Chapter 6 - The Ledger of Truth
"We came to make amends, darling!" Eleanor cried, trying to grasp my wrists. "Let us live here! We can manage the gardens, clean the rooms, anything! Just give us a roof over our heads! You have forty rooms in this palace—you won't even notice us!"
"I notice everything, Eleanor," I replied.
I raised a hand, and Thomas stepped forward from the shadow of the doorway, holding a slim leather folder.
I took the folder, opened it, and dropped three pages of printed bank records directly onto Eleanor’s lap.
"Two weeks ago, my firm was hired by the Federal Bankruptcy Trustee of Eastern Virginia to conduct an asset recovery trace on the estate of Richard and Eleanor Vance," I said, watching their eyes widen in absolute horror.
"You... you audited us?" Richard stammered.
"I found the hidden safe deposit box in Richmond, Richard," I said with razor-sharp precision. "The one containing thirty-five thousand dollars in bearer bonds and twenty gold Krugerrands that you concealed from your creditors while declaring poverty."
Richard’s mouth fell open, his face draining of what little color remained.
"You didn't come here because you were starving," I said, looking down at them with disgust. "You came here because you discovered that Victoria Sterling, the principal of Aegis Capital, was the girl you left at St. Agnes. You thought you could guilt your way into a luxury guest wing, hide your illegal assets on my property, and live off my payroll."
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Eleanor’s weeping stopped instantly. The pathetic mask of repentance vanished, replaced by the ugly, bitter sneer I remembered from my childhood.
"You ungrateful little brat!" Eleanor hissed, scrambling to her feet, her hands trembling with rage. "I gave you life! I carried you for nine months! You owe me everything you have! Without me, you wouldn't even exist!"
