Chapter 9 - The Final Visit
Six months later, an official black town car arrived outside the heavy razor-wire fences of the Otisville Federal Correctional Facility in upstate New York.
I stepped out of the vehicle, dressed in an immaculate cream-colored trench coat, dark sunglasses, and Italian leather heels. Eleanor accompanied me, carrying a single manila folder under her arm. Following a brief security protocol, we were escorted into a private visiting room with thick plexiglass partitions and cinderblock walls.
A few minutes later, the iron door on the opposite side opened, and Adrian was brought in by a correctional officer.
The transformation was shocking.
The once-dashing, immaculately groomed venture capitalist was entirely gone. In his place sat a sunken, hollow-eyed inmate in an ill-fitting beige prison jumpsuit. His hair was cropped short and uneven, his cheeks were gaunt, and his hands were calloused from daily kitchen duty. When he looked up and saw me sitting across the partition, his breath caught, and his hands shook as he picked up the receiver.
I lifted mine to my ear, waiting for him to speak.
""Evelyn..."" he rasped, his voice cracked with exhaustion and regret. ""You... you actually came.""
""I came to deliver the final decree of our divorce, Adrian,"" I said evenly, watching as Eleanor slid the certified judicial document across the counter through the security slot. ""Everything is finalized. You are officially no longer connected to me, my family, or any entity associated with my name.""
Adrian didn't look at the paper. His hollow eyes were fixed on my face, taking in my glowing skin, my steady gaze, and the aura of boundless confidence surrounding me. ""You look... magnificent. You look like royalty.""
""I was always royalty, Adrian,"" I replied calmly. ""You were just too blind to see it.""
A bitter, sorrowful tear slipped down his hollow cheek. ""Vanessa wrote to me last month. She’s working two shifts at a diner in upstate Pennsylvania, living in a broken-down trailer park. Nobody in New York will hire her. Her family lost everything. And I... I spend twelve hours a day washing dishes for three dollars a week.""
He pressed his forehead against the cold plexiglass, his voice breaking into a ragged sob. ""Every single night when the cell doors slam shut, Evelyn, all I can hear is the sound of that riding crop hitting the floor. All I can see is your eyes looking back at me without fear. I had everything a man could ever dream of. I had a queen who loved me. And I threw it all away for dirt.""
I looked at him for a long moment. I felt neither joy at his suffering nor pity for his plight. He had made his choices with absolute arrogance, and now he was living the life he had earned.
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""Goodbye, Adrian,"" I said softly.
I hung up the receiver, stood up, and smoothed my coat. I turned around and walked out of the visiting room without looking back once. Behind me, the sound of Adrian’s muffled weeping was cut short as the heavy steel door slammed closed between us forever.
