Chapter 5 - The Woman in the Hallway
Richard and I looked at each other.
The handle moved again.
I placed one finger to my lips.
Richard silently rolled behind a row of old wooden wine racks.
I switched off the room’s single lamp.
The door opened.
Light from the corridor stretched across the stone floor.
Someone stepped inside.
I held my breath.
Then a familiar voice whispered.
“Maya?”
Eleanor.
I stepped out.
She nearly screamed.
I caught her arm.
“Please.”
She stared at me.
“What are you doing down here?”
I searched for an excuse.
Before I could speak, Richard rolled out from behind the shelves.
His mother went white.
“Richard?”
He did not move.
Eleanor pressed one hand against the wall.
“You can push that chair yourself.”
Richard looked at her.
“Yes.”
Tears filled Eleanor’s eyes.
“How long?”
“Long enough.”
She took one step toward him.
Then stopped.
“You should have told me.”
Richard’s expression hardened.
“Should I?”
Pain moved across her face.
“I’m your mother.”
“And Ethan is your son.”
Eleanor flinched.
There was years of history inside those words.
I moved between them slightly.
“Mrs. Vance, if you know something, now is the time to tell him.”
Eleanor looked at me.
“You have no idea what kind of family you walked into.”
“I’m beginning to.”
She gave a bitter laugh.
“No.”
She looked at Richard.
“You’re not.”
Eleanor closed the wine room door behind her.
Then she reached beneath the collar of her blouse and pulled out a small gold key hanging from a chain.
“I have been waiting eight months for you to trust someone.”
Richard stared at the key.
“What is that?”
“Your father’s safe deposit key.”
Richard’s face changed.
“My father died nine years ago.”
“I know.”
“Why do you have it?”
“Because three weeks before your accident, you gave me an envelope.”
Richard frowned.
“I don’t remember that.”
“You told me not to open it unless something happened to you.”
Eleanor’s voice trembled.
“After the accident, Ethan searched your office.”
“He searched everything.”
“I panicked.”
She wiped tears from her face.
“So I moved the envelope.”
“Where?”
“The bank.”
Richard stared at her.
“What’s inside?”
“I don’t know.”
“You never opened it?”
“No.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Eleanor’s mouth tightened.
“Because after the hospital, you could barely stay awake.”
She looked at me.
“They had him so heavily medicated that some days he did not know whether it was morning or night.”
I felt anger rise in my chest.
Richard’s voice became quiet.
“And you allowed it.”
Eleanor lowered her eyes.
“I was afraid.”
“Of Ethan?”
“Yes.”
The word barely escaped her.
Richard looked devastated.
Eleanor stepped closer.
“You don’t understand what changed after your accident.”
“Then explain it.”
She looked toward the closed door.
“Ethan started meeting men in your office.”
“What men?”
“I didn’t know most of them.”
“Most?”
Eleanor hesitated.
“One I recognized from a company Christmas party.”
Richard leaned forward.
“Which company?”
She looked directly at me.
“Vitalis Health.”
For a moment, I thought I had misunderstood her.
My former husband’s employer.
The company where Michael had climbed the corporate ladder.
The company where he had met Valerie.
I felt my stomach turn.
“Do you remember the man’s name?”
I asked.
Eleanor slowly nodded.
“Michael Carter.”
The room seemed to tilt.
Richard looked at me.
“You know him.”
May you like
I could barely answer.
“He’s my ex-husband.”
