Chapter 7 - Eleanor’s Choice
Eleanor called forty-three times in two days.
Marissa answered none of them.
On the third day, a handwritten note arrived at the penthouse.
Please let me explain.
Marissa almost threw it away.
Instead, she gave it to Rebecca.
“Should I meet her?”
“Only if you believe it will help you.”
“I want to know how much she knew.”
Rebecca arranged the meeting in a private conference room with two attorneys present.
Eleanor arrived without makeup, jewelry, or the expensive coat she had worn outside the penthouse.
For once, she looked her age.
She sat across from Marissa and folded her hands.
“I never wanted this.”
Marissa placed copies of the trust documents between them.
“You signed these.”
“Anthony told me they were part of an estate plan.”
“You received properties.”
“He said they were gifts.”
“Purchased with my company’s money.”
“I did not know that.”
“You never asked how he could afford them?”
Eleanor’s silence answered.
Marissa continued.
“You used my card after I told you not to. You demanded a villa. You told people Anthony built my company.”
“I was proud of my son.”
“You were proud of what you believed he could take.”
Eleanor began to cry.
Marissa did not comfort her.
“I grew up with nothing,” Eleanor said. “Anthony’s father left when he was eight. I worked two jobs. I promised my son he would never feel small.”
“So you taught him that having less made him small?”
“I taught him to survive.”
“No. You taught him that the world owed him compensation.”
Eleanor pressed a hand to her chest.
“He told me you planned to leave him with nothing. He said the company would always come before him.”
“And you believed stealing was protection?”
“I believed he was moving money that already belonged to your marriage.”
“The company never belonged to Anthony.”
“But he was your husband.”
“That did not make him an owner.”
Eleanor looked down at the trust documents.
“What happens to me?”
“The properties will be frozen. The company will pursue recovery.”
“My apartment?”
“It was purchased legally before the fraud. You may remain there.”
Relief appeared on Eleanor’s face.
Marissa saw it and understood that even now, Eleanor’s first concern was what she could keep.
Then Eleanor asked, “Will you stop me from seeing Julian?”
Marissa’s voice softened, but only slightly.
“For now, yes.”
Eleanor looked up in horror.
“I am his grandmother.”
“You helped Anthony describe me as unstable. You stood outside my home while he tried to force entry. You said Julian might be in danger even though you knew he was safe.”
“I was angry.”
“Anger does not excuse what you were willing to do.”
“Please.”
“Julian is not a reward for your apology.”
The words broke something in Eleanor’s expression.
Marissa stood.
“If you want any chance of rebuilding trust, cooperate fully. Tell Rebecca everything you know. Return every asset connected to the transfers. Do not contact Julian or approach his school.”
Eleanor stared at the papers.
“And if I do all of that?”
“Then one day, after professionals decide it is safe, he may choose whether he wants a relationship with you.”
“You would let a child decide?”
“When he is old enough to understand.”
Eleanor’s tears fell silently.
Marissa left the room without looking back.
An hour later, Eleanor called Rebecca and agreed to surrender the trust, the French villa deposit, the jewelry purchased with company funds, and two investment properties.
May you like
She also gave investigators access to her messages with Anthony.
Those messages contained the evidence that destroyed his final defense.
