Behind Closed Doors

Chapter 16

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT! I APPRECIATE! (And I'm sure Emily will too).

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John wiped his spectacles clean before putting them back on. After adjusting them, he looked up at Mark, who continued to roam around his office from end to end. He sighed under his breath and cracked his fingers. "Mr. Smith..." he called out but was interrupted by Mark.

"John, how can a three-month-old pregnant woman be out there in the streets without her husband's protection?" Mark asked, his eyes fixed on John. John exhaled. It was going to be very tough to calm him today.

"Was she really under her husband's protection?" he asked him. Mark walked to the chair and sat down to face him.

"What do you mean by that, John?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Smith," he apologized. Mark rested his head on the table. John could see the frustration. It was too much for Mark.

"I can find her," John said. Mark peeked up at him, his head still on the table.

"How? She's practically unreachable," he said.

"Oh, is she?" John flashed a smile at him. Mark immediately sat up.

"Do you know where she is?"

"Not at all," John shook his head. "But I can find her..."

Mark's coffee-brown eyes stared at him with so much curiosity.

"For a fee, that is."

"How much?" Mark asked immediately. "You had better not be joking with me."

"I cannot do that, Mr. Smith. You're one of my highest-paying customers in the whole of California and the United States. I would never..."

"What's your price?"

"I'd take fifty thousand dollars," John said. "For starters."

Mark raised a brow in shock and confusion.

"Fifty thousand dollars?"

"Exactly."

"Lee, people don't even make up to fifty thousand dollars in three months in the US."

"This is LA. People make way more than that here in a week, including you," he pointed his fingers at Mark. Mark was silent, looking at his therapist's fingers and back at his face.

"You're a millionaire, Mr. Smith," John said. "If your wife is that precious to you, you'd know I'm just being generous."

Mark heaved a tired sigh and raked his fingers through his brunette hair.

"I'll write you a check today," he said. "And this better work." John's face lit up at the sight of the checkbook leaving Mark's left pocket to the desk.

"You have to trust me on this one, Mr. Smith," John said. "But promise me one thing, you'll never hit Mrs. Emily Smith again."

Mark's fingers paused writing on the check. He looked up at John and back at the check to continue writing.

Has he changed or not?

*#%^+%#^$&

Emily walked out of the garage with her bag in her hands. She had stopped there to spend a night. She needed a place to stay. Ever since she left Jay and Ma's home, she had been moving from garages to parks and to abandoned cars. This was another city far away from Mark, and where she had made home was in San Jose, California. Some nights were really cold, so it was tough on her body and her baby. She was now homeless. She continued to walk forward until she saw a signpost in front of a restaurant. It read "Waiter Wanted." She could do that. She walked into the building with her bag in her right hand. Walking over to the counter, she met a young girl punching a calculator.