Page 1 of Raven's Hacker
O N E: First Things First.
Raven’s POV
Matthew and I had been together since I was twenty and still in college. Almost a full decade. At twenty-eight years old, I had always had confidence in myself. I’d always been happy with my looks and maturity level. My friends had always helped me, held me together when I felt like I was falling apart. It was hard, though, when the person you lived with, loved, promised to spend forever with starts nitpicking everything about me physically. Everything I did at home, my skill level as a wife and mother, whether my weight fluctuated.
But leave it to my husband to tear me down. I was standing outside his office. Emily took Ryder so Matt and I could try to reconnect, or at least come to some sort of an agreement that something was off in our marriage and we needed counseling. I came to surprise him with dinner from our favorite sushi place that we hadn’t been to in forever. We had been distant for the last few months, more than that, if I was honest with myself. It had been close to ten months. We were both up for promotions at our respective jobs, both of us putting in overtime and taking on bigger projects. I got mine. Matthew took me out to celebrate, but it was cut short due to ‘work’. It was always work pulling him away. It was always his boss calling him, finding something wrong with whatever they’re working on.
So, here I was, a week later, the day he was supposed to know if he got the promotion, that I’d promised to cook dinnerfor him to celebrate. When he hadn’t come home for dinner, I called and texted, all of the going unanswered until I called Mom, Emily, my boss. She came over and promised to hang out with Ryder, taking him on in a video game match. I called from the car, but he still didn’t answer. He ignored the call.Still working.
Standing just outside his office, I knew what he was working so hard on. He was working on throwing some other woman’s back out. That was more what it sounded like.
I set the paper bag down on the coffee table in the reception area, took my heels off on the carpet so he wouldn’t hear me approaching, and, to make a cleaner exit. I pulled my phone out, being as quiet as possible, when I started recording on my way up to his office door, pushing it open ever so slightly to get a better angle. I had to see if this was really what I thought it was, what my mind was telling me it was.
Because judging from the moaning and groaning, and exclamations about his magical cock, I was assuming some other woman was in there fucking my husband. I stuck my phone in just a little further, and my heart dropped. There was my husband, fucking his boss on top of his desk, where he used to fuck me.Thiswas the late work he had been doing? I pulled out my work phone and called his number, looking to see if he’d answer. He looked at the screen because it was my personal ringtone, but he just kept fucking her, fucking her harder if anything. I ended the call, placing my work phone in my purse before quickly covering my mouth with my hand. I was going to be sick.
He saw me calling, and chose to keep fucking her. He saw my name on his phone, and he fucked her harder. I waited until he finished, thirty seconds later, and zoomed in on him,not wearing a condom. I made a mental note to call the nearest Planned Parenthood to get me in tomorrow morning for an STI test. He was fucking both of us raw. Oh fucking hell. This was sick.
Fucking sick.
The woman turned her head, her eyes closed in ecstasy, and I saw it was for sure his boss, that soul sucking, man-stealing, cheese-spreading whore, Karen. He was fucking his forty-two-year-old fucking boss. She was three years older than him. Fourteen years older than me. What the actual fuck?! I had watched as my husband came inside of her, smiling at her like he used to smile at me. What washappening?! How wasthispossible?! For how long had this been going on? How long had he been cheating on me?! How long had he been exposing me to potential diseases?
The thoughts made me want to vomit again, the bile trying to make an appearance, but this was the worst possible time for that. I watched as he leaned down, kissing her as he pulled out. I wanted to barf then, and it came up, but I couldn’t move. I needed to get all the evidence. This would be my saving grace in the divorce.
“You’re really going to divorce her?” I swallowed thickly, listening intently on pins and needles, waiting for his response. My heart was thudding in my chest; I was going to pass out if he waited any longer to hear him say no, that it was all a mistake.
“Yes, babe. I met with someone today. He said that I have to file first if I want the advantage over her. And let’s be honest, I want the advantage.” His sinister smile and words knocked the wind out of me, but he wasn’t done.
“She probably has no idea this is coming, does she?” He shook his head, kissing her again.
“Have you moved everything out of the joint accounts you guys have?” What?! No!
“No. I have another appointment with a real shark of a lawyer tomorrow. Names Sullivan, I think? Heard of him?” He seemed proud of himself for swooping in and planning this. That name sounded familiar.
“He’s a shark, alright. Not someone I’d want on my ass.” JD Sullivan? Nan’s lawyer? Who became my lawyer? My lawyer?! My own lawyer is working against me?! Isn’t that against the law or something?! What the hell?!
“After meeting with him, I’ll move money so I can get the most out of this. We’ll be better off than before.” He kissed her again. I ended the video, grabbed my shoes, bag of sushi, and ran back downstairs, completely barefoot. I rushed out of there as fast as I could, calling the one person I knew would help me no matter what.
“M-mom? Mom! He’s fucking his boss. I have proof. He’s m-m-meeting Sullivan tomorrow. I need h-help.” She gasped while I struggled to get the words out past the sobs that were racking my chest. I was so close to losing it, and I didnotneed to do that while driving.
“Come over. Now. We’ve got to get on top of this. I’ll pack an overnight bag for you two, then meet you at my house.”
I hung up the phone and sprinted for my car. Just as I got in and started it, the skies opened up. A downpour like we hadn’t seen in months started as I made my way safely to Emily’s. Ryder was already asleep when I got there. I peeked in on him and made my way to the kitchen.
“Tell me everything.” She demanded. I pulled my phone out of my bag and played the video for her. She sat there for a few minutes after it was over, like she was processing everything and getting more pissed the more she thought. Her face was getting more and more red, dark and murderous. Emily was more to me than just my boss; she was the surrogate mother in my life, the mother I never had. I grew up an orphan in the system. Both of my parents were killed in a car accident when I was only ten years old, and my Nan was too old to take care of me.
I bounced from foster home to foster home. No one wanted me; I aged out. When I turned eighteen, I got a letter from Nan’s lawyer. She had passed when I was fifteen, leaving everything she had to me. It wasn’t much, but it was a place to live, and it was enough to pay for my classes. That’s when I met Matt. The first few years together were magical. Everything was magical until after we had Ryder. It was like having kids had sucked all of the fun out of our relationship. After college, though, I struggled to find a job until I landed at Emily’s design company. She hired me right away, saying she was glad her competition couldn’t see what she could. After my six-month probationary period, she called me into her office. She showed me all the letters I’d received from people who had passed on the first time around, who now wanted my services.
My mouth hung open as she said, “I told you they’d regret it one day.” She had been right. She took the chance on me, became the best boss I’d ever had, and was quickly becoming a close friend and confidant. Then I really opened up to her, and she happily said she’d be my mother, as she never had children of her own. A year later, Stormi joined us for her internship in college. We took her under our wing, too.
“I’m going to call Jefferson. Give me a moment.” She held her phone to her ear, straightening her shoulders like the man would be able to see her through the phone, “Jefferson! How are you, darling? Yes, yes. Listen, I have a question. You know my girl, Raven?” She smiled, “Well, unfortunately, we just caught her husband and mistressin the act. We also caught him saying that he’s going to meet with Sullivan tomorrow, who just so happens to be Raven’s lawyer. He can’t do that, can he?”
She looked at me. “Thanks, doll,” she hung up. “He’s coming over. He lives only two streets over.” I just raised an eyebrow as she smoothed out the already smooth tablecloth. I knew she liked Jefferson, that he liked her, too. That had been obvious between both of them since he moved in a few years ago. Even though neither one of them would admit publicly that they were living together and tried keeping their relationship a secret, I knew when the timing was right, they’d let us know.
Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang, and a knock sounded on the door. Then, without waiting for someone to answer, in walked the man of the hour, the very handsome-looking silver fox who lived only two streets away, eyeing Emily like she was prey. After an appreciative glance from him, he focused on me.
“We’re going to call him and see what he says.” His voice was steady and calm, very business-like.
“Who?” She asked, finally coming out of her stupor; he always seemed to put her in that state when he walked into a room. I wanted that. I wanted Matt to look at me like that again, but not now, not after what I’d heard tonight. Now I just wanted to be as far away from him as possible. I knew it wouldn’t be too far because of Ryder, but still.
