Chapter 5 - The Desperate Play
Three weeks later, I was back on my feet, resting in a secure, private apartment that David had arranged for me under a temporary alias. My ribs were wrapped tight, and the yellow-green bruises on my face were finally starting to fade, but my resolve had only grown stronger.
Then came the knock on the door.
David was with me, along with a hired security detail. When David checked the door camera, he frowned. Standing in the hallway was an elderly woman holding a folder, her face pale and full of anxiety.
It was Eleanor, my late husband's sister—my sister-in-law, whom I hadn't seen in nearly five years.
"Let her in, David," I said, sitting up straight on the sofa.
Eleanor stepped into the apartment, her eyes wide as she took in my lingering facial bruises and the brace around my torso. She swallowed hard, clutching her handbag tightly to her chest.
"Evelyn... my God," Eleanor gasped, her voice trembling. "Look at you."
"If you came here to check on my health, Eleanor, I appreciate it," I said flatly, pointing to the chair opposite me. "But if you came here on behalf of Marcus and Rachel, you can turn right around and walk out."
Eleanor sat down slowly, her eyes brimming with forced tears. "Evelyn, please. They’re your children. Your own flesh and blood! Yes, they made a horrific, unforgivable mistake—Marcus is out of his mind with stress, and Rachel was desperate—but putting them in prison? For ten to fifteen years? It will destroy their lives!"
"They tried to destroy mine, Eleanor," I said, my voice cutting through her emotional plea like a scythe. "Did they tell you what they did before the police arrived? Did they tell you they made me clean their floors while they insulted me? Did they tell you Marcus hit me hard enough to puncture my lung tissue?"
Eleanor flinched, looking away. "They... they said it was an accident. They said you fell during an argument over the farm estate."
"They lied to you, just like they lied to everyone else," David spoke up, opening his briefcase and pulling out an iPad. He tapped the screen and slid it across the coffee table toward Eleanor. "Watch this, Eleanor. This is the raw camera footage."
Eleanor hesitated, then looked down at the screen.
The clear video began to play: Marcus standing over me, shouting insults, driving his fist into my chest, the sickening crunch echoing clearly through the speaker, followed by Rachel smiling as I collapsed onto the tile.
May you like
Eleanor covered her mouth with both hands, a genuine gasp of horror escaping her lips. She pushed the tablet away, her skin turning ashen. "Oh... oh Lord... Evelyn, I... I didn't know."
"They sent you here to manipulate me because they know I used to soft-hearted," I said, leaning forward slowly. "They thought family loyalty meant I would absorb their violence and hand them three million dollars to cover their criminal debts. Go back to their lawyers, Eleanor. Tell them the trial goes forward."
