Angels Mark (The Serena Wilcox Dystopian Trilogy Book 1)

Angels Mark Chapter 12

12

President Ann Kinji didn’t feel presidential at the moment. She hadn’t felt presidential since she’d seen the picture of her best friend and husband with a little girl who was most certainly his daughter. She had been wrestling with indecision about how to respond for three sleepless days and nights. Between the anxiety and the sleep deprivation, her briefings with staff, ambassadors, governors, military heads, and the UN were impossible: her mind was drifting away, consumed with thoughts of a child she didn’t know about, a child she wished was her own, but nonetheless was living proof that her marriage was over, and apparently had been for years.

She had to nip this thing in the bud before she put the divided nation at risk. Worst of all, she could not hold her own in the shared space with John Williams. That man chilled her to the bone as it was, and if she was off her game she would never be able to stand up against his rhetoric, conspiracies, and bigotry. He was not just a harmless blowhard. He was an ignoramus with power. And if Ann didn’t get her act together, she’d be giving him free reign over the entire nation as a whole. So, it was with that attitude that she decided to confront her husband with the truth, all the while knowing it would end her marriage.

But her marriage was already over, she scolded herself. How could she stay with a man who not only cheated, but kept a separate life that involved a child? Maybe even an entire family! Enough! Go to him, talk. Get this over with. Pull yourself together. You gave up a right to drama in your personal life: You are the President! Having steeled herself up for the devastation to follow, she entered the great room where Ted was lounging, playing Angry Birds on his iPad. She had gotten him hooked on that silly game and now it felt absurd to end her marriage while talking over the noise of cartoon birds exploding. She stood two feet in front of him, silently waiting. He turned off the iPad.

“Ann, something wrong?” Ted examined her face. Ann said nothing, stayed with her feet rooted into the carpeting. He set down the iPad and stood up, annoying the couple’s beloved long-haired cat Greta who had been sleeping with her head on his lap. He walked over to give her a hug but she pushed him away. Greta left the room in a hurry. Startled, he said, “Did I do something wrong?”

“Someone is trying to blackmail me with a picture of you with your daughter.”

“My what?” Ted blinked.

His look of surprise looked genuine. Could it be possible this was a mistake? “Your daughter. The little girl in the picture looks too much like you for me to dismiss the claim as not credible.”

“Ann, I’m so sorry you are going through this, but honey, I do not have a daughter. I’m afraid you’ve been fooled by a Photoshop expert. They probably found a picture of a little girl bearing a resemblance to me and Photoshopped her in, to look like we are in the same shot together.”

“I didn’t think of that. I want to believe you.”

“We can find an expert of our own who can tell us if the picture has been altered, and who can even find the little girl in the picture, find out who she is.”

“I need to clear this up, Ted. It’s one time I can’t take you on your word alone. I’m sorry, but I have to know factually, beyond a shadow of a doubt. You are my world, my best friend. I need to know that I’m not a fool, that I’m not blinded by what I want to believe.” Ann’s eyes welled up and she forced herself not to lose control.

“I understand, but you’ll see. I have never cheated on you, and never will. Tell me more about the picture.”

“There was a time stamp on it. It was taken five years ago, so the girl is probably around ten years old now.”