Chapter 8 - JULIAN CONFRONTS HIS MOTHER
Julian asked Eleanor to meet him inside the hospital chapel.
He did not tell her what we had discovered.
I watched through a live feed from a recorder attached to his jacket.
Eleanor entered carrying her handbag.
“You finally understand that Clara needs treatment?”
Julian remained seated.
“Where is Claire buried?”
Eleanor stopped.
“What?”
“My sister.”
“Where is her grave?”
“There was no body.”
“You held a memorial.”
“Yes.”
“Where was she for the next nine years?”
Eleanor’s face changed.
Only slightly.
It was enough.
Julian placed Claire’s final letter on the pew.
Eleanor did not touch it.
“You told me she died.”
“She was gone.”
“She was alive.”
“She was dangerous.”
“To whom?”
“To the family.”
“She found the foundation transfers.”
“She accused everyone.”
“She tried to ruin your father.”
“So you had her committed.”
“She was ill.”
“The doctor never examined her independently.”
“She required structure.”
“She died from an infection.”
Eleanor looked toward the altar.
“That was negligence by the clinic.”
“You sent her there.”
“She forced me to choose.”
Julian stood.
“No.”
“You chose the trust.”
“You chose reputation.”
“You chose control.”
Eleanor’s voice rose.
“I protected you.”
“From my sister?”
“From scandal.”
“From weakness.”
“From women who used emotion to manipulate you.”
Julian looked at her.
“You mean women who disagreed with you.”
Eleanor’s face hardened.
“Clara has turned you against your family.”
“Claire wrote that twelve years ago.”
“Was Clara controlling me then too?”
Eleanor reached for him.
He stepped away.
The rejection frightened her more than anger.
“Julian, think about Ava.”
“I am.”
“She needs experienced guardians.”
“She needs parents who are not under investigation.”
“You will be investigated too.”
“For what?”
“For signing trust documents.”
“For failing to protect your wife.”
“For allowing hidden surveillance in a hospital.”
Julian stared at her.
“You still think fear will work.”
“It always has.”
The sentence left her mouth before she could stop it.
Julian looked toward the camera hidden in his jacket.
“Not anymore.”
Eleanor followed his gaze.
May you like
She understood.
Her confession had been recorded.
