Sensing her impatience as she sped up her motion, I contacted the private investigator Stephen quickly. I told him to keep an especially close eye on these next few days. It seemed like something was about to happen.

Stephen worked quickly. Liana had been out for less than half an hour when he sent me the hotel, room number, and floor.

I checked the hotel. Wow, what a surprise. It was right next to the hospital where Patrick worked.

Liana left behind her devoted husband and traveled miles to meet her lover, yet still had to pay for the room herself. That was embarrassing.

Strangely, I wasn't even that angry anymore. I suspected I had become numb to this kind of emotional pain.

I even sent her a voice message, as calm as ever: [Sweetheart, did you get on the train? Let me know when you arrive, okay?]

Ugh, I disgusted myself. Naturally, Liana didn't respond.

I hadn't forgotten that I had an ally in this battle.

Stephen had found the contact information of Patrick's wife, but I had been hesitating how to contact her for days.

When your husband was cheating, how did you even start a conversation like that with his wife? No matter how you said it, she would think you were just an unwelcome intruder.

After much thought, I decided to approach her as a fellow victim as Liana's husband.

"Hello, is this the wife of Patrick?"

My honesty earned a reply. She quickly accepted my friend request.

"Who is this?"

I sent her the footage I had gathered over the past few days. She stayed silent for a long time.

It wasn't until just before bed that she responded: [Sorry, I was dealing with the kids. They've just fallen asleep. Are these videos real?]

This was her last hope, clinging to the belief that maybe what she saw wasn't real. Even though she knew, deep down, she was just deceiving herself.

[You're free to choose not to believe me, but I'm gearing up for a fight.]

You couldn't wake someone who was pretending to be asleep. I added, [I'm sorry, but the woman in the videos is my wife.]

[I'm only here to get what I deserve and thought I'd give you a heads-up.]

[What do you want?] Her response always looked calm.

[I want them ruined, penniless, and left with nothing.] This was the clearest thought I'd had throughout this chaotic month.

After another long pause, she gave me a resolute reply: [Okay.]