Making It Up As We Go: A Sequel

"Alright. I guess that'll be all for now, Mr. Foreman," the detective said. "I may have some questions for you later, so I have to ask that you remain in the area for a while."

"I suppose I can delegate field trips to some of the other engineers," I said. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

"Thank you, Mr. Foreman," Simmons said. "We'll be in touch." With that, they got up and left. I walked them to the door and closed it after they were gone. I couldn't help but wonder if Max had something to do with Dad's accident.

I turned to my desk and saw something that wasn't there before -- a very small USB drive. It was sitting on the edge of the desk in front of the chair Simmons had occupied. I didn't recall seeing him put anything there earlier. I picked it up and inserted it into my laptop.

After my anti-virus confirmed it was clean, I opened it up and saw a single Word document. I double-clicked on it and saw what looked like an IP address along with a username and a password. I entered the IP address in my browser and was presented with a login prompt.

I entered the username and the password and was presented with a screen full of screenshots captioned with dates and times. The most recent was dated yesterday morning. I double-clicked and my video app came up. I saw Max sitting in my parents' front room with Mary.

"When did he leave?" Max asked.

"He left early this morning," Mary told him.

"Any idea what he had planned?" Max asked.

"I know he was going to see Jimmy," she said. "I think he's also planning to go see Jason about something. He got a call from Jason's office yesterday."

"Well, that could be about a lot of things," Max said. "Maybe he's just going over his taxes."

"Maybe, but I don't think so," Mary told him. "He's got something going on, I just know it. I was told he accessed the safety deposit box the other day and got copies of some paperwork."

"The DNA test results?" Max asked.

"I think so," Mary said. "He hasn't been himself ever since this whole thing with Jimmy blew up. It's got me worried."

"You think maybe he's grown a set of balls after all these years?" Max asked with a sneer. Mary chuckled at that.

"Maybe him and Jimmy both," she said.

"What are you saying? Do you want him gone, as in, permanently, the way we talked before?" Max asked. Mary looked at him hard before responding.

"Yes," she said quietly. Max regarded her in silence for a few moments, then nodded his head.

"Alright, Mom. Don't worry about a thing. I'll take care of it," Max said.

"Are you still planning to see Jimmy?" she asked.

"Yeah," Max said. "Don't worry. I'll get him under control."

"Thank you, Max," she said. "I'll be right back," she added, standing up. After she walked out of the room, Max pulled out his phone and made a call.

"Jake, Foreman here. Listen, I gotta little job for ya. Yeah, him. You still keeping an eye on him? Okay, listen, wait till he's out of his car and do what you do best. Make it look like an accident. You understand what I'm telling you? I'll be back tomorrow, then we'll take care of his brat. See ya. Bye," he said, ending the call as Mary came back into the room.

I ended the video, shocked at what I just heard. It looked to me as if Max had just ordered a hit on my father at his wife's direction. Would they do the same to me? And how deeply involved was Rebecca? The ringing of my phone brought me back to reality.

"Foreman," I said when I answered the call.

"Jimmy, Jason Miller here. How are you doing?" the man at the other end asked.

"Mr. Miller, thank you for calling," I said. "I've been better. What can I do for you?"

"First off, you can call me Jason," the man said. "Second, I heard about your father and I'd like to offer my condolences. I thought the world of him."

"Thank you," I said.

"I was wondering if you have some time this afternoon that we can get together. I'd like to talk to you about your father's will," Jason said.

"Of course," I said. "What time?"

"Say about 3:00 pm?" Jason asked.

"I'll be there," I said. We ended the call and I wondered how much Jason knew. I found out when we met at his office.

"Please, have a seat," Jason said when I entered his office. He pulled out a fairly thick portfolio and handed me a document in a binder. "That's your father's last will. He changed it just before the accident. Good thing, too, from what I've learned. Did he ever speak to you about it?"

"No, he didn't," I said.

"Well, you have a copy of what I filed with the probate court this morning," he said. "The bottom line is that everything is basically yours. We'll go over it while you're here."

"Wait... Everything? Didn't he leave anything for his wife or Max?" I asked.

"No," Jason said. "He took them out of the will. Completely. The house he lived in was placed in a trust in your name, as well as the business. His entire estate, which is quite substantial, is bequeathed to you."

"What now?" I asked.

"Now we wait for the probate court," he said. "Given the size of your father's estate, that could take eight to twelve months, and it's possible your mother and or Max could contest it." We spent the next hour going over the paperwork and he had me sign several forms.

"My hand is developing a cramp," I said after signing a stack of forms he had set aside for me. He laughed at that. "Tell me something, Jason. When did my father decide to change his will?"

"He actually requested I start doing it just before Thanksgiving last year," Jason said. "He had some... concerns. Had them for quite some time."

"What kind of concerns?" I asked.

"He was getting rather suspicious of Max and your mother. Sorry, Mary," Jason said. "He was particularly concerned about you."

"Did he ever give any details?" I asked.

"He was pretty sketchy with the details, but I already had an idea. Your father and I had been friends for a long time, you know," he said. "I already knew about Mary and Blumenthal from college. About the middle of last year, your father became very concerned about what your half-brother was doing and the role Mary played in all of it. That's when he installed the surveillance system in his house.

"He gave me the IP address of the cloud server the video was sent to along with the admin password and said if anything happened to him to pass it on to the authorities. After I learned of the accident, I logged into his system and saw Max and Mary talking. I followed your father's instructions and hand delivered that information to Detective Simmons," he said.

"I'm glad you did," I said. "I talked to Detective Simmons earlier today. I'll be meeting with Max later this evening."

"You be extremely careful, son," Jason said.

"I will," I said. We said our goodbyes and I headed out. My phone rang when I got inside my car. Seeing the call was from Angela, I answered.

"Hello," I said.

"Jimmy, Angela here. Got some really good news for you," she said.

"What's that?" I asked.

"I just got the report from the DNA lab. You're a father. Twice over," she said. "Congratulations." I couldn't help but smile, as that was the best news I had gotten since the weekend.

"Thank you," I said.

"Are you still meeting with Max this evening?" she asked.

"Yes, I am," I told her. "I've got just about enough time to clean up and change before I meet him."

"Alright," she said. "I'll see you then. I'll be with Detective Gibbons. And I understand another detective will be there as well, so I'll be in very good company." We said our goodbyes and I went back to the hotel.

I got to Luigi's about 15 minutes before Max, and was ushered to a boot in a back corner, as I had requested when I made the reservation. I saw Sam, Detective Simmons and Angela sitting at a table not too far from me. They saw me at the same time, but pretended not to know me as we had planned. I pressed the button on the pen the way Sam showed me and put it in my pocket.

I was contemplating the menu when I saw Max and two rather large burly men come into the restaurant. The two men were seated at a table close by. They watched me closely, and I felt a bit uncomfortable. Max came to my table and offered his hand, which I refused. He got the message and sat down.

"Hello, Jimmy," he said with a sneer.

"Max," I said in response. "What's with the goons?" I asked after a few seconds.

"They're just here to make sure nothing goes sideways," he said. "So, have you made up your mind yet?" he asked as he looked over the menu.

"I was looking at the shrimp scampi," I said.

"Excellent choice," he responded. "I think I'll have the same." We gave our orders to the waitress and took a sip of water.

"So, Max, this is your meeting," I said. "Let's hear what you have to say."

"Straight to the point, eh, Jimmy?" Max asked. "Alright, if that's the way you want it. First off, I want to express my condolences over the loss of your father. I know the two of you were quite close."

"Thank you," I said.

"Anyway, you were right. About everything. I'm screwing your wife. In fact, I've been screwing her since before you got married. You remember that Christmas party when you said she was out of your league?"

"Yes, I remember that," I said.

"I asked you if you'd ever asked her out or spoken to her. You said, no, that you didn't even bother because you knew she wouldn't be interested in you. Well, I beat you to the punch, kiddo. In more ways than one.

"You see, Jimmy, I DID talk to her. And I DID ask her out. And yes, we fucked like rabbits. Then she fell in love with you and got married. But we never stopped. We got together whenever we could, mostly while you and your father were out making money with your business. Rebecca loved you at the time, and she didn't want to hurt you, so we were very careful to cover our tracks, very... discreet.

"Mom knew about it, of course, and she approved. We stopped for a while, after she got pregnant. When little James was born, Mom had a DNA paternity test done. Told me James was definitely my son. A couple years later, she got pregnant again, with Elizabeth. Same thing."

"Did you ever see these test results for yourself?" I asked.

"No, didn't need to," Max said. "Mom said they proved my fatherhood, and I could see it in the kids' eyes. They're mine, all right."

"So, you have your children," I said. "Why continue your affair?"

"Well that's easy," Max said. "Truth is, I enjoy screwing Rebecca. She's a much better fuck than anyone I've ever been with. And she really knows how to suck a dick. I'm sure you already know about that. And there's one other fringe benefit."

"What's that?" I asked, gritting my teeth to keep from punching this son of a bitch in the face. Just then, the waitress brought our food and put the plates in front of us.

"That's one of the things I like about this place," Max said. "The service here is quite good."

"Yes," I said. "I agree." After the waitress left, I continued. "So, what's this fringe benefit you spoke of?"

"Making you my cuckold," he said with a sneer. "Hell, that's half the fun of it. You have no idea how many times I've fucked your wife in your bed. We've often talked of having you join us -- just to watch, of course. I don't believe in sharing."

"No, you just take what isn't yours," I said. "Why not find your own woman?"

"Again, that's easy," he said. "You see, some men are born to lead. Like me. Others are born to serve. That's you. Which brings me to the reason for this meeting."

"Which is?" I asked.

"To lay down the ground rules," he said. "With your father gone, it's just you against the three of us -- Rebecca, Mom and me. Your father won't be there to protect you any longer. And with him gone, that leaves me as the patriarch of this... family.

"So, from now on, you answer to me. In essence, I will become your lord and master. I will have exclusive access to Rebecca, at any time I choose. Any time. You will sleep in a guest bedroom, and you will be relegated to providing support for whatever children Rebecca and I produce.

"You will feed them, clothe them, take care of them, pay for their education and medical expenses. Basically, all the things a father would normally provide for his children. Except they will all be my children. You will do as we say, without question, no matter how demeaning it may seem to you at the time.

"Moreover, you will not file for divorce nor will you seek female companionship outside your marriage. If you step out of line, we will take whatever action is necessary. That could mean any number of things. I understand Rebecca has been researching male chastity devices. Now that's something I'd love to see -- you in a cock cage," he said, laughing.

"I'm glad you're amused," I said. "And what if I decide not to go along with this little plan of yours?"

"That's where it gets really interesting, Jimmy, old boy," he said. "You've already seen my colleagues. As you may have surmised, they're not much in the brains department, but they have lots of muscles. Very big ones. And they love to use their fists."

"That sounds like a threat," I said.

"Just an observation, Jimmy," Max said. "There's something else they're quite good at. They're very adept at taking care of little problems. Like your father." I looked at him, shocked. I hoped Detective Simmons caught his sly admission. I decided to press him a bit further.

"So, you had my father killed?" I asked.

"Let's just say, I simply made sure things happened a certain way. I have a knack for that kind of thing." He pulled a USB drive out of his pocket. "It's amazing what these little things can hold. You have any idea what happens to child molesters or child pornographers in prison, Jimmy? Trust me, it isn't pretty.

"I don't need to have you killed, Jimmy. Although that could be an option. The fact is, I can destroy your life with the contents of this little device," he said with a sneer.

"So, let me see if I have this right," I said. "You, Rebecca and your mother intend to make me your slave. You expect me to raise your children as mine -- support and provide for them with no financial help from you. You expect me to willingly let you control every aspect of my life and you expect me to live in a loveless marriage as a willing cuckold and slave.

"And if I step out of line or decide I can not live the way you want, you'll either have me killed or framed for crimes I never committed. Have I got it right?"

"Why, Jimmy, it seems you're even smarter than Mother says you are," Max said. "I think you've got the gist of it."

"And when does this begin?" I asked.

"It can start any time. Tonight, in fact. We can go to your house, and celebrate the first night of your new existence," Max said.

"I don't think so, Mr. Foreman," Detective Simmons said as he, Sam, Angela and two uniformed officers stepped up to our table. Max looked up, shocked. The two goons started to get up, and were stopped by four more uniformed police officers.

"What's the meaning of this?" Max demanded.

"Stand up, Mr. Foreman, turn around and place your hands behind your head," Detective Simmons said. "You're under arrest for attempted extortion, conspiracy, fraud, the murder of Mr. James Foreman and conspiracy to murder James Foreman. I'm sure we'll have other charges before we're finished." Simmons turned to the uniforms at the table. "Book him," he said.

"Wait," Angela said, stepping forward. She held a manila envelope and put it in Max's coat pocket. "Mr. Maxwell Foreman, you've been served," she said with a smile.

"Take him away," Simmons said. "Along with his colleagues," he added, nodding to the two goons. The officers cuffed Max's hands behind his back and read him his rights.

"By the way, Max," I said. He turned to look at me, his face red. "The children are mine. Both of them. Your mother lied to you about the tests she took, and I have DNA proof showing that I'm their biological father. You may want to have your swimmers checked out."

"You son of a bitch," Max growled. "I'll get out of jail, and when I do, I'll fucking KILL you!"

"That sounds like a threat to me. I suppose we can add another charge to the list," Sam said. "Assuming you want him charged, Mr. Foreman."

"Absolutely," I said.

"Take him away," Simmons said. They led Max and his two goons out of the restaurant, their hands cuffed behind their backs.

"Thank you, Detective," I said, handing him the pen. He took it and shook my hand.

"No, thank you, Mr. Foreman," he said. "I know that wasn't easy for you."

"What will happen to him?" I asked.

"If the DA gets his way, Mr. Foreman there will end up on death row," Simmons said. "He's been wanting to stick it to Blumenthal for a while now. By the way, you may want to take that meal to go. Officers will be picking your wife up any time now. Good luck, Mr. Foreman. We'll be in touch." We shook hands and the detectives left.

"How are you feeling, Jimmy?" Angela asked after they left.

"Like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders," I said. I saw the waitress and motioned for her to put my food in a carry-out container. "I guess I'd better get to the house and see to the kids."

"That would be a good idea," Angela said. "I'll have Rebecca served at the jail. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you."

"Thank you for everything," I said. "I'll be in touch." With that, Angela left. I paid for the two meals, grabbed my food and left. I got to the house just as Rebecca was being led out of the house in cuffs by two police officers. She didn't look too happy.

"What the hell have you done?" she cried.

"I'm setting some wrongs right, Rebecca," I said. "By the way, I filed for divorce. You'll get served soon enough. And the kids are mine, not Max's. Goodbye, Rebecca." The officers shoved her in the back of a police cruiser and left. I walked in the house and suddenly found myself in the arms of two distraught children. I held them until they settled down, which took some time.

"Where are they taking Mommy?" James asked.

"She's going to be away for a while, son," I said.

"Why?" Elizabeth asked.

"She did something bad, sweetheart," I said. "Very bad." I held them a bit longer and talked to them, hoping I could get them to understand that actions have consequences. When they settled down enough, I got them ready for bed and tucked them in. I knew this was just the beginning of a very long road -- for all three of us.

...

Epilogue:

As promised, Angela had Rebecca served with divorce papers in jail. I was there with the process server when it happened. She didn't look good at all. The DA had filed multiple charges against her, and she potentially faced several decades in prison.

"Why, Rebecca?" I asked. "I thought we were in love."

"I'm sorry, Jimmy," she said. "I did love you, but Max and his mother were very... persuasive. I never wanted you to be hurt." Bullshit, I thought.

"And this crap about making me your slave and cuckold. Did you honestly think I would just sit still for that?" I asked.

"That was mostly Max's doing," she said.

"But you went along with it," I said. "According to Max, you were looking into male chastity devices."

"Again, that was mostly his doing," she said. "But his mother encouraged it. Said it was something she had considered doing to your father."

"But you knew what he had in mind, didn't you?" I asked.

Looking down, Rebecca nodded her head. "Yes."

"By the way, the DNA test came back -- I'm the kids' biological father," I told her. "Mary lied about that as well. So much for his superior seed." I stood and looked down at her. She looked so forlorn, but at that moment, I didn't really care. "Sign the papers, end this sham of a marriage. I'll let the kids write you and come visit you from time to time." With that, I turned and left. I could hear her sobbing, but I didn't care. She made her bed...