He didn't clear my name. Not immediately. Instead, he frowned at Doreen.
"Do I really have to say it?"
Doreen's tone turned earnest, almost maternal in its false concern. "Mr. Sanchez, I understand you love your wife. But you can't indulge her like this. Today she wastes public medical resources for fun. Tomorrow she'll be undermining the company's interests."
"Better to teach her a lesson now. Let her truly understand how wrong she is. Nip this in the bud."
"Fine. I understand." My husband closed his eyes for a moment. When he turned to face me, guilt flickered across his features.
I already knew what he was going to say. A cold numbness spread through my chest.
Five years. We'd been married for five years.
My mother was dying, and he was about to commit perjury for an outsider.
"I can confirm it," he told the paramedics. "I heard them with my own ears. The two of them conspired to fake an illness and deceive you."
The moment those words left his mouth, triumph bloomed across Doreen's face.
"Mrs. Sanchez, why don't you be a good girl and accept your reprimand?"
The paramedic who had been reaching for the phone dialed 911, face stony.