Jake and Dara left a little while after he and I spoke. She wanted to go hang out with friends - I was reluctant, but Jake pulled me to one side.

“There’s no need to change anything, Andreas,” he told me. “It’ll just make her worried. Nato is on top of the investigation, and I’ll be with Dara to keep her safe. You stay here and get your house finished.”

I eventually acquiesced, and the two of them headed off in Jake’s car. After they left I paced around the house for a little while, wondering what to do with myself. It felt wrong to just sit by and wait for things to get resolved without me. Clifton was one of my oldest friends, and I still couldn’t quite believe that he was the one behind all of this.

It was fair to say that he’d ruined my life, or was at least doing his best to try, and I simply couldn’t understand what would lead him to do that. Did our years of friendship mean so little to him? Was unconditional loyalty to friends so important to him that he would threaten a child if that loyalty was broken, no matter the reason?

The more I thought about it, the more it rankled on me. I needed to know why. I thought about my promise to Jake, my commitment to him that I wouldn’t get involved - but I just couldn’t help myself.

I pulled out my phone and brought up Clifton’s number, then pressed call. It rang once, twice, three times, and then Clifton’s voice was there, as calm and as boring as ever.

“Andreas,” he said. “Good to hear from you, bud. What can I do for ya?”

I was silent for a few moments, trying to maintain some semblance of calm in the face of my overwhelming anger and outrage.

“Andreas?” Clifton repeated. “You there?”

“I know it’s you,” I said, my voice cold with fury. “I know you made those threats against my little girl, I know you broke into my home and smashed the place up. Why, Clifton? Why would you betray me like that? Did our friendship mean so fucking little to you?”

He was silent.

“She’s fourteen, Clifton. Just a girl. She’s doesn’t deserve any of this, you sick goddamn coward. You-”

Click.

He’d hung up on me, and I hurled my phone away in fury. It clattered against the floor, and I paced around the room for a little while longer, wondering what to do with myself.

I decided to put the anger to good use, and spent the next few hours in a mindless frenzy of work, arranging and rearranging the furniture throughout the house. I wasn’t even thinking about it - my thoughts were entirely focused on Clifton, and how to deal with him, once and for all.

I got a call from my accountant a few hours later, just as the evening was drawing in. He sounded frantic. “Andreas, I need to see you, right away.”

“What is it?” I asked, concerned at his tone of voice.

“Can you come to my office? I know it’s getting late, but I’d probably prefer to do this face to face. We’ve got a big problem.”

I glanced at my watch. “I’m not sure, Dan. Can you just give me the gist now? I’m kinda tied up with personal stuff at the moment.”

“A number of your backers have been in touch with me. The ones related to Theo Esposito. His cousin is one, and other relatives too. Combined, they invested a couple million dollars, which allowed you to expand the number of locations drastically.”

He paused, and I heard some papers being shuffled in the background. “As of roughly an hour ago, they are calling in all capital loans in your businesses. This is a large amount of money, and we absolutely do not have the cash on hand to be able to absorb this and buy out their shares.”

My heart sank. To be honest, I should have expected this, and was surprised it hadn’t happened sooner. Things had been tense ever since I’d testified against Theo originally, but the business was very profitable and I figured the money was enough for those backers to be able to swallow their anger.

But not any longer. Everyone was closing ranks against me now, hitting me any way they knew how. If they couldn’t get to me through Dara, my livelihood was the next best option. Anger and resentment welled up inside me. Just how far were these assholes willing to go to ruin my life? I didn’t deserve any of this crap. I was just a guy trying to do the right thing, and this was the price I was paying for my morals.

But enough was enough. I’d had it. I needed to end this, once and for all.

“I’ll deal with it,” I told my accountant.

“What? Andreas, I’m not sure you’re aware of just how serious this is. There is no way we are going to be able to secure the sort of money that’s needed within the timeframe they’re demanding. This could shutter your businesses, all of them, once and for all.”

“I’ll deal with it, I said. I’ll be in touch when I have more to say. For now, just don’t do anything. Let them call in the loans, and keep them in the dark. String them along with excuses, whatever. You’ll think of something.”

I hung up the phone before he could harangue me any more. I needed a clear head and a plan of action. I couldn’t be worrying about the technical details of financing.

Over the next half hour, I formulated that plan. I was going to get this resolved, once and for all. Jake wasn’t going to like, not one little bit, but I didn’t feel like I had a choice. I’d made my choices in the past, and now I was paying for them. It was up to me to fix this, and that was what I was gonna do.

I started by sending a text to Clifton. I doubted he’d answer if I called, but I was banking on his arrogance.

Meet me at my Bridgeport restaurant tonight, 10pm. Let’s get it all out there in the open, and deal with this like men. Be there.

Jake was next. He was still with Dara, and I couldn’t just disappear. I knew he was going to be pissed off, but I didn’t feel as if I had a choice. I was backed into a corner, and I needed to fight my way out of it.

Jake. I need you to stay with Dara this evening. I’ve got something to attend to at the restaurant. Business stuff. I’ll be back late, don’t wait up for me. A x

Hopefully that would keep him off my back long enough for me to do what needed to be done. I switched off my phone, took a minute to gather my thoughts and steel myself for what was going to be a difficult evening, and then went out to the car.

One way or another, this thing was getting finished tonight.

I arrived at the restaurant a little while later. There were still some staff there, cleaning up for the evening, but I sent them all home. They looked surprised, but I made sure there were no exceptions.

“I have some important stuff to do this evening, and I need the restaurant. I’ll finish the clean-up, you guys take the rest of the night off.”

They didn’t argue, happy to go home early, and I set about cleaning away the last of the dishes and setting the tables ready for the next day’s lunchtime service. It was mindless work, but it gave me something to do with my hands. I was nervous about what was to come, but my mind was made up. This was something that I needed to do.

Before long, everything was ready. I glanced at my watch - almost time. I opened a beer, sat at a table, and waited. I just hoped I was right about Clifton - that he was arrogant enough to want to rub it in my face in person.

And I was. Right on time, as the clock hit ten, his car pulled up outside. He stepped out, looking just as innocuous as ever, rapped on the window, and then let himself in through the front entrance.

I stared at him, not sure what to feel. He looked just the same as he ever did - like a soccer Dad just home from his job in some office somewhere. Tan slacks, an unfashionable sweater, horn-rimmed glasses balanced on the end of his nose. Not a guy you’d expect to make the most horrible, violent threats against a teen.

But I steeled myself. That’s how he’d managed to get away with this all for so long. By hiding in plain sight. I trusted in Jake and Nato’s assessment that he was the one.

“Andreas,” he nodded to me, pulling out a chair and sitting down on the other side of the table. I handed him an opened beer, and he accepted it wordlessly, studying me intently.

“Those were some choice words you had for me earlier,” he continued, his voice calm and level.

“Damn right they were, you goddamn psycho,” I said. I’d wanted to keep things calm, but my anger was proving difficult to keep under control. I just wanted to understand why he’d done it.

His face twisted at my words, before quickly returning to its normal, placid countenance.

“Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?” I asked him, voice rising. “Why did you come here then? Just to stare at me, to gloat? I’m sure that you’re already aware Theo’s relatives have called in their loans, that they’re out to financially ruin me. Aren’t you?”

A sneer spread across his face, and I was momentarily taken aback. I’d never seen him look like that, no matter what happened. He had always been so mild-mannered.

“Of course I’m aware, you dimwit,” he spat. “I was the one who told them to. It has been our plan all along.”

“But why, Clifton? Why, after all these years? Our kids play soccer together, we’ve been close for all this time. What happened to you?”

He laughed bitterly. “What happened to me? What happened to you, Andreas? What made you betray one of your oldest friends? It’s laughable to me that you don’t understand. You think I’m gonna stand by as you throw Theo to the dogs and just…let that happen? With no repercussions? You’re more goddamn deluded than I thought.” He was getting louder and more animated by the minute, gesticulating wildly.

“Theo was...is a predator, Clifton. Surely you can see that? He hurt those innocent girls, some of them just a little older than our daughters. Are you really willing to just sit by and let him get away with it? What if that was your daughter?”

He exploded out of his seat and shoved his face close to mine. “Shut the hell up!” he screamed. “A few baseless accusations, designed to discredit one of your oldest friends, and you just go along with it. A couple of money-hungry bitches make some noises about harassment and you’re right there with them, testifying in court against your friend. You make me sick.”

Spittle flecked from the corner of his mouth and I leaned away from him, shocked at this sudden change in his personality.

“I saw him,” I told Clifton softly. “Right here, where we’re sitting. I saw him force himself on a young woman, who was too intimidated to say no. I couldn’t stand by and risk that happening to anyone else.”

He was shaking his head, refusing to listen, to even consider my words. “I don’t wanna hear it, Andreas. I don’t wanna hear any more of your fucking lies!”

He stood, knocking the chair back onto the floor behind him in a clatter of wood. “Everyone is gunning for you now,” he said in a low, menacing voice. “You’re gonna regret what you’ve done, and you’re gonna pay for it. Those loans getting called in is only the first step. We aren’t gonna stop until you’ve lost everything, just like Theo has!”

I couldn’t just sit by and take this from him. I couldn’t believe this was the true Clifton, this side of himself that he’d somehow managed to keep hidden just under surface for all these years. It shocked me to my core to see him behaving like this.

I stood and went to him, to show him that I wasn’t intimidated. “You can do whatever you like,” I hissed. “I can see now that you aren’t who I thought you were. None of you are! You aren’t gonna intimidate me, because I know that what I’ve done was the right thing. So bring it on.”

He sneered at me. “You’re feeling brave because you’ve got that new boyfriend of yours to hide behind, huh? You didn’t look so brave when I sent your precious little daughter those letters, did you? You’re a goddamn coward, Andreas, and I can’t believe I never saw it before. To think I once called you a friend…”

“Get the hell out!” I yelled at him, adrenaline coursing through my body. “You don’t talk about my daughter, ever, you animal!”

He stepped closer to me, getting right up in my personal space. “Or what?” he growled. “Go on...hit me. It’ll make you feel better.”

A red mist descended over me - every sleepless night, every tear that had rolled from Dara’s eyes, every threat made against me...they all bubbled up at once and I lost control. I raised my fist and...someone caught it, taking me off guard.

“Andreas, stop!”

I blinked, and looked to see who had spoken. It was Jake, holding my outstretched fist. He dragged me away from Clifton, who was still standing there, the same smug expression on his face.

“I told you, Andreas,” he spat. “Gotta let your boyfriend fight your battles for you, because you’re too scared to do it yourself!”

Jake’s powerful arms were wrapped around me, and he was murmuring in my ear.

“Don’t listen to him. He wants you to hit him, he wants to create more problems for you. Don’t give him the satisfaction. Let me deal with him.”

My chest was heaving, but Jake’s soothing words were having an effect. The red mist was receding.

“Yeah, that’s right, listen to him-”

Clifton’s words were cut short as Jake jumped towards him, covering the distance in a shockingly small amount of time. He grabbed Clifton and lifted him straight off his feet in a staggering display of strength, and then practically threw him through the front door, locking it behind him.

Clifton stood outside and crossed his finger across his neck menacingly.

“I’ll get you,” he mouthed. “We aren’t done.”

“Just let him leave,” Jake said, not even appearing to be slightly out of breath. “He’ll get bored in a minute...or more likely, get concerned that the police are gonna show.”

He came to me, concern in his eyes. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” I replied. “But I’m glad you showed up when you did. I was about to hit him.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Jake said dryly. His expression changed from concern to anger. “You lied to me,” he accused. “You told me that you were gonna leave this to us. You might have just screwed the whole damn thing up. He knows that we’re onto him now, and that’s gonna make it a whole lot more difficult to bring him to account.”

He looked hurt. “But I can deal with that. What I can’t deal with is the lie, Andreas. You promised me...no secrets. That we were gonna be straight up with each other.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “But I had to. I had it all planned out.”

“What?”

Jake looked puzzled. I went over to the table adjacent to where Clifton and I had been sitting, and retrieved the little webcam that had been hidden there, between the condiments.

“I got it all on video. Full HD, with audio. He admitted that he was the one who was making those threats, and he gave his motive for doing so. Pretty open and shut, if you ask me.”

He took the camera from me, and we watched the footage together on the webcam’s little screen.

Jake whistled appreciatively. “This is good stuff, Andreas. Very clever of you. We’ve got him dead to rights!”

He kissed me deeply, and I kissed him back, forgetting for a few moments all of the crap and hardships as I melted into his embrace. But of course I couldn’t hide from all that forever. There were still problems.

I wanted to tell Jake, but I needed his focus to be on dealing with Clifton. The financial stuff could wait for now.

Jake pocketed the webcam, and then took my hands in his. “I’m taking this footage to the police. What you did tonight was brave - brave, but stupid. Don’t ever lie to me again.”

And with that, and one last, lingering kiss, he was gone, roaring away in his car.

I was left in the silent, empty restaurant. I looked around - I loved this place more than anything. I’d spent a decade or more building it up and expanding, and it hurt my heart to think that, before long, I could lose everything I’d worked for.