the other women. Evidence for the other four victims was too weak to hold up. The horrendous trial judge gave him a surprisingly light sentence of six years. His wife divorced him and she was granted all assets by a very understanding judge Dunn.

Don was released after two-and-a-half years. Despite a restraining order, he called Beth the day of his release and made ridiculous threats.

Don went missing the next day and was found five weeks later in agony on the side of the road in Georgia. His tongue and mouth were severely burned from what was thought to be a large pipe inserted and heated with a torch for a prolonged period of time. All his fingers were missing. He had a catheter sticking out from where his penis used to be. He was repeatedly attacked with a baseball bat to the scrotum and his testicles were so badly damaged that they had to be surgically removed. I can't even begin to describe the work needed to repair his backdoor. He would depend upon a colostomy bag for the rest of his life.

Paul and I asked each other the same question. We each gave the same answer: "No, I had nothing to do with it."

We had a chat with Mike, and I asked point-blank, "Mike, do you know anything about it?"

"Nate, if I did, I wouldn't say."

Of course, Beth and I were interviewed by the police, but they found no evidence that we or any of the other victims of Don were involved. A mysterious group called PJT took credit and used Don's punishment as their first public statement of promised consequences for predators.

The devil on my one shoulder had pushed for me to use Mike's friends, but my beliefs wouldn't let me go down that path. I fought with myself to forgive him, although his last call to Beth made that difficult. Even so, I would never wish for someone to suffer his injuries. He was useless and abandoned to a state-run nursing home that I wouldn't put a rabid dog in. I couldn't feel good about how he ended up as much as my evil side tried to smile.

Beth and I were quickly back to normal. We had trouble looking at each other without ending up in bed or in the shower. She started her own, independent agency to provide marketing communications for an expanding list of clients. Her favorite client is Coulton Industries. Our basement was finished into her office so she can work at home with her three assistants. The room was designed so children could be with her, which brings me to my favorite subject.

Twenty months after 'the incident' Nate Jr. arrived on the scene. A year later our twins, Ava and Cali joined our family. Beth learned last week that number four is on the way.

So was justice served? I don't know if the scales balanced, and I'm glad I'm not the one who needs to figure that out.

What about forgiveness? So many people were hurt and so much forgiveness was needed. Some are still trying to find the ability to forgive both themselves and the guilty parties. Some will never find or offer it, but the stress and consequences of holding on to anger like that can last a lifetime. That's not the way to live.

Beth and I have forgiven all involved. That's how we choose to live.

*****

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