Pros and Cons Ch. 01

Suddenly, a hopeful look came over Seth's face. "Robert - he was there. I need to call him; maybe he can help me make sense of it all."

He quickly grabbed his phone and dialed Lori's brother's number. As Marcus watched, Seth's face brightened momentarily when Robert answered, but the hope faded fast. Robert's tone was cold and curt; he didn't even give Seth a chance to speak. "Seth, I'm very disappointed in you. In the first place, I've never seen you drink that much - you were truly off the tracks. And I really couldn't believe the way you came on to Sirena. Damn, man, you've only been married a couple of weeks!"

"But I didn't come onto her, I swear. Do you know how I can reach her? She can help me clear this whole mess up."

"Good luck with that," Robert scoffed. "She was just someone I started talking to in the bar while I was waiting for you. I don't even know her last name."

"But I thought you worked with her."

"As if! Look, Seth, whether you find her or not won't change the facts. You had sex with that woman and, in the process, you've hurt Lori deeply and broken your marriage beyond repair."

"No, no, surely there's a way . . ."

"I'm sorry, Seth, but there's not. The sooner you accept that, the better for everyone." With that he hung up.

Seth looked at Marcus and shook his head sadly. Before his brother could ask for details, the doorbell rang. Seth rushed to the entry hall, hoping Lori had returned, but when he opened the door, a stranger was standing there. "Are you Seth Masterson?" the woman asked.

"Yes, but . . ."

Without expression, she handed him an envelope. "Mr. Masterson, you have been served." She lifted her cellphone and took a picture of him holding the envelope, then turned and walked away without a second glance.

As Seth slowly walked back into the den, Marcus looked at him sympathetically. "I guess she's not open to a reconciliation. It looks like you need to hire a lawyer." Seeing the expression on Seth's face, he added, "Don't worry, I know a good one. He isn't exactly "Mr. Personality," but he can help steer you through this."

After making a call and setting up an appointment, Marcus let Seth know that he had to return to LA. "I've got a big job that I have to handle, but after it's finished, I'll come back and help any way I can. In the meantime, call me any time, day or night, if you need me."

Seth had just returned from seeing Marcus off at the airport when he was startled to hear a key in the front door. He hurried to the entryway just in time to see Lori walk in. "Oh!" she said in a startled voice, "I didn't expect you to be here. I just came by to pick up a few of my things - I'll be gone in a few minutes."

Despite the fact that she obviously didn't want to see him, Seth followed her back to the bedroom while she packed up some clothing and personal items. He tried to apologize and begged her for a second chance, but she cut him short. "Seth, we talked about the importance of being true to one another before we got married. The fact that you cheated at the first opportunity tells me all I need to know about the kind of man you really are."

The sight of her reignited all the happy memories he held of her and their brief marriage, but the coldness of her tone chilled the faint hope he's momentarily felt. He watched her leave and again felt hot tears on his cheeks.

Two days later, Seth was seated in front of the attorney Marcus had recommended. While sympathetic to Seth's pain, the counselor held out no hope. "Mr. Masterson, after your brother called me, I contacted your wife's attorney. She described the evidence they are prepared to introduce in court if you attempt to contest the divorce. I'm told your wife has photos of you in flagrante delicto, and she also possesses several items stained with what she alleges to be your semen. They are prepared to conduct DNA tests if needed."

Seth hung his head, recalling the blurry details of that awful night.

The man looked at Seth and drew his own conclusions. "Under those circumstances, I see no possibility of successfully contesting the allegation that adultery occurred. Even if there were a reasonable doubt about the adultery, Mrs. Masterson would still be within her rights to seek a dissolution of the marriage for any reason or no reason. We do not force people to stay married in California if they do not wish to remain so."

"So you're saying there's nothing I can do?"

"Oh no, you can employ delaying tactics, ask for counseling and otherwise drag out the proceedings for quite some time. All that will achieve is to increase your legal fees dramatically, waste the court's time, irritate the judge and harden your wife's feelings toward you. In the end, the outcome will be exactly the same - you'll be divorced."

"Can't I get the marriage annulled? We were only married for a short time. Wouldn't that be better?"

The attorney shook his head. "California law allows for an annulment only if a spouse can prove the marriage resulted from fraud or force, or if one of the spouses was of unsound mind. Do you have proof of either?"

Seth slumped in his chair. "What about the property settlement?"

"You haven't mentioned one, so I presume you had no prenuptial agreement concerning the disposition of assets?"

Seth just shook his head.

"Too bad. Well in that case California law is very straightforward: all assets are to be divided equally."

Seth looked at him dully. "Like the house?"

The man nodded. "I believe you purchased it after you were married. The deed is in both your names, is it not?"

"But I was the one who provided almost all the funds. Surely . . ."

The attorney shook his head.

"So does that mean we have to turn right around and try to sell it? We only bought it a couple of months ago."

"You always have the option of buying your wife's half of the property."

"That might just work. I've got a lot saved up and . . ."

"Don't forget that half of those savings will go to your wife."

"But wait, I earned most of that money. It came from . . ."

The attorney was shaking his head again. "Mr. Masterson, let's establish the facts of your marriage as it relates to the divorce and property settlement. Mrs. Masterson's attorney indicates that the two of you commingled your funds in joint checking and savings accounts. She also indicated that you encouraged Mrs. Masterson to quit her job."

"I didn't encourage her to quit. She told me she wanted to and I told her it was okay with me."

The attorney nodded. "Notwithstanding who influence whom, yours was the sole source of family income, and Mrs. Masterson was dependent on that. We've already established that the two of you purchased your home together with your commingled funds."

"Most of which came from me!" Seth blurted out.

"Sorry, Mr. Masterson, but it all became communal property when you married."

"But that's not fair!" Seth burst out.

The older man shook his head soberly. "No, it's not, but it is the law." He paused and then looked at Seth thoughtfully. "There is one thing that puzzles me slightly. Having quit her job and being currently unemployed, Mrs. Masterson would be entitled to some level of alimony. The proposed settlement, however, makes no mention of that. I'd say she'd looking for a quick resolution and no further contact with you. Under the circumstances, I'd say that works in your favor."

Seth found that little consolation.

The divorce went through uncontested, and the young man set about the painful process of dividing his assets. The good news was that their home had actually appreciated in the short while they'd owned it. The bad news was that the gain was barely enough to cover the realtor's fee and closing costs. When the proceeds were divided, Seth was reminded that it was his funds that were going into Lori's pocket.

On the day his divorce was finalized, Seth sat on a couch in his brother's hotel room. Marcus opened a beer for him, but didn't offer a toast. Seth had nothing to celebrate.

"Alright, baby brother, it's time for me to get nosy. How are you doing, finance-wise? Do you need any help?"

Seth smiled in gratitude, but shook his head. "Lori . . . the divorce really hit me hard. I cashed out of LosTresHombres on Robert's advice and promptly sank the funds into the house Lori wanted. When I had to sell the house, half of that went to her. And then, to add insult to injury, we split what was left in the savings account, even though I put in most of what was in there.

"Dude, she walked away with over half a million dollars of my money!" He gave a derisive snort. "And of course, that doesn't count my having to pay her legal fees and court costs." He heaved a sigh. "After all's said and done, I'm a lot poorer but not I'm not broke. I lost my wife, my home and my business, so I guess you could also say I'm sadder but no wiser."

"So what are you going to do now?"

A determined look came over Seth's face. "I'm going to start fresh. Barry and Rajiv are still pretty steamed at me, and in any case it would be humiliating to go back to working at LTH after everything that's happened. So I've decided I'm going to start a new company. There's plenty of opportunity in electronic games, and I've already got an idea for my next one. It's not going to be easy, but I think I've got enough money left to get started and to keep me going for a while. So that's my plan."

Marcus held his hand up for a high-five to Seth. "That's what I like to hear: you can't keep a Masterson down! Listen, let's go out and celebrate the next chapter in your saga."

"Let's do it," Seth agreed, and they caught an Uber to the SoFA District. They were having a round at the bar of one of the many restaurants in the popular area, when Seth gasped out loud. "Over there," he shouted, pointing at a familiar face leaving the bar. "It's her," he yelled at Marcus, "it's Sirena!" The two of them rushed after her and caught up with her in the parking lot.

"Remember me?" Seth growled, and the redhead gasped as she made the connection. "Oh, shit, you're that guy who . . ."

"That's right," he snarled, "and thanks to you I'm now divorced, I lost my house and my company."

"OMG, I can't believe that. I'm so sorry - they told me it was just a joke, a way to teach you a lesson about being faithful. Nobody said anything about divorce."

"Wait a minute, who's 'they'?"

"I don't know who they were, it was just some guy named Robert and a woman named Lori."

"Robert and Lori put you up to this?"

"Sure. I was just supposed to get you drunk while Robert gave you enough Viagra to ensure you'd get a hard-on that wouldn't quit. Once we got you home, we stripped you down and I gave you a hand-job until you came all over the sheets. Then, after Lori busted in and caught you, I ducked out, got dressed, and Robert took me back to the bar. They told me the three of you were going to have a good laugh over the whole thing when they finally let you in on the gag."

"Son of a bitch!" Seth swore .

"Listen," Marcus urged, "will you testify to what you just told me?"

The girl's face turned pale. "I don't know, Mr. I don't want to get into any trouble."

"It's not you we're mad at, it's those other two fuckers."

She shook her head anxiously. "Listen, my memory's not too good. I probably wouldn't be able to remember anything about that night."

"Give me your driver's license," Marcus demanded. When she hesitantly complied, he snapped a picture of it with his phone. Next he walked over to her car and did the same thing with the license plate.

"Are you going to arrest me?" she asked plaintively.

"I'm not a cop," Marcus growled at her, "but we can get them involved in a hurry when we need you." Then he turned to Seth, who had a firm grip on the girl's arm. "Let her go, Bro. We can find her again if we need her, but right now we've got more important things to do."

As soon as they got back to Seth's apartment, Marcus asked him to call Lori's phone. When he tried, the phone immediately rolled to a recording informing him that the number was no longer in service. He tried Robert's number with similar results.

"Maybe they left town?" Seth wondered.

Marcus scowled. "People don't normally change their cell phone numbers just because they move." He went to Seth's computer. "What consulting firm did Lori work for?" he asked.

When Seth gave him the name, Marcus did a quick search on the firm's website but found nothing about Lori. He tried the same with Robert's financial management company, but had no luck there either. He shook his head. "We'll have to wait till tomorrow to do some more digging."

The next day Marcus contacted the Human Resources functions of both companies. Neither had any record of anyone by those names ever having worked there. After he hung up, Marcus motioned to Seth to come with him. The brothers drove over to Lori's old place, only to find a For Rent sign out front. They hurried to the rental agent's office, but the manager couldn't help them. "She leased the place on a month-by-month basis, starting six months ago. I wouldn't ordinarily do that, but she paid top dollar. Anyway, when she moved out she didn't leave any forwarding address."

Back in the car, Marcus asked Seth for Robert's address. "No idea," he admitted, "I never went there."

"What about his business address?"

"When I met with him it was usually at my office. I don't know where he worked."

A quick search on his phone gave Marcus the address of Robert's firm, but when the two men went there, no one had ever heard of Robert Hamilton. Likewise, no one recognized a photo of Robert from the wedding.

With no other avenues to pursue, the two returned to Seth's apartment. "I don't understand, Marcus, what does all this mean?"

His brother looked at him sadly. "I hate to say it, Seth, but it looks like you're the victim of an elaborate con. 'Lori,' or whatever her real name is, picked you out, seduced you and married you. She and her 'brother' conned you into liquidating most of your assets and buying a house in both your names. After they had you where they wanted you, they set you up with Sirena, and Lori divorced you for adultery. Once the divorce was final, the two of them apparently disappeared with half of everything before we figured out what they'd done."

"No, that can't be true!" Seth exploded. "I was the one who picked her up, not the other way around."

"Don't I recall you and your partners got some nice publicity after Kandy Korn Kaper took off?"

"I guess, but that was just in some industry mags."

"And didn't you meet her in a place you guys used to go to regularly?"

"Yeah, but I was the one who came on to her. And she was very slow to respond." He thought back for a moment. "Besides, she was really into the same shows and games we all liked. Rajiv and Barry were really impressed."

Marcus shook his head. "She and Robert must have been looking for a mark in Silicon Valley when they saw the article about you guys. It wouldn't have taken a lot of research to find you and figure out the best place to accidentally run into you. After that, it was just a case of running away slowly enough that she caught you."

The look on Seth's face was heart-breaking. "And I fell for it, hook, line and sinker. I can't believe I was so naïve, so gullible."

"Look man, don't beat yourself up. Those two are obviously real pros - I'll bet you're not the first person they've conned like this. They knew all the right strings to pull, all the right notes to play. I've heard about cons like this before, but these two raised it to a whole new level. They took their time looking for a likely victim, established elaborate false identities, and spent a lot of time and money working you to the point where they could fleece you. And they did it in such a way that you were the one who felt responsible."

Suddenly Seth's eyes grew wide. "Do you think Robert is really her brother?"

"I don't know, Seth, but if I had to guess, I'd bet he's her lover."

Seth paled. "But she married me! We went on our honeymoon together. How could she have done all that? How could he let her?"

"Think about Sirena, that prostitute they hired. She sells herself for a night, but if you paid her enough, she'd probably be glad to stay with you for a week or even months. It's the same with Lori: the bigger the potential pay-off, the more of herself she had to invest in the con. Unfortunately for you, it paid off big for her and her partner."

"Isn't there something we can do? Can't we go to the police or file suit against them?"

"Finding them is going to be the first challenge. It's pretty obvious that those two are long gone; my guess is they're not even in California anymore. And I'll guarantee you that they've changed their names and established brand-new identities that will make finding them just that much more difficult.

"We definitely need to report them to the police, but that's a hit-or-miss proposition too. The cops aren't going to devote resources out-of-state, especially when it isn't even obvious that a crime was committed."

"But they hired a prostitute to entrap me! They drugged me!"

"I believe you about the drugs, but there's no way to prove that now. As for Sirena, wives have been hiring people to test cheating husbands for a long time. While it may be ethically questionable, it's not clearly illegal. And since they went through the court to get the divorce, that gives them an added layer of cover."

He shook his head. "They really set this one up well. Bro. If you want my advice, you need to get on with your life and forget about Lori."

A determined look came over Seth's face. "I'm going to get on with my life alright, but I'm not ready to give up on Lori just yet."