Tessa admitted that Margaret had offered to continue helping her financially if she convinced me that Roy was having an affair. The pregnancy accusation was supposed to be the final push.
“When you called Margaret, she panicked,” Tessa continued. “She told me I had ruined everything. She said if Roy found out the truth, I would lose her help.”
“Why did you keep going after Roy had told you to stop?”
“Because I was afraid of losing the money. And because I thought you’d leave before you discovered the truth.”
I sat silently.
There was no excuse for what Tessa had done. She had knowingly tried to destroy another woman’s marriage. But she had also revealed the truth that Margaret had been desperate to keep hidden.
“Do you understand what you put us through?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Then don’t contact Roy or me again. If you have anything else to say about what happened, put it in writing. We are keeping the messages.”
