Chapter 8 - A MOTHER’S CHOICE
All eyes went to Eleanor.
She didn’t look surprised.
That was the worst part.
“You were going to approve it,” I said.
She straightened in her chair.
“I was protecting the family.”
“By stealing five million dollars?”
“By protecting what Richard built.”
“From me?”
“From instability.”
I laughed.
“You mean from Tommy.”
Her silence answered.
Tommy stood beside me.
He looked smaller than he had five minutes earlier.
Eleanor saw it.
For once, her voice softened.
“Tommy, this is not about you personally.”
He stared at her.
“That somehow makes it worse.”
I wanted to hug him.
Instead, he stepped toward her.
“I used to think you didn’t like me because I got sick.”
Eleanor opened her mouth.
He continued.
“I thought if I got stronger, maybe you’d like me more.”
Her face shifted.
Just slightly.
Tommy’s eyes were wet now.
“So I started running even when the doctor said I shouldn’t push too hard.”
My heart cracked.
“Tommy…”
He didn’t look at me.
“I wanted you to see me win something.”
Eleanor whispered, “I never asked you to do that.”
“No. You just kept saying I wasn’t strong.”
She finally looked away.
That was the first moment I saw shame touch Eleanor Vance.
But it lasted only a second.
Then her phone buzzed.
She looked down.
A banking notification.
Mark cursed.
“Midnight authorization window opened early.”
Claire checked the clock.
11:03.
“Can she approve from her phone?”
“Yes.”
I looked at Eleanor.
She held the device in both hands.
“Don’t.”
Joe stepped toward her.
“Mom.”
Claire said, “Mrs. Vance, think carefully.”
Joe’s voice hardened.
“Approve it.”
Eleanor looked at him.
Then at Tommy.
Then at Leo, asleep against Tracy’s shoulder.
Two grandsons.
One family name.
One lifetime of obsession.
Her thumb hovered over the screen.
Joe whispered, “Everything Dad built belongs to us.”
I said quietly, “Richard apparently disagreed.”
Eleanor’s face twisted.
Then Joe made his mistake.
“Mom, do it now.”
He didn’t ask.
He ordered.
Eleanor looked at her forty-eight-year-old son as if she were seeing him clearly for the first time.
“You don’t command me.”
“Then stop acting weak.”
The whole room froze.
Eleanor’s eyes sharpened.
Joe realized too late.
“Mom, I didn’t mean—”
She tapped the screen.
My stomach dropped.
Mark whispered, “She approved it.”
Joe smiled.
Then Eleanor turned the phone toward him.
“No.”
On the screen was a large red message.
TRANSFER DECLINED.
Joe’s smile vanished.
“I rejected it.”
He stared at her.
“What?”
“I said I rejected it.”
Joe took a step toward his mother.
“You stupid old—”
I moved before he finished.
So did David.
So did two police officers.
They caught Joe by the arms.
He struggled.
“Get off me!”
One officer warned him to calm down.
Eleanor looked at her son.
Her voice shook.
“I gave you everything.”
Joe laughed bitterly.
“You gave me conditions.”
“I gave you a company.”
“Dad gave me a company.”
“No.”
Eleanor stood.
“Your father gave you a job.”
That landed.
Joe stared at her.
Eleanor’s voice became ice.
“And apparently, he gave Sarah the power to fire you.”
Claire looked at me.
“She may be right.”
Joe’s breathing stopped.
Then Claire’s phone buzzed again.
She read the message.
Her expression changed.
“What now?” I asked.
She looked at me.
“The bank froze the transfer.”
“Good.”
“That’s not all.”
She turned the phone around.
“Someone initiated another transfer twelve minutes ago.”
Mark went white.
“I didn’t.”
Joe said nothing.
May you like
Claire looked directly at him.
“This one is for twelve million dollars.”
