Denise and Mitch were with their friends Tony, Tina, and Greg at a bar. Mitch was proudly talking about working on classic cars. “Fixed up an old Mustang and a vintage Chevy,” he boasted.
“A Mustang? Man, that’s impressive,” Tony whistled while the rest were just as impressed.
Denise was skeptical about Mitch’s claims, considering their financial difficulties with the auto repair shop, which was in her name due to his bad credit history. But she remained quiet, letting him have his moment.
When Mitch went to get another round of drinks, a beautiful woman approached him and handed him a note, which Denise saw. Upon Mitch’s return, she quickly snatched the note and read it aloud, “Thanks for last night?”
He tried to dismiss it, saying, “Den, it’s just a prank. Tony set it up.”
“Yeah, just a joke to lighten the mood,” Tony chuckled, but Denise heard the brokenness in the sound.
A message notification interrupted the strained atmosphere. Denise’s phone lit up, and she glanced at the screen. A sinking feeling gripped her as she opened the message, revealing a video.
It unfolded like a nightmare – Mitch and the hot woman in his auto repair shop, an intimate encounter illuminated by the dim light.
Shaken by the evidence of Mitch’s betrayal, Denise decided to confront the woman directly. Despite his protests, she marched out of the bar into the parking lot, where it looked like the woman was fleeing.
“Hey! Get back here!” Denise yelled, chasing after her. The woman, quick on her feet, escaped in her car, leaving Denise coughing at the smoke left behind.
The next day, she decided to investigate Mitch’s finances for any signs of infidelity, hoping to find evidence of expensive gifts or dinners. She powered on his old laptop, which still contained all his saved passwords, and began her search.
In less than fifteen minutes, Denise discovered something far more alarming than an affair. Photographs, car parts invoices, and car registration papers with matching VINs were visible in his files.
Unlike her husband, she wasn’t a fool. These were not legal acquisitions. They revealed Mitch’s involvement in criminal activities. She almost wished he had been cheating instead.
***
“Hey, Denise. What brings you here?” Carlos, one of the mechanics, asked when Denise arrived at the auto shop. She needed her husband to tell her the whole truth.
“I’m looking for Mitch. Where is he?” Denise demanded, her anger barely contained.
Carlos pointed her towards the back. She found him arguing with a man in the alley behind the shop. On a whim, she secretly recorded their conversation, capturing Mitch’s visible frustration.
“I can’t use parts that are already broken. Come on, at least give me something I can work with,” Mitch argued, his voice filled with desperation and defiance.
But the man he was arguing with got angry and waved a crankshaft threateningly at Mitch. “You’re lucky we’re even giving you this,” he snarled.
Mitch protested the quality of the parts. “Look at that cylinder head cover…it looks like it was pried off with a crowbar.”
The man retorted, unphased, “Take it or leave it, Mitch. You owe us.” He threw the crankshaft at the floor and walked off.
When the man was gone, Mitch finally spotted Denise. “What the hell are you doing here?” he growled.
“I-I just wanted to talk,” Denise stammered, trying to walk away as he prowled in her direction. But Mitch was too quick and cornered her against a car, demanding to know what she saw.
She denied seeing anything significant except for the last of the conversation between him and that stranger. But Mitch didn’t seem to believe her.
“Keep your mouth shut, or there’ll be consequences you can’t even fathom,” he sneered.
“I don’t want any part of this, Mitch,” Denise pleaded, pushing him away and fleeing away from him.
Back in the garage, Denise lied to Carlos about being fine before hastily leaving. Overwhelmed by fear and anger, she broke down in her car, contemplating her past mistakes with Mitch.
Suddenly, the passenger car door opened, and a mysterious woman with a gun got in. “Drive now. Get moving,” she muttered coldly.
With a small gasp, Denise realized it was the hot woman from the bar, but her hands still trembled on the steering wheel as she backed out and took the road. A few seconds later, she asked her captor, “What do you want from me?”
The woman directed Denise to a secluded parking lot and revealed herself to be an undercover agent. “I’m Special Agent Garcia. I need your help to bring down the criminals at your husband’s auto repair shop,” Garcia explained, showing her badge.
“How do I even know you’re the real deal?” Denise asked, looking at the badge as if she knew how to detect if it was fake.
“I’ve been watching Mitch’s shop, and you stumbled upon something big today,” Garcia replied. “I need you to cooperate.”
After a few seconds of contemplation, Denise nodded. “Fine. I’ll help you,” she said, her voice shaking.
***
“What did you find?” Agent Garcia asked Denise once they got to her house and examined Mitch’s laptop.
Denise showed her photos and invoices indicating illegal activities. “He’s been dealing with these people, paying off debts with stolen car parts,” she explained.
“This is crucial. It links him to these guys,” Agent Garcia said, nodding at the screen.
Denise hung her head. “I thought he was cheating, but it’s more than that. He’s involved in something dangerous.”
After reviewing the evidence, including a video of Mitch’s shady dealings, Agent Garcia made a request. “There’s enough here for a case, but we need more. Mitch might be key to bringing down the whole ring. Can you do one last thing to help me?” she asked.
***
Denise waited for Mitch to return home, pacing the living room. When he walked in, swaying and slurring from drinking, she stopped pacing and got upset.
“You’ve been drinking, haven’t you?” she demanded.
Mitch replied, “That’s none of your business. Where’s my dinner?” He hiccuped as he finished the sentence.
Ignoring his demand, Denise pressed on, “Mitch, we need to talk. What’s going on with the money you owe these people?”
He tried to brush it off as “business trouble,” but she demanded the truth after witnessing his altercation with the man over stolen car parts. He snapped at last.
“I cheated them, okay? Sold a stolen classic car and pocketed the difference!” Mitch confessed, trying to steady himself.
“What did you spend it on?” Denise asked, crossing her arms.
Mitch admitted to squandering the money on part ownership of a racing dog, believing it to be a lucrative investment.
Denise started pacing again, but it wasn’t due to her anxiety. She was frustrated and wanted to scream or pull his hair. “How could you drag us into such a mess?”
“I didn’t expect you to find out, so you better keep your mouth shut. You’ll end up wearing concrete shoes at the bottom of the river if you tell. They won’t do anything to me,” he smirked and laughed drunkenly. “They need me.”
Out of nowhere, he stumbled on his own feet onto the floor. That was the last straw. Denise thought Mitch would be afraid for them both, but he wasn’t. He didn’t care if she got hurt because of his actions. She stepped beyond him, ignoring his: “Come back here and help me!”
She felt him standing up, but Denise opened the front door, and Agent Garcia was there, ready for anything. Mitch was caught off guard as Garcia revealed her true identity and arrested him.
***
“Why did you send me that video?” Denise asked the undercover agent a while after other officers were done searching her home just in case they could gather more evidence.
“I thought you should know what Mitch was doing,” Agent Garcia answered, sighing. “I wanted to ensure you wouldn’t be blamed for his crimes since the shop is in your name.”
“I could have been in trouble for Mitch’s actions?” Denise gasped.
“It’s complicated, but now that we know all the details, you shouldn’t worry. You’re clear of any suspicion,” the agent comforted her.
With this assurance, Denise decided it was time for a fresh start. She took charge of the auto repair shop, determined to run it honestly.
The next day, Carlos greeted her with a smile as she entered the shop, but he frowned slightly at her determined expression. “Denise, everything okay?” he asked.
Denise confirmed her new role firmly, “Mitch is no longer involved. We’re going to run things differently now. No more illegal activities.”
Carlos was taken aback for a second, but he quickly grinned again. “I’m with you, Denise. It’s about time,” he nodded.
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