Chapter 9 - THE LAST THING SHE TRIED TO TAKE
Three months later, Eleanor requested a meeting before changing her plea.
The prosecutor did not recommend it. My therapist did not recommend it. Ethan said he would support whatever allowed me to sleep at night.
I agreed because I wanted to know whether she was capable of speaking to me without an audience.
We met in a secured conference room at the county detention center. A glass window separated us. Eleanor wore a beige uniform and no makeup.
Without the clothes, jewelry, and carefully controlled lighting, she looked smaller.
Not harmless.
Just smaller.
“How is the baby?” she asked.
“Her name is Lily.”
“I know her name.”
“You have never used it.”
Eleanor looked away.
Her attorney had negotiated a plea that included prison time, restitution, and the sale of nearly every asset purchased with stolen funds. Kyle faced separate charges for illegal gambling and tax violations, but his cooperation reduced the likely sentence.
“You could ask the prosecutor for mercy,” she said.
“You asked to see me for that?”
“I am your mother.”
“You were my trustee too. You broke both promises.”
“I sacrificed my life for you and Kyle.”
“You charged us for every sacrifice.”
Her eyes sharpened.
“You think Ethan will never disappoint you? You think that friend of yours will stay forever? Family is what remains when everyone else leaves.”
“Family is also supposed to be safe.”
“You were never easy, Claire. Even as a child, you questioned everything.”
“I questioned you because your stories kept changing.”
“I did what was necessary.”
“You hit me because a bank computer was about to expose you.”
“I lost control for one second.”
“No. You controlled the room before you swung. You lied while I was bleeding. You called CPS while Lily was fighting to breathe. Then you went on television.”
Eleanor pressed her hand against the glass.
“I was scared.”
For one dangerous moment, she sounded human.
Then she added, “You have no idea what prison will do to someone like me.”
The old reflex rose inside me.
Comfort her.
Protect her.
Make her fear more important than mine.
I thought of my father’s letter.
Use it to leave any place where love becomes control.
“I know what fear did to me,” I said. “I know what it did to Lily. You will have to face what it does to you without using my body, my money, or my child as a shield.”
Her hand dropped.
“So this is revenge.”
“No. Revenge would be making you live the way you made me live.”
I stood.
“This is accountability.”
As the guard approached, Eleanor called my name.
I did not turn around.
Outside, Ethan waited beside the car with Lily bundled against his chest. She was healthy, gaining weight, and furious about being placed in her car seat.
May you like
The sound of her crying did not frighten me anymore.
It meant she was breathing.
