Chapter 5 - Desperation and Betrayal
By day three, the illusion of my parents' unbreakable bond completely dissolved.
Through the private investigator hired by Arthur Sterling, I received regular updates on their miserable existence. They were holed up in a cheap, neon-lit motel on the outskirts of Denver, the only place that would accept cash without running a credit check, since all their accounts were frozen by the feds.
The pressure of the impending criminal indictments cracked them wide open. They turned on each other like starved wolves. Felix blamed Eudora for being too extravagant, leaving a paper trail of luxury purchases. Eudora blamed Felix for being stupid enough to forge federal documents on a government-monitored network.
On Wednesday evening, I was sitting by the fireplace in our living room, holding a sleeping Hazel against my chest, when the doorbell rang.
Giselle, looking infinitely healthier and glowing in a thick cashmere sweater, walked to the door and checked the security monitor. She stiffened.
"It's Eudora," Giselle whispered, looking back at me.
I carefully placed Hazel into her bassinet and walked to the door. "I'll handle this. I'm calling the police."
"No," Giselle said softly, but her eyes possessed a steely determination I hadn't seen before. "I'll handle it. Stand behind me."
She opened the front door, leaving the heavy chain locked.
Eudora stood on the porch, trembling in a cheap, thin coat. Her hair, usually perfectly styled, was a tangled mess. Her makeup was smeared from crying. She looked like a ghost of the arrogant socialite she had been just days prior.
"Giselle," Eudora pleaded, her voice cracking. She pressed her hands against the cold wood of the doorframe. "Please. I know we had our differences. I know I was… difficult. But Felix is out of his mind. He’s planning to run. He’s trying to leave me here to take the fall. Please, you have a kind heart. Talk to Dylan. Have him call off the FBI. I can’t go to prison!"
I stood slightly out of view in the hallway, watching my wife. I was ready to step in if Eudora tried anything, but Giselle didn't flinch.
"Differences?" Giselle repeated, her voice eerily calm, carrying the icy chill of the winter air. "You didn't just have differences with me, Eudora. You starved a pregnant woman. You watched me shiver on this exact porch with your own granddaughter, and you drank wine while you waited for us to die."
Eudora let out a pathetic sob. "I was following Felix's orders! I didn't want to do it! I'm a victim too!"
"You're a monster," Giselle said firmly. "You had every opportunity to be a mother to Dylan and a grandmother to Hazel. Instead, you chose greed. You chose cruelty. And now, you are choosing cowardice by blaming your husband."
"Please! I have nowhere else to go!" Eudora begged, sliding down the doorframe to her knees.
"Then you should have thought of that before you changed the locks on my home," Giselle said.
Giselle reached out and quietly, deliberately, shut the heavy oak door in Eudora’s face. The solid click of the deadbolt sliding into place echoed through the foyer.
Giselle turned to me, letting out a long exhale. A small, triumphant smile played on her lips. I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her close.
"That was incredible," I murmured, kissing her cheek.
May you like
"It felt good," she admitted, resting her head against my chest. "Let the feds have them. I'm done."
Outside, Eudora's wails faded away into the night as she realized her final lifeline had been completely severed.
