Chapter 11 - Arthur's Confession
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Sarah gently touched my arm. “This is deeply personal, Eleanor. I can wait outside while you process this.”
“No,” I said, my voice remarkably steady for a woman whose world was tilting on its axis. “Stay. If there is evidence of financial entanglement, you need to know.”
Evan awkwardly shuffled past us and bolted out the door into the night.
I sat down in Arthur’s leather chair and picked up the envelope with my name on it. The paper was slightly yellowed at the edges. He must have written this years before his sudden heart attack. My hands, which had remained perfectly still while ordering missile strikes, shook violently as I tore the seal.
My dearest Eleanor,
If you are reading this, it means I have gone somewhere you cannot follow yet. Knowing my stubbornness, I probably went first just to make sure the place was up to your impossible standards.
A choked laugh escaped my lips. That was Arthur. Always trying to make me smile in the dark.
I am writing this because there is a failure in my life I was too much of a coward to confess to your face. Years ago, when David’s very first business venture collapsed, I bailed him out secretly. I didn't tell you. Not because I thought you would refuse to help our son, but because David begged me not to. He was terrified of disappointing the great Admiral Sterling.
May you like
I gave him $80,000 to cover his debts. He promised to repay it. He never did. I thought I was protecting his dignity. I realize now, far too late, that I taught him the worst possible lesson: that he could hide his massive mistakes and someone else would quietly pay the bill.
I closed my eyes. The pieces of the puzzle were violently snapping together.
