Page 54 of The Devoted Husband

It gave him great pleasure to learn that Imani was already in prison, and it enticed him to know he could put her sister there too. They may not have been responsible for the tangled web Tonya wove, but they would be proof that a child had to pay for the sins of their parents. They had to pay for Andrea catching the eye of the man Tonya wanted, locking her heart away from her own husband. They had to pay for her having a child by Martin and leaving Jones for him. They had to pay for Dena killing herself because she couldn’t take the bullying and missing her mother.

Andrea and Martin were gone...and so were Tonya and Dena—leaving Jones all alone.

To see Sade convicted of Patrice and Trina’s murders felt like the final piece needed for Jones to receive closure. But that closure was now gone. All that remained were the drudged-up feelings he’d experienced when Tonya told him the truth about Dena and left him over ten years ago.

Dante

Two Weeks Later

Confusion quickly turned into anger as Dante stared at his car. All four tires were slashed. His evening out with Ian and Eric gave him relief from the stress of moving into a new home, but now, the high he was on had grounded him. This was intentional, and Dante needed to figure out who had done it and why.

After requesting a tow truck, he returned to the bar and grill and asked the manager if he could review their security footage because someone had slashed his tires. Unfortunately, their cameras didn’t work and were merely used to try to keep people from causing trouble just from the sight of them. Dante checked the surrounding restaurants, and they said the same thing, which only frustrated him more.

Since he was having his car towed to the tire shop near his new home, he called an Uber instead of asking one of his friends to come back or asking Sade to get him. She’d gone to bed earlier than usual because of a dizzy spell. Though Dante offered to stay home with her, she insisted he leave because of his scheduled plans.

On the ride home, Dante wondered who could have slashed his tires. He was not involved with any road rage incident on his way to the bar and grill. He couldn’t recall seeing anyone looking familiar and wanting revenge while there. And without that camera footage, Dante had absolutely no clues to follow. To that end, he convinced himself that maybe they had mistaken him or his car for someone else. He would, however, keep his eyes open and be alert in case something else happens any time soon.

The Following Monday

All eyes were on Dante as he headed across the lobby toward the elevators. Whispered tones piqued his curiosity, but he ignored them since they weren’t speaking up. After having his tires slashed, Dante chilled for the rest of the weekend with Sade. He tried not to obsess over it and hoped it was a random occurrence.

Working at Ian’s financial firm was nice, especially because he was a partner, but Dante missed the old days—working with Imani, his closest male friend Eric, and his wife Jessica. A part of him was broken, knowing he’d never be able to return to those days again.

When he made it to his floor, Dante saw why he’d received stares...why people were whispering as he walked. The floor assistants fervently ripped pictures of him from the walls. He stepped forward, snatching the eight-by-eleven photo.

Hi, my name is Dante, and I cheated on my wife with her sister. Don’t trust me with your money or your credit...We steal.

After reading the caption under the picture, Dante crumbled the paper in his fist. He ripped down one picture after another, noticing they trailed every wall down the hall.

Ian rushed out of his office, his body relaxing at the sight of Dante.

“Ian, man, I’m so sorry about this.”

Ian gave him a dismissive wave of his hand. “Whoever did this taped these flyers all over the building. We’ve been trying to get them down, but it’s a lot.”

“This has to be the same person who slashed my tires,” Dante said, more to himself as he continued to walk and tear down flyers.

“What? When did this happen?”

“The night we went out.”

“Why didn’t you say anything? How did you get home?”

“I didn’t want to inconvenience either of you. At first, I thought it was a case of mistaken identity. Now, I know it was for me.”

“Damn. Well, security is checking footage from last night, so we’ll see who did this.”

“Good.”

“But with that being said...” Ian squeezed the back of his neck and briefly shifted his eyes. “Until you get this under control, we’re gonna need you to work from home. I know the situation, but it’s not something I want to have to explain to our clients.”

Though Dante was frustrated by Ian’s decision, he respected it and planned to take accountability.

“I get it, man. Thanks for giving me grace in a situation that’s beyond my control. I’m cool with working from home. But when security gets a hit, please text me the photo.”

“For sure. I got you.”

The pair shook hands before Dante went to his office to grab a few of his files. He did have three meetings scheduled for that week and questioned whether he should reschedule them. For now, he’d focus on one thing at a time, and his biggest priority was finding out who was responsible and making them pay.

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