Chapter 3 - The Broken Vows
By six in the morning, the harsh winter sunrise began creeping over Lake Michigan, casting a dull gray hue across the snow-covered streets of downtown Chicago. My twelve-hour shift was finally over. I stripped off my hospital badge, changed into my black wool coat, and walked through the sliding automatic doors into the biting Midwestern wind.
Vincent was waiting by the concrete pillars near the ambulance bay. His expensive tailored wool overcoat was damp with melted snow, his face hollow, his eyes rimmed with bloodshot exhaustion. When he saw me, he pushed off the pillar and stumbled toward me.
""Claire,"" he croaked, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. ""Please. Just ride home with me. We don't have to talk if you don't want to. Just let me drive you back to the brownstone.""
""The locks were changed at five this morning, Vincent,"" I said without breaking my stride toward the parking garage.
He froze, his jaw dropping in disbelief. ""What?""
""Rebecca arranged for a locksmith the moment you confirmed to my entire staff that Vanessa Reed was your wife,"" I continued, unlocking my crossover SUV with the remote key fob. ""Your personal belongings have been packed into four suitcases and delivered to the concierge desk at the Drake Hotel. That’s where you stayed with her last month while I was covering four consecutive night shifts, wasn't it?""
Vincent's face drained of color. ""How long have you known about the Drake?""
""Long enough to hire the best forensic accountant in Illinois,"" I said, turning to face him across the hood of my car. ""I know about the private checking account you opened under an offshore LLC. I know about the sixty-thousand-dollar wire transfers to the Gold Coast Reproductive Institute. Did you really think an ER doctor couldn't read an account balance or track down bank routing codes?""
Vincent lunged forward, slamming his open palms against the hood of my car. ""She was alone, Claire! Her father made me the trustee of her trust fund! When she fell into deep depression after her mother passed, she fixated on having a family! She begged me! She said she would end her life if she couldn't carry Thomas's grandchild!""
""And you decided the best way to help a grieving woman was to become her lover?"" I scoffed, feeling a bitter chuckle rise in my throat. ""Do not dress your disgusting vanity up as philanthropy, Vincent. You loved the idea of having two women worship you. You loved playing the gallant savior with Vanessa while keeping me around to manage your social reputation, clean your home, and heal your wounds whenever business went south.""
""I loved you, Claire! I still love you!"" he shouted, tears freezing on his cheeks in the December wind. ""I never stopped loving you! Vanessa was... she was an obligation that got completely out of hand! We can survive this! Plenty of marriages survive mistakes!""
""This wasn't a mistake, Vincent. It was a second life,"" I said coldly, opening my driver's door. ""And it's over.""
""What about our future?"" he pleaded, stepping into the door frame to prevent me from closing it. ""We were going to try again this spring! You promised we would look into specialists after the holidays!""
I looked him straight in the eyes, holding my breath so the secret inside me wouldn't betray itself. ""There is no future with you, Vincent. And as far as children go... God decided to spare our family from your toxic shadow long ago.""
""Claire—""
""If you don't take your hands off my car door in three seconds,"" I said, pulling out my phone, ""the two officers standing by the hospital entrance will arrest you for violating the emergency order Rebecca filed an hour ago. Back away, Vincent.""
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He looked toward the security station, saw the two uniformed guards watching him intently, and slowly raised his hands in surrender.
I slammed the door, locked the cabin, and pulled out onto Michigan Avenue into the roaring morning traffic. Only when I was three miles away did I pull over into an empty parking lot, rest my forehead against the steering wheel, and let the agonizing sobs tear through my chest.
