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.]
