by Amy Watkins
Ethan was jailed for matters way out of his control. And he was being charged a daily fee that he was expected to pay when he was freed, putting him even more in debt. The commissary costs were ridiculous. Toothbrushes in jail cost seven dollars. Socks cost ten. A half a pencil cost a dollar. He was given small, unhealthy portions of food and extra food cost extra. All while his child support debt was growing, putting him at further risk of being jailed again.
Ethan and I wrote each other almost every day. Stamps were less expensive than phone calls. We wrote about everything—politics, love, dreams, nightmares, how he was doing, and how the kids and I were doing. Naomi and Caroline sent me pictures of his family which I forwarded to him and, of course, I also sent pictures of me and my kids. I wanted him to know there were lots of people who loved, supported, and needed him.
The topic we talk about most was God. We were both actively seeking God, praying, and sharing our revelations with each other. Ethan was able to get his hands on a Bible and had been reading, learning, and chasing after God daily. They had church services and Bible study in jail, and he was attending regularly.
The spiritual conversations we had were beautiful and insightful. I sought God while I was single, and my understanding grew. But, with a partner, the growth was exponential.
Letter 17:
Hey Angela,
Hope all is well. I miss you and the kids so much. Babe, can you write me more stuff about the news? Our access to the news is limited. We have a TV, but it’s usually turned to sports. I’m in here with a whole bunch of stinky men and no one in here really cares about what’s going on in the world. And can you send me some more of those Bible quotes about hope? They really help.
Love Always,
Ethan
“Men are men,” I thought as I read, “they get easily distracted by sports, pussy, and their own fragile egos.” But Ethan was different. Yes, he made some mistakes in the past but now he was a man after God’s own heart. He reminded me of David, Joseph, and Job.
Just like Ethan, David faced several giants in his life. Everyone knows the story about David facing and defeating Goliath, but David also had to face a doubting family, a judgmental wife, and unjust persecution. David also dealt with adultery, a sick child, and having to repent.
Joseph was thrown into a pit by his own family, enslaved because of greed, and falsely imprisoned because of lies, just like Ethan.
And Job lost everything, just like Ethan.
But David, Joseph and Job kept the faith and, in the end, got all the blessings God had for them. In my heart, I believed Ethan would too. And God’s will for my life at that time was to support Ethan.
I started reading the news daily and wrote summaries of current events. Often the news was so superficial, so I skipped those articles and looked for things I thought Ethan would find interesting. The world was full of chaos and hard to understand, but when I read the news with my Bible beside me, current events started to make more sense. I would read an article and that article matched up perfectly with the Biblical predictions.
“Alaskan Wildfires” one headline read. It discussed global warming and how Alaska, as well as other places all over the world, was now suffering a heat wave and that natural habitats were being destroyed because of global warming. 2 Peter 3:7 NIV, “…the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire…”
Another headline read, “Trump Threatens Fire and Fury.” It discussed the tensions between the U.S. and China, North Korea, and Iran. There was so much back and forth between all these countries. So many threats about war and nuclear weapons. And there were so many wars going on around the world. Yemen, Syria, Sudan, Afghanistan. One sentence in another article stood out: “Currently in the world, there are eighteen active wars and another sixty-four countries engaged in violent conflict.” Matthew 24:6 NIV, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.”
Another article was titled “Wealthy Men and the Women They Destroyed.” It talked of R. Kelly, Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, and the hundreds of women they allegedly raped, molested, manipulated, or abused. 1 Timothy 6:9-10 NIV, “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” James 5:1-3 NIV, “Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.”
I cried and prayed while I read an article entitled “ISIS Beheads twenty-one More Christians”. It talked of our Christian brothers and sisters in parts of the world where the freedoms of speech and religion were not a right and how being Christian was a crime often punished by death. The persecution of Christians was not just happening in countries ruled by the Islamic State, but also in countries plagued with communism, dictatorship, and tribalism. 2 Timothy 3:12 NIV, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Revelation 6:9-10 NIV, “When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’”
The persecution of Christians was a heartbreaking thing but it, too, was predicted in the Bible. And the Bible also tells us what to do during these trying times.
Revelation 2:10 NKJV, “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Though Ethan was unfairly thrown in prison and our brothers were across the world suffering, I knew I was supposed to not be afraid and continue to have faith. I started to donate to charities that helped Christians being persecuted, like The Voice of Martyrs and Compassion International. I started to support groups like American Civil Liberties Union and The Innocence Project who tried to free people unjustly accused and incarcerated.
I’d share my insights with Ethan in our many letters and he shared a few with me also. He had been meditating on Daniel 7 and Revelation 13—both describe the prophecy of the beast of the sea. Apart, these prophecies made little sense but when you put them together and considered the symbols of the nations of the world, they were all that more understandable.
Those prophecies spoke of beasts made from a mix of several different animals: a lion, a bear, an eagle, a leopard, and a fowl. The beast is a governing system comprised of several different nations. The lion is symbolic of Great Britain and the bear of Russia. The eagle, of course, is America. The leopard represents Germany and the fowl represents France. These five nations, along with five more, are an important factor in what’s to come.
Ethan mentioned it and I searched the news to see if there was a correlation to current events. Of course, there was. “Brexit Blocked in Parliament!” an article exclaimed. It discussed the European Union, which is a group of European nations that came together and formed one market, one law, and a unifying system of laws. A movement in Great Britain called Brexit was formed to encourage Great Britain to pull out of the European Union but there had been multiple failed attempts to do so.
“Trump and Putin Meet again,” was an article talking about the many encounters the U.S. and Russian presidents had, speculating there was coercion. Ten years earlier, no one would have thought the Bear and the Eagle would come together. They had been enemies since the U.S. became a nation. Yet here they were, shaking hands and having private conversations.
Ethan and I discove
red a lot with four-minute conversations and letters. Together, spiritually, we were powerful. No wonder the Devil tried so hard to sever our friendship and those attempts got worse during Ethan’s incarceration.
I was still getting a lot of messages from an unknown number claiming to be Tracy. I tried to ignore them, but I got tired. I never meant to wreck anyone’s home. If Tracy wanted Ethan back, she could have him. I wrote:
Me: Tracy, Ethan is one of my best friends and I would never get in the way of anyone’s marriage. If you want him back, then please talk to him. Write him a letter and try to work it out with him. I’ll step aside.
Unknown: Bitch, I don’t want him. I want him to pay me my damn money. I’m taking him for every dime he has and I’m taking all yours too.
There were claims she had multiple videos of me and Ethan together that she was going to use in court. She also claimed that she had us followed and that my house was wired. She claimed there were hidden cameras throughout my house giving her the evidence she needed to prove adultery.
These messages mentioned the house’s layout and events that happened. She knew about Aaron’s asthma attack. She knew about me and Ethan’s attempts at celibacy. She knew what sexual positions I liked. She knew what my house looked like, how many bedrooms it had, how big the backyard was, and how close it was to the neighborhood park. She even sent a message with the address. “Bitch, I know where you live. If you fuck with me Imma fuck with you,” she wrote. I wanted to be brave, but I was really scared.
I grew more paranoid. I was constantly looking over my shoulder when driving to and from work or out running errands. I took different routes just in case someone was following me. If I thought someone was, I’d drive past my house and down various streets until the person made a turn different than my own.
I doubted Tracy had my house wired. I looked it up online and bugging someone’s house without their consent or a court order was illegal, and I could easily sue. However, I wondered how she had so much information. She knew things that only Ethan and I knew. Had Ethan fed someone that information? I doubted it. Ethan was truly in jail and if he was working with Tracy, he wouldn’t be…would he?
I did notice one thing. She never mentioned anything that happened after Ethan went to jail. I spent long nights thinking about it and it finally dawned on me. Ethan’s phone.
Ethan’s phone was still stuck in his car at the courthouse. Tracy had hacked Ethan’s phone before. Could she have hacked it again and been listening to all our conversations? I looked it up on the internet and saw that it was possible. All it took was for someone to open an email or a text message with spyware on it. She sent plenty of texts and emails to Ethan and me. Many had links. I never clicked on the links, but I knew Ethan had.
Nevertheless, Ethan and I had been caught in an adulterous affair. She claimed to have everything she needed to prove that in court. Ethan would have to pay alimony, but he had no money and he was already in jail because of it. He lost all his money and his freedom. He really had nothing more to lose, so what more could she want? What more could she take? And did she think she could take something from me?
I was supporting three kids by myself. I made a great living, but I spent it raising my children. I looked up Virginia state law to see if I was protected. Mistresses could not be sued for being mistresses in the state of Virginia. Plus, I came into the picture after they both filed for a legal separation. I had plenty of evidence that was the truth. We had the police report when Tracy threw all his stuff out and changed the locks. We had copies of the separation paperwork that had been filed. We had neighbor testimony that they witnessed Tracy making out with another man. We had emails from Tracy and her lovers stating that she was also committing adultery. And Trinity was conceived before Ethan and I got together. If anyone was going to get sued for being a mistress, it would have been Caroline. I was protected but I was still shaken.
I got my number changed and ordered the extra security protection plan on my phone. I equipped myself with mace that I kept on a keychain and had security cameras installed around the outside of my house. Ronda even let me borrow her gun, Gina, and showed me how to use it. I had never owned a gun—I hated them—but Ronda insisted. She was worried about me.
Then “Tracy” started sending emails to Caroline who forwarded them to me. It was more of the same stuff. Accusations that Ethan was cheating on me, declarations that she was having a great life with a great man and didn’t want or need Ethan and promises she would take all our money. Finally, I told Caroline not to send me anymore of Tracy’s messages. I was tired of seeing them.
“Hey, Angela,” Caroline greeted me during one of our many phone conversations. “I have some news but I’m not sure if I should tell you.”
“What? What is it?”
“Ethan’s cousin Heaven is a hacker. She’s been working on some stuff with Ethan’s case. She hacked into Tracy’s Facebook account and saw some alarming stuff but I’m not sure if I should send it to you.”
“Send it,” I encouraged.
She sent me an email. It was a series of screen shots of Tracy’s inbox. She was sending messages back and forth to a person with an obviously fake account.
Tracy: They don’t know the judge is on my side. I got him pussy whipped. I told him Ethan quit on purpose. Now Ethan will be owing me for the rest of his life.
Nonya Bidness: Okay, so what’s next. When will I get paid?
Tracy: I’ll get you that money when you kill that bitch, but wait until Ethan get out of jail. I need that money so I can pay you. I got it set up like Ethan got multiple women so they will never know.
Nonya Bidness: Don’t get caught.
Tracy: Trust me. I won’t but I need that bitch and his family dead.
Nonya Bidness: What do she look like?
“Tracy” sent a picture of me; it was a screen shot of one of my Facebook pictures.
Nonya Bidness: She ain’t cute.
Tracy: I know she ain’t. Her name is Angela Wallace. Don’t worry about a trace. I got a burner phone and Imma delete this page too so hit me up on the old one. Let me know when you go down to VA Beach. I gotta make sure I’m not in town.
Nonya Bidness: I got you. Hit me back up when you got the money. Ain’t nothing for free.
This was a new level of crazy. Tracy was going to use her child support to put a hit on me. I had to protect myself, so I went straight to the police office and filed a report.
The police were not helpful at all.
“How do we know that she is talking about you?”
“This is my picture and my name.” I responded.
“How did you get this information?”
“Ethan’s cousin has access to Tracy’s Facebook account and sent it to Caroline who sent it to me.”
“Anyone could have typed this up.”
“Well then trace it to the source. I will give you all the text messages and emails that I have. I can send the ones that Ethan, Caroline, and Naomi got too.”
The detective looked at me skeptically.
“Don’t believe me?” I asked, “Here’s Caroline’s number, you can call her and see for yourself. You can trace the texts, the emails, and the Facebook page back to the source.”
“The internet is not in our jurisdiction.”
“Well whose jurisdiction is it?” I asked with tears running down my face. I couldn’t believe the detective was being so dismissive. Someone was trying to kill me and he wasn’t even going to investigate.
“I’ll look into this and see what I can do. In the meantime, you may want to try to get yourself a restraining order and a lawyer.”
I went in front of a judge and pleaded my case. I was granted a temporary protective order and I would have to return to court in a month to make it into a permanent one. Problem was, I did not have Tracy’s address so she could not be served. I went searching for a lawyer, but no one wanted to take my case. Then I got a call.
“Hello, this is Mr. Sealey. May I speak to Ms. Wallace.”
“Yes, this is she,” I replied.
“I’m a lawyer and I just so happened to be reviewing your case on findlegalcounsel.com. It looks like a pretty unique situation and it just so happens I tend to like unique cases. Can you tell me more about it?”
“Sure,” I replied and proceeded to tell him everything. He agreed to take the case for both Ethan and I and asked to meet with me to get all the paperwork I had.
Mr. Sealey was an unlikely character. He looked nothing like a typical lawyer. He was a white man with heavy Russian facial features. He was about five-foot-two and weighed over three hundred pounds. He had long greasy blond hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. At our initial meeting, he wore camouflage pants, white socks, black sandals, and a tan t-shirt. My first thought was I can’t have this guy represent us. We will lose for sure.
Then God reminded me that often he uses the most unlikely people to do the most extraordinary things. He used a small prepubescent runt named David to kill Goliath. He used a stuttering murderer named Moses to free the Israelites. He used Rahab, a prostitute, to save the Israelite spies and she became Jesus’ ancestor. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV: “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
I hired him and gave him Caroline’s information so that she could email him all the proof she had and give her account of the story.
Christmas came and went, and Ethan was still incarcerated. I experienced the joy of my kids opening each Christmas gift. Abigail, who was then seven years old, wanted a cell phone. She didn’t get it, but she was happy with her hoverboard. Aaron was happy with his various dinosaur toys and David with his various video games.
I had joy but I also had sorrow because of Ethan’s unfortunate circumstances. He did not get to experience the joy of watching his kids’ faces light up when presents were unwrapped. He was not enjoying the Christmas specials on TV. He wasn’t enjoying sweet Christmas songs being played on the radio or snuggling by the fireplace and drinking hot chocolate. He was in jail where it was cold and isolated.