She turned toward me with tears streaming down her face. "You ruined my life. " "No. " I answered. "You did. " Instead of stopping, she kicked the driver's door hard enough to leave a dent, then ripped the side mirror forward until it snapped. My neighbor, Mr. Collins, came outside.
"I saw everything. " he shouted. Karen looked around and finally noticed the security camera mounted above my garage. Her expression changed instantly. She realized she just destroyed my truck on camera. I pulled out my phone.
She took one step toward me. "Frank, don't call. " I dialed anyway. When the dispatcher answered, I kept my voice calm. "My name is Frank. I need an officer at my address.
Someone just vandalized my vehicle, and it's all on video. " Karen started crying again. This time, I didn't feel sorry for her. 20 minutes later, the police placed her in the back of a patrol car. On Monday morning, my attorney filed for a restraining order. From that moment on, Karen wasn't allowed to contact me directly.
Everything would go through lawyers, exactly where it belonged. The restraining order changed everything. Karen couldn't call me. She couldn't show up at my house. She couldn't come to my office pretending she just wanted to talk.
If she needed to say something, her attorney could say it. That was exactly how I wanted it. A week later, my lawyer called. "I have something you should know. " "What is it? " "Karen is changing her story. " I wasn't surprised. "To what? " "She's claiming the affair wasn't physical. " I almost laughed.
Did she forget about the investigator? Apparently. I told Linda to send over everything we had, every photograph, every timestamp, every report, every piece of evidence. If Karen wanted to lie in a legal proceeding, she was going to do it in front of facts. Two days later, Linda called again.
Her attorney contacted me. And they've stopped disputing the affair. Good. There wasn't much else to say. The evidence had done the talking.
Around the same time, I decided someone else deserved the truth. Aaron Bennett's wife. I asked Linda whether there would be any issue with sharing the investigator's report after removing anything unrelated to the divorce. "There won't be. " she said. "Just stick to the facts. " That's exactly what I did.
I never met her in person. I mailed the evidence along with a short letter. No insults, no threats, just the truth. About a week later, she called me. Her voice was calm.
"I received what you sent. I'm sorry. " "So am I. " There was a long silence. "I confronted him. " she finally said. "And? " "He admitted everything. " I closed my eyes for a moment. I figured he would.