The Boss

I grabbed my 12-gauge shotgun along with some cartridges filled with rock salt. Hopefully, I wouldn't have to use it, but I wanted to make sure no one would get killed if I actually had to pull the trigger.

I heard from Angela, who sent me a text message letting me know she was in position.

At 11:30, she logged into the network as me and fired up Skype. At 11:45, she sent a text: "Target online."

That meant John was probably nearby, checking to see if I was at work. Soon he would be at my house. I shut off the lights, and took up my position in the bedroom, my shotgun loaded and ready for use. Ryan took his position in a front bathroom that would enable him to block John's exit.

By now, he would have sent Wendy an email letting her know he was on his way. I checked on my smartphone and sure enough, there it was, along with the pictures he used to blackmail her.

"Okay," I wrote back, pretending to be her.

A few minutes later, I heard the lock in the front door being opened. The bastard had a key!

He shut the door and I could hear him walking toward the master bedroom.

"I'm back!" he shouted out. "Are you ready for me?"

"Any time," I said in response as I stepped out of the bedroom, pointing the shotgun at him. The look on his face was priceless. He certainly wasn't expecting to see me with a shotgun pointed directly between his eyes.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" he asked. "You're supposed to be at work!"

"This is my house and I live here, asshole," I told him. "What the fuck are you doing here? Come for your Wednesday morning rape?"

"You asshole," he muttered. "You're fired."

"No, John, you're fired," Ryan said as he stepped out of the shadows. John wasn't expecting this.

"Fuck you," he said, pulling a knife out of his pocket. "I'm going to fuck you up then I'm going to fuck your wife right in front of you. Maybe you'll learn how a real man fucks."

John started toward me holding his knife in front of him. I pointed my shotgun at his right thigh and took him down with a load of rock salt.

He grabbed his leg, screaming at me, while I moved in and slammed home another round. I put the muzzle of the shotgun an inch away from his face.

"Shut up, asshole. That was just rock salt. This next round isn't," I said. His eyes grew wide and I kicked the knife away from him.

"Call 911," I told Ryan. He already had my home phone in his hand and called the police.

Within minutes, the apartment was full of police and paramedics. They took my statement and Ryan's statement and the video evidence I had of John dosing and later raping my wife. I also showed them the emails he sent Wendy threatening her if she spoke out. I also had video of the assault on the smartphone in my pocket. Officers took that as well as all the evidence collected on my home server.

Several hours later, the police cleared out, leaving Ryan and I alone to decompress. I sent Angela a text message letting her know it was all over. I also thanked her profusely.

"Thank God that's over," I told Ryan.

"Yeah," he said. "Tell me something, would you really have killed John?"

"If you don't mind, Ryan, I'd really not go there," I said. He nodded, understanding how I felt.

"Look, take the rest of the week off and get things squared away with your wife," he said. "I'll work this all out with upper management and I'll reach out to Chuck. I'll call you, but as of now, John's job is yours if you want it."

"Thanks, Ryan," I said, shaking his hand.

I sat down and checked my email and saw there was a message from Wendy, but the phone rang before I could read it.

"Bill, you need to get to the hospital," my mother-in-law said. "Wendy tried to kill herself."

Chapter 9 – Wendy's story

I grabbed my laptop and headed out to the hospital. I got to her room and was told by the doctor that she had ingested an entire bottle of sleeping pills. They managed to pump her stomach and got most of the pills before they had a chance to dissolve, but there was still a lot of the drug in her system.

Her mother told me she heard Wendy fill the bathtub but didn't hear her get back out of the tub. She went to check and found my wife in the tub, having swallowed an entire bottle of pills.

I put my hand on my wife's head and kissed her cheek while offering a quick prayer.

"Please, God, don't let her die," I whispered, tears coming to my eyes.

I sat down in a chair next to her bed, opened my laptop and read her email.

"My dearest Bill," she began.

"I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am for the last two months. There isn't any excuse for what I did and I should have trusted you enough to confide in you. It's just that John is so intimidating and his threats scared me more than you'll ever know."

I knew how scary John could be, so that didn't surprise me.

"It all started at that Fourth of July picnic. I remember taking a drink and feeling really funny, so I went to the bathroom. You were off getting us something to eat and I thought I'd be back before you. I didn't know John was following me and suddenly he was there acting like he wanted to help.

"After I got in the bathroom stall, he was was there, watching me with a crazy smile on his face. I tried to get dressed but I couldn't really move and the next thing I knew he was on top of me. God, I hated it . I hated him and for a moment I hated you for not being there to kick his ass and protect me.

"When he finished, he took pictures of me and threatened me, telling me he would kill us both if I ever said anything. Then he took something out of my purse and left. I didn't realize until later that he took my house key.

"It started the next week. He said he would be there every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and he said I had to do what he wanted without question or argument. If I fought him, he said, he would kill me and then do something bad to you.

"There's so many times I wanted to say something to you, but he kept sending me those pictures and threatened to kill us both. I didn't know what to do, so I ended up going along with it.

"In a way I'm glad you found out when you did. It's crazy, I know, but I was about ready to kill myself at the end. I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't take the pain he was giving me and I couldn't bear the pain I knew I was causing you. And yes, I saw that pain and hurt the other day and I don't blame you for hating me.

"Please forgive me and know that I've loved you from the moment I first met you. I honestly hope he does something stupid and you end up hurting him real bad.

"I truly hope this email explains things to your satisfaction and I hope you know that no matter what, I love you and always will.

"Now, I have to go and do the only thing I know will prove to you just how sorry I really am about all of this. Please don't hate me and know that I want you to find another woman, someone who can love you better than me.

"I'm so sorry. And I love you.

The email ended: "All my love, your Wendy."

Tears were freely rolling down my face as I finished reading her email. I closed out the message and turned my laptop off. I don't know how long I sat there, crying and praying that my wife would just wake up.

Finally, I heard her tiny voice from the bed.

"Bill?" she asked.

"I'm here," I told her, holding her as tight as I could.

"Am I really alive?" she asked, crying.

"Yes, babe," I said. "It's over. John was arrested and it's all over." She hugged me tighter and cried even harder.

"Can you forgive me?" she asked.

"Of course," I told her. "I can't live without you, either. Next time, though, talk to me first. Okay?"

"Okay, I will, promise," she said.

Epilogue:

The drama was over, but the story wasn't quite finished. Yeah, I got John's job along with a hefty raise and a two-million dollar bonus from upper management as compensation for what we had been through. Chuck got his old job back with a raise and a bonus similar to mine. Angela got my old team lead job and a lunch on me for her help.

John didn't fare so well. Sandy destroyed him in her divorce, but that was the least of his worries. There was enough evidence on his phone and computer to link him to several long-term rapes and even more blackmail attempts. Add to that the federal charges of drugging a number of women without their consent for the purpose of sex.

In all, he got sentenced to 50 years and had to register as a sex offender. He never got even close to that, however. Six months in to his sentence, he met his maker when another inmate slid a shiv into his heart – repeatedly.

Wendy and I are doing well, thank you. It hasn't been easy, though. She ended up going through therapy for quite some time as a result of John's ongoing assault. But she's doing a lot better now and we're actually looking forward to a new grandchild.

Yes, life is good...