Chapter 6 - THE UNEXPECTED ALLIANCE
Two days later, Eleanor asked to visit. Alone.
Sarah advised against it, but I told her to let Eleanor in. If nothing else, I wanted to look the woman in the eye and understand what kind of mother would stand beside such a scheme.
Eleanor walked in dressed impeccably, her chin held high, but there were dark circles beneath her eyes and a tremor in her hands she could not quite hide. She stopped several paces from my bed.
“I am not here to argue,” she said before I could speak. “I am here to warn you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Warn me? After what you did?”
Eleanor looked toward the door, then leaned closer, her voice dropping so only I could hear.
“I slapped you. I threatened you. I demanded you sign. And for that… I am ashamed. But I did not know everything. Julian told me it was necessary to protect the family. He said you were mentally declining. That the baby had weakened you grievously. He lied to me, Genevieve. Just as he lied to you.”
“And Gareth?” I said the name sharply, watching her reaction.
Eleanor went pale. She swayed as if I had struck her.
“You know,” she whispered.
“I know everything,” I said. “About his hold over Julian. About the plan years in the making. About why Julian married me. Tell me the truth now, Eleanor… and perhaps I will ask the court for leniency. Lie… and you fall with them.”
Eleanor sank into the chair, suddenly looking every one of her years.
“Gareth owns Julian,” she said quietly. “He has something on him. Something terrible. Julian will not speak of it. But Gareth found him when Julian was barely twenty, drowning in debt and foolish mistakes. Gareth paid everything. Bought him education, position, everything. But the price… was obedience. Absolute obedience. When Gareth ordered him to court you, marry you, wait for the moment to strike… Julian obeyed. He never wanted this. He never wanted to hurt you. But he is terrified of what Gareth will do if he disobeys.”
“Then why did you help them?” I asked.
“Because Gareth told me that if Julian failed… he would destroy him. Completely. I believed him. I have seen what Gareth does to people who disappoint him. But when I walked into this room… when I saw you lying there, helpless, and heard what Gareth had ordered Julian to do… I realized I was wrong. Gareth does not care about Julian. He cares only about your fortune. And once he has it… he will discard Julian like trash.”
Eleanor reached into her bag and pulled out a folded sheet of paper.
“I wrote down everything I know. Dates. Names. Meetings. Bank transfers. Gareth’s habits. Where he stays when he is in the country. He trusts no one… but he makes one mistake. He keeps records. In a safety deposit box at First Continental. Key kept around his neck at all times.”
She placed the paper on the edge of my bed.
“I am not a good woman, Genevieve. But I am still a mother. And I will not watch my son be destroyed. This is all I can give you. The rest… is up to you.”
She stood to leave.
“Why are you doing this now?” I asked.
Eleanor paused at the door.
“Because Julian called me last night, weeping. He said you knew everything. That Gareth would kill you rather than let you expose him. And I realized… Gareth will not stop at destroying Julian. He will destroy you. And he will destroy that innocent baby too. Stop him, Genevieve. Before it is too late for all of us.”
She left.
I stared at the paper in my hand. At the list of dates, locations, names. Gareth’s weaknesses. His routines. The location of his secrets.
An enemy had just become an ally. Not out of kindness… but out of fear and maternal love. And perhaps… just perhaps… that was enough.
Sarah returned minutes later, read the paper, and looked at me with wide eyes.
“Gen… this is everything. If half of this is true, we have Gareth. We have Julian’s coercion documented. We have motive, means, pattern. But Gen… Eleanor also warns that Gareth has contacts. Dangerous contacts. We move on him… and we make war on a very dangerous man.”
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I folded the paper carefully and placed it inside my father’s letter, tucked safely in my bedside drawer.
“Then we move carefully,” I said. “But we move forward. Because I did not survive childbirth and paralysis just to hand everything over to a monster hiding in the shadows. And Eleanor is right—if we do not stop him now… there will be no safety for any of us.”
