Chapter 2: Trust and Betrayal

Pregnancy tested their love and devotion despite their commitment when they exchanged vows. The wedding was a month after Siobhán showed him the handful of positive test kits. His reaction would have been amusing were it not for the countertop corner that interrupted his abrupt descent. The V-shaped scar decorating his left brow became an entertaining topic during holidays and exchanges when her cousins would get drunk and mimic her description of his collapse. They never missed the chance to rib him for waking up in the emergency room with his pregnant fiancée beside him.

After their marriage, Siobhán met the family criteria for accessing her trust fund. After much discussion and Martin’s logical comparison of her choices, she quit school and became a stay-at-home mother/wife. This suited her over time, but during the first trimester of her pregnancy, she found herself experiencing hormonal emotions from happiness and increased libido to sadness and longing for her family. She traveled often to her old home while Martin completed his studies and interviewed with prospective employers. He never begrudged her time away, secretly relieved to focus on his work.

He graduated during her second trimester, and they celebrated with her family before he started his new job in Bridgewater. It was a global banking concern called Celebrity Mutual Finance, and he was hired as the director of their IT division, which focused on protecting them and preventing threats to their client base through cyber-attacks. To this end, he developed and deployed intuitive software solutions that gave advanced warnings and actively thwarted them by identifying and isolating the threat.

At her mom’s urging, Siobhán used part of her trust to buy their first home. Despite being closer to her family, she felt lonely when her husband worked long hours, often coming home late and leaving after breakfast. He traveled out of state monthly and could be gone for up to three days. She would stay at her childhood home whenever he did to avoid being alone. Her mom often took her to OB appointments due to her husband’s busy schedule.

It was due to a cyber-attack that Martin almost missed his son’s birth. He got a call that Siobhán’s water broke, and she was heading to the hospital with his mother-in-law. The attack was quickly isolated, thanks to the programs he developed. Yet, despite assurances from his department heads that everything would be fixed soon, his division’s Manager insisted he oversee them due to their global financial impact. At first, he resisted, insisting he needed to be with his wife. His boss unmoved, threatened to fire him if he didn’t comply. He called his wife, but her mother answered, telling him Siobhán was being admitted. He explained his situation and asked her to pass on his apologies, saying he’d join her as soon as possible. He was used to his in-laws’ odd mannerisms and wasn’t offended when she abruptly hung up.

Then, something odd happened. He hadn’t returned to the mapping sequence for more than fifteen minutes when his desk phone rang, and he grimaced at the manager’s caller ID. In a surprising reversal, his boss insisted he drop everything and get to the hospital for his child’s birth. A courier limousine was waiting outside to convey him directly. He was surprised at the man’s contrition before he hung up.

The arrival of their son Marty, Jr. soothed their stressed relationship. Overnight, everything changed for the better, including Senior’s job. While marveling at the tiny new Landry, with his convalescing wife and their parents, he received a message from his employer in a lavishly embossed congratulations card, delivered by courier. Inside was a handwritten note from the CEO expressing appreciation for his dedication and foresight in deploying the protective systems that shielded their organization from disaster. The executive urged him to take as much time as needed during this wonderful occasion and requested a personal meeting at his convenience to discuss any measures necessary to ensure his continued employment.

He shrugged at the note’s tone. He had never mentioned his displeasure, even to his pregnant wife, who had enough on her mind. Nor could he recall suggesting his intention to look for other opportunities. The curiosity faded as he stared at the sleeping bundle in his arms. The smug expression in Vivian’s eyes was lost to him.

In the following months, the Landry home buzzed with love and excitement. The CEO, a smooth and tactful leader, understood and related to people well. He showed genuine interest in Martin’s new parenting role. They chatted before discussing the meeting’s purpose. Martin’s focus had shifted to his family, and he proposed working from home. The executive agreed, and Martin’s office presence was limited to one day a week, with travel delegated when possible.

Siobhán was thrilled by the news and offered to remodel their spare room into an office for him. He moved her by declining and setting up a small desk in the nursery to work from his laptop while enjoying their son’s company. He soon reorganized and streamlined his workload, freeing time to further his education. He contacted his former professor and advisor at Amherst and discussed his interest in pursuing the forensic analysis pathway. Together, they developed an online curriculum for him to begin the academic phase of his training.

She recovered quickly in the weeks after her delivery, and her amorous energy returned, much to Martin’s delight. She continued to visit her childhood home with her son, leaving him to work, and often stayed one or two nights to give him space to work through the grueling curriculum. She couldn’t grasp the nature of his focus, even when he tried to explain it. She understood that he delved into the electronic information universe, navigating cyberspace that few even realized. To him, the dark web was as natural as a stroll around their block.

She discovered that her extended absences sparked a remarkable romantic tryst every time she returned home. The incredible sex dispelled her initial misgivings about not attending to his needs. He was attentive to her as well and ensured she enjoyed several orgasms before finishing. Because she was breastfeeding, she shunned her birth control regimen, subscribing to the falsehood that she couldn’t ovulate so soon after childbirth.

She discovered the truth one evening when she shot out of bed and raced for the toilet. Her husband reached the same conclusion as he held her hair out of the way. The next day, her second pregnancy was confirmed, two months after delivering their son.

Her second pregnancy seemed less celebratory than the first. Whether it was routine or something else, Siobhán and Martin became distant again. There wasn’t any disharmony between them. It became commonplace for her to spend time at her childhood home with the baby, leaving Martin alone for days. Whenever they reconnected, they tried to rekindle their passion and mostly enjoyed their time together as a small family. To Martin, she did not seem so distant, just more tired.