Marcus shook his head.
“You offered him money to lie about me.”
“Prove it.”
Marcus opened the envelope.
Inside was a printed transcript of messages.
Ryan stared.
Marcus continued.
“Caleb saved everything.”
Victor picked up the pages.
His expression changed as he read.
Ryan looked toward the door.
Marcus said:
“Don’t worry. I’m not here to embarrass you.”
Ryan laughed nervously.
“Could’ve fooled me.”
“I’m here because you need to stop.”
Ryan’s face hardened.
“Or what?”
Marcus looked at him.
“Or you’ll keep hurting people until someone gets seriously injured.”
Ryan stepped closer.
“You threatening me again?”
“No.”
Marcus’s voice remained calm.
“I’m telling you what happens when someone believes consequences are for other people.”
Ryan stared.
Then smiled.
“You know what your problem is?”
Marcus waited.
“You think you’re better than me.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
Ryan stepped closer.
“You think because you went to therapy and cried about your mistakes, you’re some kind of saint.”
“No.”
Ryan leaned forward.
“You hurt people too.”
Marcus nodded.
“Yes.”
The answer surprised him.
Marcus continued.
“I did.”
Ryan hesitated.
Marcus looked directly into his eyes.
“And I paid for it.”
Silence.
“I lost my job. I lost my marriage. I hurt someone who still lives with the consequences.”
Jason Cole stepped into the room.
Nobody had noticed him arriving.
Ryan froze.
Jason walked slowly toward the cage.
His limp was visible.
He stopped beside Marcus.
“Hello, Ryan.”
Ryan stared.
“What are you doing here?”
Jason looked at him.
“I wanted to hear what you had to say.”
Ryan swallowed.
Jason continued.
“You know, I spent a long time hating Marcus.”
Marcus looked down.
Jason turned toward him.
“I still have days when I do.”
The room went silent.
Then Jason looked back at Ryan.
“But Marcus apologized.”
Ryan said nothing.
“He accepted what he did.”
Jason stepped closer.
“You never did.”
Ryan’s expression changed.
He looked toward Victor.
“This is ridiculous.”
Jason shook his head.
“No.”
He pointed toward his leg.
“This is ridiculous.”
Ryan looked away.
Jason continued.
“You wanted a video. You wanted people to laugh. And when everything went wrong, you disappeared.”
