Chapter 12 - Eleanor’s Choice
Eleanor stopped denying everything three days after Mark’s arrest.
Her attorney arranged the meeting.
David did not attend.
He didn’t need to.
Detective Martinez later explained what happened.
Eleanor admitted she had helped Mark access old financial information.
She admitted requesting money from the family trust.
She admitted knowing he had financial problems.
But she denied knowing he intended to steal company files.
Whether prosecutors believed that would be their decision.
For David, one fact mattered more.
His mother had known Maya and Liam were vulnerable.
And she left anyway.
Eleanor requested to see him.
David refused.
Then she wrote a letter.
He left it unopened for two days.
Finally, Maya placed it on the kitchen table.
“You should read it.”
“Why?”
“Because not reading it means it still controls you.”
David looked at her.
“When did you get so wise?”
“Somewhere between ramen and antibiotics.”
He smiled despite himself.
Then opened the envelope.
Eleanor’s letter was six pages.
The first page was excuses.
The second was grief about David’s father.
The third blamed Mark.
The fourth blamed Chloe.
The fifth finally reached Maya.
I was cruel to her.
David stopped.
He continued.
I told myself she was weak because admitting she needed help meant admitting you had built a family that did not revolve around me.
David read the sentence twice.
The final page contained no demand for forgiveness.
That surprised him.
I do not expect you to forgive me.
I only hope one day Liam will know I was more than the worst thing I did.
David folded the letter.
Maya watched.
“What do you think?”
“I think she finally told the truth.”
“Does that help?”
“A little.”
“Will you see her?”
“No.”
Maya nodded.
David looked at her.
“You think I should?”
“I think you should do whatever protects our home.”
That word.
Our.
Not Eleanor’s family.
Not Chloe’s family.
Their home.
David reached across the table and took Maya’s hand.
“I want to ask you something.”
“What?”
“If I ever start minimizing something they do again, tell me.”
“I did.”
He winced.
“Fair.”
Maya smiled.
“Tell me louder.”
“I don’t want to have to yell to be believed.”
David went still.
She wasn’t attacking him.
She was telling him what she needed.
“You won’t.”
Maya studied his face.
“You can’t promise you’ll never make mistakes.”
“No.”
David squeezed her hand.
“But I can promise you won’t have to compete with my mother to be heard.”
Maya’s eyes softened.
Liam cried from the nursery.
David stood.
“I’ve got him.”
Maya raised an eyebrow.
“You changed the last one.”
“I know.”
“And the one before that.”
“I know.”
“You’re volunteering?”
David walked toward the nursery.
“I missed eleven days.”
He looked back.
“I’ve got some catching up to do.”
Maya smiled.
Then David’s phone rang.
Detective Martinez.
He answered.
“David, we finished examining the laptop from the storage unit.”
“What did you find?”
“A lot.”
“How bad?”
“Bad for Mark.”
David waited.
“And there’s something you need to know.”
“What?”
“Your mother wasn’t his only source of information.”
David frowned.
“Who else?”
Martinez said the name.
May you like
David’s expression changed completely.
Because it was someone he had trusted at work.
