Collateral Damage: Love and Lies

The whole story was structured like a thesis, complete with precise wording and a catchy title. It soon garnered a lot of attention.

Neil and Lorraine remained completely oblivious about this, still basking in the thrill of their success.

Before being taken away, I smiled at them. "Don't celebrate too soon. Remember how smug you both feel now, because soon, you'll pay for this with your own lives and prove my innocence."

They clearly had a death wish, since they were bold enough to steal Iridium-192.

In that case, I would just sit back and wait for them to reap what they had sown.

Neil and Lorraine thought I was just bluffing. Cheerfully, they left hand-in-hand.

Barely a night had passed before Neil urgently requested to visit me in jail.

I was told that he was frantic, but still, I declined all of his requests to meet me.

Three days later, Peter posted bail for me. I was released temporarily to await trial.

When I walked out of jail, the situation had turned completely upside down.

Neil was standing outside the police station, holding a bouquet of roses. When he saw me, he rushed forward and tried to grab my hand.

Peter stopped him.

He gave me a questioning glance. I smiled lightly. "It's fine. Let me talk to him."

We sat down at a cafe to talk.

Neil shoved the roses at me, showing no awkwardness at all despite the sudden change of attitude. "Sandra, our relationship is about to go long-distance. We should make up and get along while we can still see each other."

I laughed, unable to believe the audacity. Did he just equate my potential imprisonment to a long-distance relationship?

I pushed away the flowers. "If you have nothing nice to say, I'm leaving."

Neil quickly got to the point after that. "The article you posted that day has caused a lot of trouble for Lorraine."

I took out my phone and quickly checked my social media.

The Internet was in an uproar, condemning Lorraine for knowingly becoming a homewrecker and dating a known cheater. She was buried under an avalanche of negative press.

Clearly, life had been rough for her lately.

"So?" I folded my arms and looked around.

There was a woman sitting at the table beside us. Her face was covered with a mask and a cap, but I could tell from the figure that it was Lorraine.

The hands resting on her lap were covered in red rashes.

I looked back at Neil. He was coughing every now and then.

I was shocked.

These were symptoms of radiation sickness.

It looked like they had opened the container containing Iridium-192.

Neil spoke again. "I want you to publicly apologize to Lorraine. You have to admit in writing that I have been with her for years and that you, out of jealousy, had fabricated all those lies about her."

I thought I had misheard him at first. "You want me to admit that I'm the homewrecker and that I tried to slander Lorraine, who is your actual girlfriend?"

"It's just on paper," Neil tried to reassure me. "It doesn't matter as long as we truly love each other. Besides, you'll be in prison soon. By the time you get out, no one will even remember this.

"It's different for Lorraine. She is a public figure, so she still needs to maintain her reputation."

Before he even finished his sentence, I slapped him hard across the face. "Shameless wench!"

The crisp sound echoed around the cafe, drawing curious looks from the other patrons.

Neil, caught off guard by the slap, immediately became angry. "Sandra! How dare you assault me while on bail? Do you know that I just need to call the police, and you'll go right back to jail?"

I picked up my hot coffee and splashed it all over him. "Instead of threatening me, you should get yourself to a hospital. I doubt you'll survive the winter!"

Neil was furious. "You're always harboring ill will toward us! That's all you know!"

He tried to grab me by the collar, but Peter quickly intervened. He lifted Neil up and tossed him aside effortlessly.