Page 127 of The Widower
“Colin, I don’t really know you,” she said quietly. “What we’re doing isn’t right, and you know it.”
“That’s why you’re going to get to know me now.” I stepped closer again and took her hand firmly in mine. “Ask me anything. I’ll be honest—promise.” I’d made my decision.
Isabelle clearly doubted me. Hell, even I doubted myself for a few seconds. But this conversation had to happen. She needed to trust me—because I already trusted her.
“Why do you try so hard to hide your past?” she asked.
“I was betrayed, Isabelle,” I said quietly. “Let’s start there…”
ISABELLE CAMPBELL
“My distrust of people grew the day I found out my late wife was constantly cheating on me with my best friend,” he said without hesitating. “My relationship with Jeniffer fell apart after I discovered it, and I didn’t know what to do back then—I thought a lot about our children.”
On the USB drive there was mention of his wife’s betrayal.
“Did she blackmail you?” I asked.
“Yes. Several times. Jeniffer was a well-known doctor in town, and if we’d gone to court, either of us could’ve had a shot at custody of Joshua and Maddison—I’d even say she would’ve had a better chance of keeping them. I was scared at the time.”
“But you did nothing?”
“No. I chickened out, but—”
Colin’s voice trailed off. Recalling his past was painful, and I had no right to press him about his family.
“I blew it. You don’t owe me an explanation.” I closed my eyes.
“That’s not it.I need to tell you. I need to get this off my chest.” His dark eyes carried sadness; it seemed a heavy burden to remember Jeniffer and their daughter.“Her lover—my best friend—tampered with my car so I’d have an accident. But Jeniffer and Maddison were in that car.”
One of the documents on the flash drive described an alteration to the accident car—a defect that was the primary cause of the crash. Someone had been arrested for it, and what shocked me most was that Colin visited that person constantly.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Jeniffer and I argued that day, and she tried to take the kids by force, but Joshua wasn’t home, and the crash happened on the drive to get him. If he’d been home, my son probably wouldn’t be alive.”
Colin lowered his head, and I didn’t know what to say. Nothing I could say would ease his pain, so I stayed silent and listened.
“I’m human,” he said, “and the only way I can get revenge is...I go every two weeks. I visit Kurt—the man who was my wife’s lover and responsible for their deaths—and I humiliate him. I make his life hell in prison.”
I hadn’t known what their visits entailed, but now it was clear enough. About making his life hell—I couldn’t know the details, but I had an idea.
“What do you do to him, Colin?” I asked.
He didn’t answer for a long time; he only looked around.
“Everything awful within my reach. He’s mistreated in prison, and most of what happens to him is at my instigation.Maybe you don’t get it, but I’m a monster—that’s why people like me deserve to be alone.Isolated from everyone. I’m not cruel to people in general, but he’s a huge exception.”
I put my hand over my mouth—his words had shocked me. I’d never imagined Colin did something so...I had no words for what sprang to mind.
“You deserved to know the truth, and that’s all.”He took a deep breath.
“Why do you keep doing this to him? He’s already in prison.”
“He deserves it!” he said curtly, anger snapping his voice. “The worst punishment isn’t enough for him, and I’ll make sure of that until the day I die.”
“He’s human, Colin! Even if he did something wrong, he could be sorry.”
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” he said.“Let me tell you something: I’m against the death penalty. Want to know why? There are better ways to make someone pay for their crimes, and making him suffer every day in a tiny cell is a perfect example. Dying would be too quick—I wouldn’t be satisfied. Not even close.”
