Chapter 6 - The Day David Finally Told the Truth
The civil deposition lasted six hours.
David looked ten years older.
Simone watched from across the conference table.
She had not been this close to him since the lake.
His suit hung loosely across his shoulders. His wedding ring was gone.
Hers had been removed weeks earlier.
For years, she had known every expression on his face.
The little crease beside his mouth when he was angry.
The way he tapped his thumb against his index finger when nervous.
The habit of looking slightly upward when trying to remember details.
During the deposition, Simone realized something unsettling.
She still knew those things.
Love did not erase itself simply because it had become unusable.
Maya asked the questions.
“Did you invite Rebecca Lane to Lake Briar on May seventeenth?”
“Yes.”
“Did your wife know?”
“No.”
“Did Ms. Lane know your wife would be present?”
“No.”
“Why did you invite both women?”
David looked at his attorney.
“You can answer,” the attorney said.
David swallowed.
“I wanted Simone to see us.”
“Why?”
“I wanted the marriage to end.”
“Why didn't you simply ask your wife for a divorce?”
David stared at the table.
“She was pregnant.”
“That did not answer my question.”
“I didn't want to look like the man who left his pregnant wife.”
Simone felt Natalie beside her go rigid.
Maya's voice remained calm.
“So you preferred that she discover you with another woman?”
“Yes.”
“Because?”
“I thought if she hated me, leaving would be easier.”
“For whom?”
David looked up.
Maya repeated the question.
“Easier for whom, Mr. Carter?”
“For me.”
The honesty landed harder than another lie would have.
Maya placed the safety email in front of him.
“You received this at 9:12 a.m.?”
“Yes.”
“You responded?”
“Yes.”
“You understood the east dock was closed?”
“Yes.”
“You removed the warning chain?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I thought they were exaggerating the risk.”
“You called the property manager.”
“Yes.”
“He told you not to use the dock.”
“Yes.”
“And you used it anyway.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
David's face tightened.
“I don't know.”
“Did the setting matter to you?”
He closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
“Explain.”
He took a long breath.
“I'd arranged champagne near the dock. I thought Rebecca and I would be there when Simone arrived.”
Simone turned toward the window.
Even now, hearing it described so plainly made her stomach turn.
“I thought Simone would understand immediately,” David continued. “She'd get angry. We'd fight. She'd leave.”
“And then?”
“I don't know.”
“You had purchased property with Ms. Lane.”
“Made an offer.”
“With marital funds.”
“Yes.”
“Without your wife's knowledge.”
“Yes.”
Maya moved on.
“When the dock collapsed, who did you see first?”
“Rebecca.”
“Where was Simone?”
“Behind me.”
“Was she pregnant?”
David's voice dropped.
“Yes.”
“How pregnant?”
“Seven months.”
“Did you know she was not a strong swimmer?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know her dress could make swimming difficult?”
“I didn't think about it.”
“Did you know Rebecca had been a competitive swimmer in college?”
David stared at Maya.
Simone slowly turned back.
That fact had not been mentioned before.
Maya repeated the question.
“Did you know?”
“Yes.”
A tear slipped down David's face.
“Then why did you swim toward Rebecca?”
His lips parted.
Nothing came.
His attorney shifted.
Maya waited.
The room remained completely silent.
Finally David whispered:
“Because I loved her.”
Simone's eyes closed.
There.
The truth.
Not distance.
Not who screamed first.
Not confusion.
Not instinct without meaning.
He had saved the woman he loved.
David started crying.
“I didn't think Simone would die.”
Maya said nothing.
“I thought I'd get Rebecca out and go back.”
“But you did not know that.”
“No.”
“You chose.”
“Yes.”
The word came out barely audible.
“Say it again.”
David looked at Simone.
His attorney said, “Counsel—”
Maya raised one hand.
“Mr. Carter, when both women were in danger, did you make a choice?”
David could not look away from Simone.
“Yes.”
“And who did you choose?”
His entire face collapsed.
“Rebecca.”
Simone had expected satisfaction.
It never came.
She only felt tired.
When the deposition ended, David remained seated while everyone gathered their documents.
“Simone.”
Maya touched her arm.
“You don't have to respond.”
But Simone turned.
David stood.
His eyes were red.
“I know saying sorry means nothing.”
“Yes.”
“I think about Isabella every minute.”
Simone said nothing.
“If I could go back—”
“You can't.”
“I know.”
“And neither can I.”
His chin trembled.
“Rebecca left me.”
Simone almost smiled.
Not out of pleasure.
Out of disbelief.
“You think that matters to me?”
“No. I just…”
He wiped his face.
“I lost everything.”
Simone looked at him for a long moment.
Then she understood the final thing she needed to understand.
David still thought loss was something that happened to him.
His marriage.
His career.
Rebecca.
His daughter.
His reputation.
But some losses were not events.
They were consequences.
“You didn't lose everything,” Simone said.
He looked confused.
“You threw things away until there was almost nothing left.”
She walked out.
The case did not go to a dramatic jury trial.
Reality was less theatrical.
David's attorneys knew the evidence was devastating.
The property company's insurer settled separately.
David eventually agreed to a civil settlement without confidentiality.
He repaid the diverted money.
The marital house was sold.
Simone received a substantial share of the remaining assets.
David also made a decision his lawyer advised against.
He issued a public statement.
Not because Simone required one.
Because, after months of hiding, he finally stopped trying to protect his image.
He admitted ignoring the dock closure.
He admitted removing the barrier.
He admitted bringing his wife and mistress to the same location because he wanted a confrontation.
He admitted choosing Rebecca in the water.
His employer terminated him.
Criminal prosecutors ultimately pursued reckless endangerment and negligence-related charges rather than intentional homicide.
David accepted a plea arrangement.
He avoided a lengthy prison sentence but received probation, community service, mandatory counseling, and significant financial penalties.
Natalie thought it was too little.
Simone did not.
No sentence could return Isabella.
There was no number of years that would balance the equation.
The divorce was finalized eleven months after the lake.
Outside the courthouse, reporters waited.
Simone hated that part.
She had never wanted to become a headline.
Maya stayed beside her.
David walked out several minutes later.
He stopped when he saw Simone.
For once, he did not approach.
Simone appreciated that.
Then David said, “I signed the last papers.”
She nodded.
“So did I.”
“Is this really the last time I'll see you?”
“I hope so.”
He accepted that.
Or tried to.
“I've been thinking about something you said.”
“What?”
“That you don't hate me.”
Simone waited.
“I used to think that was hope.”
“It isn't.”
“I know.”
His eyes lowered.
“I think it's worse.”
That was strangely perceptive.
Simone almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
“What are you going to do now?” he asked.
“Live.”
He nodded.
“And me?”
She looked at him.
The answer came quietly.
“You'll have to figure that out without making me responsible for it.”
She walked toward Natalie's car.
Behind her, David called her name one last time.
She stopped but did not turn.
“I'm sorry I chose her.”
Simone closed her eyes.
Eleven months earlier, those words might have destroyed her.
Now they simply existed.
“I know.”
“Simone?”
She finally looked back.
He stood alone on the courthouse steps.
“What?”
“I wish I'd gone back for you first.”
She stared at the man she once planned to grow old with.
Then she said the sentence that would stay with David for the rest of his life.
“So do I.”
She got into the car.
Natalie drove away.
Three blocks later, Simone's phone rang.
She nearly ignored the unknown number.
Then something made her answer.
“Hello?”
A woman's voice spoke.
“Mrs. Carter?”
“Yes.”
“This is Amanda from Westbridge Family Services.”
Simone's heart shifted.
Months earlier, during therapy, she had begun exploring something she had barely told anyone about.
Fostering.
Not replacing Isabella.
Nothing could.
But creating a home for a child who needed one.
Amanda continued.
“I know this is sooner than expected, but we have an emergency placement. A little girl.”
Simone stopped breathing.
“How old?”
“Four.”
Natalie glanced at her.
May you like
The social worker continued.
“Her name is Lily.”
