Free Like a Woman Scorned by Randi Hart

but the more she thought about it, there was only one thing she really wanted to do. Rick needed to pay. He had to be punished for what he had done. He destroyed her, not just emotionally, not just mentally, not just the last year of her life, but also from ever being able to have a child. That’s all she ever really wanted, deep down, and he took that away from her.
    A plan gradually formed in her mind as winter turned into spring. One she could never reveal to anyone, not even Brenda. No one. Ever.
     

CHAPTER SIX
     
    On a windy day in late March, Alison called an old friend of hers who worked for the Swiss Embassy in San Francisco and invited him to dinner. They hadn’t seen each other for a few years, but were tight in times past. She knew she could trust him.
    Emil Carter was a friend from her old law firm, where he was known as “the fixer.” Because of him, Alison used to assume every law office had a fixer, until she started working at Mike’s office and discovered otherwise. That old firm, where Alison worked when she first began her paralegal career, was not exactly known for being the most ethical law practice in town. It took a few years before Alison learned enough to catch on to that fact, which is when she went looking for another job. Emil never did anything blatantly illegal, so far as Alison knew, but he was good at walking extremely close to that line when it came to getting clients out of messes. He was originally from Switzerland and managed to land a job at the Swiss Embassy shortly after Alison quit.
    Alison arranged to meet Emil at MacArthur Park. He was on time, apparently still the same punctual, all-business man she knew from the old days. They hugged and ordered cocktails while waiting for a table. He fussed over her, marveling about how good she looked. Alison had to admit she did. It was the best she’d felt about herself in a while.
    Emil talked about his wife and new baby, and how happy he was to still be able to live in San Francisco and work at the embassy. Alison briefly discussed politics with him as well, something they used to enjoy talking about together regularly, both having rather liberal viewpoints.
    Then Alison caught him up on her personal life, but omitting the affair with Rick and the surgery. He was shocked to learn she quit her job without first having another lined up, and asked if she needed any help financially—probably thinking that was the real reason for their little get-together.
    “Emil, my grandmother died and left me a large amount of money, two million after taxes.”
    His mouth opened and his eyebrows went up.
    “So,” Alison continued, “I kept working for a little while, then decided I couldn’t stand being in the office any longer and that’s when I quit. Right now I’m kind of figuring out what I want to be when I grow up, but in the meantime, there’s something I need to do, something I need your help with. I want to pay for that help, because I know I can trust you—and this is something you are going to want to be paid for, believe me.”
    She reached into her purse and handed him an envelope. He looked inside and was shocked. Alison told him it contained nine American Express gift cards for $3000 each, a total of $27,000. Emil gulped.
    “Alison, my God, I can’t take this from you. We’re friends, for crying out loud. Whatever it is, I’ll help you if I can, but I can’t accept this from you.”
    Alison shook her head. “There’s no other way I will do it, Emil. I’m sure you can use the money, and I can certainly afford it these days. It has to be this way.”
    Emil tried to hand the envelope back but Alison withdrew her hands from the table.
    “Now listen,” Alison said. “What I need is for you to connect me with someone in Zurich who can provide me with a new identity—passport, driver’s license, social security card, and anything else I might need, the best money can buy. Whatever it costs—and I know it might be a