Page 40 of Drowning in Lies

He talked about cheating on Vanessa with some other slut, since Vanessa was out of town, and I wasn't "putting out".It hadn't stopped him from trying, repeatedly though.He tried to grope me if I got within two feet of him and was angry that I kept falling asleep on the couch.

As I watched the video, it was like watching a stranger - a crude, cocky sonofabitch who I'd never met before in my life.There were no traces of my David left, and I snapped. I pulled out the burner phone, and I made a call that would end his life and change mine irrevocably.The truly sad part was, I was OK with that.David had ceased to be a decent human being, and apparently, so had I.

Liam agreed to handle the dirty work.Volunteered, actually. He spent the next two weeks devising what he assured me was a foolproof plan."I'm an expert at this, Princess. You need to trust me," he told me repeatedly.

I got through those two weeks on autopilot.I made my mental to-do list and reviewed it ad nauseum.My anxiety was under control if I had a solid plan, and Liam's plan certainly seemed solid.He had covered every contingency.At his suggestion, I had invited Sherry on an all-day shopping trip so that I had a rock-solid alibi. Iwanted to invite Vanessa to join us, which Liam informed me was a truly diabolical twist of the knife.

"Now you're thinking like a Flanagan," he praised me.

David went out on his boat most every Saturday in nice weather, and this Saturday would be no exception. He almost made it too easy.I had suggested the lake as the scene for his "accident", after re-watching the videos and hearing David brag to Scott that I thought he walked on water.

Friday evening, he went to bed in a huff because he wanted sex, and I turned him down.I got up early the next morning to pack him a lunch, using the excuse that I wanted to make up for our fight the night before.In reality, I needed to help establish his time of death in case his body wasn't found right away.If the packed cooler was still in the boat, the police would assume he had "fallen" into the water when leaving that morning, rather than returning that evening.David had thrown a small hitch in the plan when he overslept a little. I had to roust him out of bed so that I could stick to my timetable.

I walked him down to the dock, still pretending to be the loving wife trying to make up with her husband.I handed him the cooler and watched as leaned over to set it in the boat.He turned to me with a smirk, clearly amused that I was following him around like a lost puppy that morning.He was so sure that he had his poor stupid little wife wrapped around his finger.I relished the shock that spread across his face when he realized that he was so very, very wrong.

He pulled me in for a hug and I returned it briefly, before reminding myself that this wasn't my David.I stepped back and tilted my head slightly as I stared into his eyes. I smiled, and said softly, "I know about Vanessa, David.I know that you've been having an affair."

He jerked back a little, his eyes widening in surprise, before he faked a look of concerned confusion.

"What are you talking about?Why on earth would you think I'm having an affair, baby?You know I love you." He tried to pull me into his arms again, and I took another step back, holding up my hand to ward him off.

"Stop lying, David, just stop."

He took another step toward me, and I backed up again in some strange sort of dance.

"Vanessa is just someone I work with.I know you've not been yourself lately, but this is ridiculous, baby. I would never cheat on you.You know that," he told me, condescension dripping from his tone.

"Stop," I told him, shaking my head. "I know about Vanessa, I know about the mortgages, and the condo, and all of the other women.I know about Scott, and the drugs, and the gambling.I know about the embezzlement. I know about the sleeping pills and the gaslighting.I know where you were when I lost our baby and almost died.I know where you were when my mother died.I've seen the videos, David.I know it all."

I spoke slowly and deliberately, keeping my voice calm and my tone light as I recounted his sins.

He froze, his entire body stiffening and every bit of color leeching from his face.His eyes widened and his jaw worked, as he tried desperately to formulate some kind of a response.

"Do you know how it feels to drown in lies? Do you know how it feels to drown in betrayal?" I asked as he just stared at me.

"No, you don't," I answered for him, "but you will."

"Each lie will make your lungs burn as you try to gasp for air, feeling desperate for one last breath. Each betrayal will make your chest heavy, your heart weighted down with dread and fear until you think it will burst out of your chest."I paused, eyeing him as he dropped his head down in defeat.

"But don't worry, your pain won't last nearly as long as mine has."He raised his head to look at me with a faint sliver of hope that I would let him off the hook.I chuckled bitterly. "My only regret is that I won't be able to watch...buthewill."

I nodded my head toward Liam, who had approached the dock without David noticing.David turned, his body jerking when he caught sight of the gun in Liam's hand. I merely smiled as I said, "It's all right though.Liam has promised to describe every horror you go through in vivid detail the next time I see him."

David sputtered out a plea for his life. "Don't do this Lila.God, baby, I'm so sorry.Please, you can't do this.I love you, please, don't-"

I interrupted his begging, unable to stomach any more of it."Goodbye, David, I'll see you in Hell."

Chapter 23: Working The Plan

I walked back up the slight hill toward the house, willing myself not to shatter.Not now.Not yet.There was too much to do, too much riding on my ability to remain calm and detached.I couldn't allow myself to think of anything other than the plan. I needed to be detached and methodical, just as Liam had instructed me.

I practiced my deep breathing exercises as I crossed the deck to the patio door, pausing for a moment before stepping into the house.I forced myself to cross the threshold, knowing that if I looked back toward the dock, I might weaken.I reminded myself of every horrible thing David had done to me, to my mother, to Randall...to our unborn child.

I didn't know for certain whether the pills he had been drugging me with had played a role in my miscarriage, and probably never would. I did know, however, that the stress he caused me with his gaslighting and manipulation had not helped.I did know that the worry and the fear as I lay in the back of the ambulance was made worse by the fact that I couldn't reach my husband. I did know that I almost bled out that night, and my husband hadn't been with me because he'd been fucking some random woman at a hotel. I did know that he showed more emotion the next day when talking to Scott about some stupid bet he'd lost, than he did at the knowledge that I'd almost died.

Those brutal reminders to myself strengthened my resolve to see this through.I had a role to play, and it was showtime.I glanced at the clock on the microwave display, realizing that I had precisely seventeen minutes left before I would be late leaving the house.I felt my anxiety ratchet up a bit again and took one last moment to breathe deeply and center myself. As I walked upstairs to our bedroom, I ran through my mental checklist of things I needed to do before I left.

Entering our attached bathroom, I checked my appearance one last time. I was pale, and I had dark circles under my eyes.The dark circles were nothing new.I hadn't slept well in months.I finished applying my eye makeup, having been afraid of smearing my mascara if I'd cried during my goodbye to David.I ran my hand through my hair to fluff it a bit, then grabbed my shoes and hurried back downstairs.

---