The coffee shop was a small, cozy place with checkered tablecloths and the smell of freshly baked pastries. Victor Serrano was already sitting at a table in the corner, nervously looking at his watch. He was of average height with a kind face and worried eyes.
“Emily Hayes.” He stood up when he saw her.
“Yes, that is me. Thank you for agreeing to meet.”
They ordered coffee, and Emily got straight to the point.
“Victor, what I’m about to tell you may come as a shock, but you have the right to know the truth.”
“Did something happen to Pamela?”
“In a way, yes. Your wife is cheating on you with my husband, and together they are involved in a large-scale fraud scheme.”
Victor’s face turned pale. “That is impossible. Pamela would not be capable of that.”
“Yes, she is.”
Emily took out the printouts of the text messages between Ethan and Pamela and the photos she had taken at the airport the day before.
Victor read in silence, his left eyelid twitched.
“Since when?” he asked in a weak voice.
“According to the messages, for a year, maybe more, and the fraud, they are stealing inheritances from elderly people. Pamela helps Ethan forge wills. In 3 years, they have stolen over $20 million.”
Victor pushed the papers away and rubbed his face with his hands. “My god, I thought we were fine. She said she was working overtime for our future. We were planning how to buy a bigger apartment, go on vacation…”
“Victor, they were planning to disappear. They only had one last job left to steal my inheritance. Then they planned to resign and move to Italy and me our marriage. Pamela was going to file for divorce.”
“In the messages, she refers to you as a burden she had to get rid of.”
Victor clenched his fists. In his kind eyes, anger and pain appeared.
“Three years of marriage. I was crazy about her. I worked two jobs to support us. And she…” he could not finish the sentence.
“Victor, I understand how painful this is for you. It is for me too, but we have the opportunity to get justice.”
“What do you suggest?”
“We join forces. I have already spoken with a lawyer. I have contacted the victim families. Tomorrow, I will file a complaint with the NYPD. You can be a witness to the infidelity and Pamela’s involvement in the fraud.”
“And what will happen then?”