“Your mother is gone. Tears won’t bring her back—so wipe your face, make dinner, and don’t look like a grieving child when my guests arrive.” That was what my husband said.

I looked down at him with a calm but piercing voice. I returned his own words to him. I asked, “Why are you crying, Mark?” I said, “There’s no use in crying now. Your tears aren’t going to restore the broken trust. Your tears aren’t going to revive the respect I had for you.” I told him to stop the drama, that it wasn’t going to change any decision. I told him his tears were fake, that he was crying for losing his assets and position, not for being sorry for hurting my mother and me. Mr. Harrison, standing beside me like a protector, finally delivered the final sentence in a voice loud enough for all the remaining guests to hear.

Mr. Harrison pronounced the words of dismissal. He declared that from that moment on, Mark was fired from the company in disgrace. He also stressed that the company’s legal team would immediately proceed with a criminal complaint for the embezzlement and fraud Mark had committed. Mark not only lost his job, but he would be blacklisted throughout the industry. His name would be tarnished, and no company would ever hire him again.