Chapter 3 - The Women Eleanor Erased Before Audrey
Audrey and the twins spent the night inside a private medical residence owned by the Vance trust.
The building had nurses, secure entrances, and a nursery prepared within an hour.
For the first time since childbirth, Audrey slept without wondering who might enter the room.
Daniel remained outside the suite.
Christian arrived before sunrise carrying several legal cases.
He was in his late fifties, with silver hair and the quiet patience of someone who had protected Vance assets for decades.
Audrey sat beside the twins while he opened the first file.
“You were right about Eleanor.”
Audrey looked toward him.
“I hoped I was wrong.”
“She used the same physician in three previous cases.”
Christian placed photographs on the table.
The first woman was Katherine Mercer, Julian’s aunt by marriage.
She inherited a chain of pharmacies.
Two years after marrying into the family, she was declared emotionally unstable.
Control of her shares transferred to her husband.
She disappeared from public life after the divorce.
The second woman was Diana Cross.
Her family owned valuable land outside Boston.
After marrying Julian’s cousin, she suffered what newspapers called a breakdown.
The Mercer family acquired development rights to her property.
The third was Julian’s first wife.
Audrey stared at the photograph.
“His first wife?”
Julian had told her he had never been married.
The woman’s name was Rebecca Sloan.
She had dark hair, kind eyes, and a private technology trust worth millions.
She married Julian when they were both twenty seven.
The marriage lasted eleven months.
Rebecca was hospitalized after being labeled unstable.
Her trust remained protected, so Eleanor failed to gain control.
Rebecca filed for annulment and vanished from the Mercer social world.
“Did Julian know?” Audrey asked.
“We do not know.”
Christian placed an email on the table.
Eleanor had written to the physician:
Julian must believe Rebecca is dangerous before he starts listening to her.
Audrey felt cold.
Eleanor had trained her son to distrust women whenever they resisted family control.
The paternity accusation was not spontaneous.
It was part of the same pattern.
Christian continued.
“We contacted Rebecca.”
“Will she speak?”
“She already has.”
A video call began.
Rebecca appeared from a quiet office in Seattle.
She looked older than the photograph, but steady.
When she saw the twins, sadness entered her eyes.
“Eleanor tried to convince Julian that I had endangered our pregnancy.”
Audrey’s breath stopped.
“You were pregnant?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“I lost the baby.”
Rebecca’s voice remained controlled, but the grief beneath it was unmistakable.
“Eleanor told Julian my medication caused it. I was not taking medication.”
Audrey covered her mouth.
“Did he believe her?”
“Yes.”
Rebecca explained that Eleanor isolated her after the loss.
She controlled medical appointments, visitors, and documents.
When Rebecca protested, Eleanor arranged the false evaluation.
Julian signed the temporary authority papers.
“He said he was protecting me,” Rebecca whispered.
Audrey looked toward Christian.
“He knew enough.”
Rebecca nodded.
“He knew I begged him not to sign.”
The call ended with Rebecca agreeing to provide evidence.
Audrey felt no satisfaction.
Julian had been manipulated by Eleanor.
But he had also repeatedly chosen the easier story.
He had chosen his mother’s authority over the women asking him to look closer.
Daniel entered quietly.
“Mr. Mercer is requesting contact.”
Audrey looked at the twins.
“Why?”
“He claims he found something in Eleanor’s private safe.”
Christian advised caution.
Audrey approved a recorded call.
Julian appeared on the screen from a hotel room.
He no longer wore his white shirt.
He had changed into simple clothing.
His face looked hollow.
“I did not know about Rebecca’s pregnancy.”
“She says you signed the papers.”
“I believed the doctor.”
“You believed your mother.”
“Yes.”
The honesty came without defense.
Audrey remained silent.
Julian continued.
“I opened Mom’s safe after security released my personal items.”
He held up a memory drive.
“There are recordings.”
“Of what?”
“Conversations between her and Dr. Langley.”
Christian leaned closer.
Julian played one file.
Eleanor’s voice filled the room.
“If Audrey refuses the test, Julian will remove her himself.”
The doctor asked whether the infants were at risk.
Eleanor replied:
“The children are useful only if they secure control. Otherwise they become leverage.”
Audrey held Noah closer.
Her mother in law had discussed newborns like corporate assets.
Another recording played.
The doctor asked whether Julian might discover Audrey’s holdings.
Eleanor laughed.
“He has never understood where his success comes from.”
Julian stopped the file.
His face showed humiliation.
“She knew about your fortune.”
Audrey stared at him.
“How?”
“My mother investigated you before our engagement.”
Christian’s expression hardened.
Eleanor discovered portions of the Vance network years earlier.
She encouraged Julian to pursue Audrey while pretending to disapprove of her background.
The marriage was not merely accepted by Eleanor.
It had been selected.
Audrey remembered every criticism.
Every dinner where Eleanor implied she lacked breeding.
Every moment Julian defended her just enough to appear loyal.
It had all been theatre.
Eleanor wanted Audrey close enough to control.
Julian looked toward the twins.
“I am sorry.”
Audrey felt no comfort.
“You threw us into the snow.”
“I was angry and confused.”
“You had ten days to know your sons.”
“I know.”
“You looked at them and saw an accusation.”
Julian began crying.
Audrey continued.
“You did not ask your own doctor.”
“You did not call the fertility clinic.”
“You did not ask me for the truth.”
“You accepted the story that allowed you to remain powerful.”
He lowered his head.
“I found one more recording.”
Eleanor spoke to an unknown man.
“Once Audrey signs the medical authority, Julian becomes irrelevant too.”
The man answered.
“And the twins?”
Eleanor’s reply was chilling.
“They will be raised as Mercers, whether Julian remains useful or not.”
Julian had not been the final beneficiary.
He had been another tool.
The unknown man was identified through the voice.
William Cross, Eleanor’s private financial adviser.
The same man connected to the earlier marriages.
May you like
He was scheduled to leave the country that afternoon.
Continue to the next part: Audrey will order Daniel to stop William Cross before he escapes, while Julian must choose whether to protect Eleanor or testify against the mother who controlled his entire life.
