AUTHORS NOTE: Ok, so here's part two and as I previously said here is the trigger warning: Just be aware that there are descriptions of rape and abuse in this chapter.
CHAPTER 74
The silence in the room is filled with the sound of Martha's voice coming out of the speaker on my phone.
Nobody says a word, everyone apart from Elizabeth has already heard what is about to be said and there isn't one of us who really wants to hear any of it again, but we have to do this. I feel Ireland and Ana move closer to me and I see Christian put his hand on Gideon's shoulder. Christopher moves and squeezes Ryan's arm, he turns and nods at Christopher and offers him a smile and then he moves slightly to briefly return the squeeze but he is also gripping Martha's hand tightly with his other hand. Taylor, Raul and Angus all stand along the wall, stony faced with their arms folded, blocking the exit as Martha's story unfolds.
Martha's steady but slightly nervous voice is heard. "Where do you want me to start?" she asks, and then my response is heard.
"If you could just tell us everything you know about your ex-husband, Geoffrey Cross and Elizabeth Vidal – who was then Elizabeth Yarwood, where you start and how you tell us is up to you. Just take your time and tell us in your own way and in your own time".
"Alright, well Eric, Geoffrey and Elizabeth were as thick as thieves – for want of a better word as that is exactly what they were. They were thieves. They stole, they stole people's money to make themselves rich and they stole people's livelihoods. But before that they took peoples dignity and peace of mind for their own sick gratification. They took, and took and took and I wish a million times that I had never met Eric Landon".
Martha pauses and Ireland's voice is heard, "What do you mean by that?" she asks.
"I first became aware of all of them when I was at college. We all attended the same one, that is where they all came together as well… as far as I am aware. I believe Eric met Geoff at college – they were in the same fraternity. They were the stereotypical entitled rich boys who thought the world and everyone in it owed them. They were arrogant and they knew that they were untouchable as their fathers would pay for anything they did wrong to be hushed up and swept under the carpet. It was there they met Elizabeth and she was the female equivalent of them. The spoilt brat daughter of Senator Yarwood, entitled and untouchable, with a nasty vicious streak to boot. It was inevitable they would be drawn to each other – birds of a feather and all that. They caused so much trouble on campus but were never held accountable for any of it. There was a dark side too, it was well known that Eric and Geoffrey had insatiable sex drives and were players. Things seemed to get darker when Elizabeth joined them though. It was well known that Elizabeth took them both on, their wild sex parties were rumoured to be legendary. It was common knowledge and yet very exclusive. Because of who they were a blind eye was turned, boys will be boys and all that, and Elizabeth was conveniently airbrushed out even though she was as bad as they were – worse in some ways, which I will come to. If you were invited you thought you had arrived but all those who did attend were not the same people afterwards and never attended another one. There was also an incredibly high suicide rate at that particular college. I was never invited as I wasn't considered exclusive enough, but my friend was… Maya was her name. Elizabeth, was responsible for picking girls she thought suitable for Eric and Geoffrey's 'tastes'. It wasn't only women who were lured to these parties, Eric and Geoffrey weren't choosy. Eric was bi-sexual and was just as happy fucking men as he was women, and it was rumoured that Geoff also liked to experiment with men. Anyway, Maya was invited. I had heard so many things about these parties and I begged Maya not to go, but she didn't listen… she killed herself a week later".
"What happened to her?" Ana is heard to quietly ask.
"She was beaten, strung up and raped, by Eric and Geoff… at the same time, while Elizabeth watched them and got herself off watching what they did to her. When they were done with her they just threw her out… discarded her, that was when she came to me. I will never forget that night, her clothes were torn, she was bleeding, bruised and she was incoherent – they had given her drugs or something, but she was still aware of what they had done to her. From what I could piece together from what she told me, Eric had pinned her down and tied her up so she couldn't move and then he had taken her… anally… and… and held her while Geoff violated her from the front and all the while Elizabeth was there and was egging them on and getting herself off on what she was seeing. Maya had pleaded with them to stop and let her go and Elizabeth had mocked her and told her that she should consider herself honoured that she was letting her take her place and that she should fucking enjoy it. Elizabeth took photographs, they did that with all their victims to ensure their silence, they were taken so that the victims could be recognised but not Eric or Geoff, they always turned their heads away from the camera so that they couldn't be identified".
My hand is shaking on the phone as I listen to this again. We had all been horrified by what Martha had told us when we had heard it the first time, to hear it all again is unbearable, but it has to be done.
"Angel are you ok?" Gideon asks as he is watching me closely. I look up at him and nod.
"I'm fine" I say simply.
Everyone's attention returns to the phone as Martha's voice continues to be heard.
"That was what they were like, they were sexual predators. They were called the three musketeers as they worked together in all things. But there was nothing honourable about them, they were the scum of the earth".
"So, if that is the case, how on earth did you end up marrying Eric Landon?" I am heard to ask.
Martha lets out a bitter laugh, "I tried to get justice for Maya and for all the other victims of their twisted crimes. I made too much noise, and as such I came on to their radar. So, I had to be silenced, Eric came to me and he tried to make out he was innocent, that he was being used and blackmailed by Geoff and Elizabeth. That they were the true predators, he produced some compelling evidence which I naively believed and I tried to get him to turn them in. Obviously, with hindsight he wasn't going to do that, as it was a ruse to reel me in but he tried to make me think he would. I'm not sure how it all happened but I was slowly drawn into their web and then a situation was discovered which implicated me. I was found with one of their victims in a compromising situation – his name was Hugh and Eric and Geoff had violated him. They drugged us both and stripped us and then took photographs of us in compromising positions, staged them to look as bad as they could possibly be and blackmailed me with them. My compliance and silence or they would ruin my life. I agreed as I didn't have any other choice. That wasn't the end of it though, after graduation rumours were circulating about the relationship he had with Geoff and Elizabeth and he needed to look respectable to quell them and so he turned to me. He had discovered that my father's business had got into financial difficulty and Eric used that information to blackmail me. My father was going to lose everything, due to some bad deals he had made… and Eric told me that he could help. He would bail out my father and everyone would be happy - as long as I agreed to marry him and give him the respectability he needed to quell the rumours. If I didn't comply he said that he would make sure my father's company failed completely, and my dad would find out about my behaviour in college – he was referring to the photographs which had been previously used to blackmail me into silence. I had no choice, I couldn't let my father see what had happened as it would break his heart even though I was innocent but Eric, Geoff and Elizabeth were too powerful they knew too many people and so I married him. I discovered later that he had been responsible for the bad deals which nearly bankrupted my father, he had planned it all to get what he needed. It was a marriage in name only but it worked it gave him that veneer of respectability and it was assumed that Elizabeth and Geoff were just close friends, so the rumours vanished. I knew different though as he flaunted his sexual relationship with Elizabeth in front of me and she enjoyed it when I saw them together... that way. I believe he loved her… in his own way, but so did Geoff and she knew it as she played them both, they were all as twisted as each other. Then one evening she came and told Eric she was pregnant, she was going to abort but Eric saw an opportunity, he persuaded her to hand over the baby to him and he would pass off the child as mine and his. He paid her and she took the deal".
"Was Eric certain that Ryan was his… I mean if she was sleeping with both men?" Ireland is heard to ask.
"Ryan is Eric's there was no doubt. He not only physically resembled him, but he shared Eric's blood type and when DNA became established Eric made sure that he was indeed Ryan's father as he also harboured lingering doubts considering what Elizabeth was like. Time passed and Elizabeth seemed to move closer to Geoff, they were still friends but the closeness wasn't there anymore after Ryan was born. The cracks in their relationship started to appear and Eric became more and more convinced that he was being frozen out. Elizabeth stopped 'servicing' him after Ryan was born and then she officially took up with Geoff and it was announced she was marrying him. After that the distance increased and then a while later it was announced that she was pregnant with Geoff's child. That pushed Eric over the edge, he was consumed by jealousy that Elizabeth had picked Geoff over him and he became increasingly paranoid that Geoff and Elizabeth were going to turn on him. I had felt the brunt of the growing distance between Eric and Elizabeth… after all he still had his needs. I lost count of the times he came to my bed, drunk and ranting because of what he believed was Elizabeth and Geoff trying to cut him off and ruin him and he'd take it out on me... sexually. In the end I had to get out for my own sanity. You have to understand I was repeatedly raped, physically, verbally and emotionally abused and I was losing my mind. I tried to stay strong I had kept a diary of everything and I had accumulated evidence over the years I was with him. I had long since found the photographs taken at college and destroyed them so that I could be in a position to threaten Eric without fear of those awful photographs coming to light. I had accumulated so much evidence of what he, Geoff and Elizabeth were doing. How they were ruining innocent people, how they got rich on proceeds of their crimes and I was determined that I was going to bring him down. He knew he would be finished if that happened as he would be on his own, Elizabeth and Geoff would turn against him and ruin him to save themselves, so he agreed to let me go and paid me to keep my mouth shut about everything I knew about him, all his shady business dealings and his personal life. I was so desperate to get out of there I took the deal and never considered what it would do to Ryan. I was named as his mother and in theory I could've challenged Eric for custody but I didn't want to put Ryan through something like that. I felt bitter towards Eric for that, because I truly loved Ryan and it killed me to leave him with that man, so in my bitterness towards Eric and my misguided logic which was down to the fact I was hanging on to my sanity by a thread I thought it would be a good idea to tell Ryan what his father was like and that I wasn't actually his mother… and I regret that decision every single day".
"Did you get help? Did you see a therapist?" I'm heard to ask her.
"I did, I got in touch with Hugh… the man who I told you was in the blackmail photographs with me. We had remained friends after college, we were both victims and he knew I'd been blackmailed after trying to get justice for Maya. He told me that they had openly told him that he was just the patsy to stage the scene for the photographs to blackmail me to shut me up and that the same applied to him, if he opened his mouth they would make sure the photographs of him with me would ruin him and his reputation. He told me that he had asked them if that was the case then why had they raped him? He told me that they had just laughed at him and said they felt they may as well get something out of him seeing as they had him… and that Elizabeth had wanted to see them take a man for a change, she wanted to see something different… she wanted to watch them do it".
I glance up at Gideon and he is stoically saying nothing. I see that everyone is looking at Gideon, as they all know Gideon's past and as soon as Hugh's name was first mentioned the dots were joined and we all know what bombshell is coming next.
"I knew his family was in the Mental Health field and I reached out to him for help. I told him everything and asked for his help. He put me in touch with his sister Anne and she helped me. He promised me nobody would ever hurt me again and he would make sure that Elizabeth, Geoff and Eric got their comeuppance. I found out later that he and other victims of Eric, Geoff and Elizabeth had come together after college and they had been instrumental in exposing the Ponzi scheme by causing its collapse. I have no idea how they did it. Hugh went on to be a child therapist, but he died suddenly, I heard he'd committed suicide… I guess he never came to terms with what had happened to him".
I look at Elizabeth and the colour has totally drained from her face. She looks around at the faces surrounding her and she laughs, she actually laughs.
"Please don't tell me you believe this rubbish?" she bluffs but you can hear the very real fear in her voice.
"It's totally ridiculous, every last word of it is lies" she adds.
Gideon cocks his head to one side, "Lies?" he asks and he reaches for the file on the table and opens it.
"Which part in particular? Let's start with an easy one mother. Is it lies you were at college with my father and Eric Landon?" he asks mildly.
Elizabeth flushes slightly, "No, that's the truth" she mutters.
Gideon smiles, but it's not a good smile, "So, it's not all lies" he retorts. "Is it lies you are actually Ryan's incubator? I won't call you his mother as you do not deserve that title" he spits.
Elizabeth nods, "Yes that is a totally ridiculous claim" she splutters angrily.
Gideon pulls out the contract and the birth certificate and shows them to her, "Explain these then, a birth certificate which names you as his… mother, and the contract you signed waving your parental rights" Gideon reaches into the folder once more, "Also, I have a series of a record of regular payments made to you by Eric Landon during the time you were pregnant".
Elizabeth looks wildly around, "I… I… I…" she stammers.
"Alright, I think we have established that you are Ryan's incubator and it isn't a ridiculous lie" he says coldly.
"Let's move on to the point in time which changed my life completely shall we?" he says and I stiffen wondering if this is where he is going to talk about what happened to him. But the next words out of his mouth make me relax slightly.
"My father's suicide" he says.
Elizabeth tilts her chin defiantly. "I had nothing to do with that ridiculous financial scheme" she protests.
"Oh but you did, and we have the paperwork to prove it. Something which we have already discussed. What I am referring to is the fact that Eric Landon was as deeply involved as you and dad were. You were all up to your necks in it and the only thing that brought your house of cards down was when your victims from college came together to destroy you as you three tried to destroy them". He pauses and pulls out some more paperwork, "…and I have the documentation to prove everything Martha said was true. She told her friend everything about what you three were doing and he used that information to bring you down". I hear the way Gideon's voice catches on the word friend as that friend was the man who raped him.
Elizabeth swallows hard and shakes her head, but she has stopped protesting her innocence now and almost looks resigned… broken.
Gideon clears his throat and looks at me, I see the pain and hurt appear in his eyes and I don't hesitate and I stand up and go to him. Christian immediately stands up and offers me his seat and he goes to sit next to Ana and he reaches silently for her hand. I quietly thank Christian and I take hold of Gideon's hand as he blindly reaches for me. Elizabeth is watching and I see confusion on her face and it makes me angry as she clearly has no idea what is coming next, whilst everyone else knows exactly what Gideon is going to say. Her denial of this part of Gideon's life has been so complete she doesn't even realise this is what is going to be discussed next.
"Let's talk about Martha's friend… Hugh" Gideon says in a tight voice and realisation finally fills Elizabeth's face at his words.
She shifts uncomfortably in her seat, "You knew the moment that man entered our home who he was and what you, my father and Eric Landon had done to him – how you had destroyed him and yet you kept your mouth shut and you allowed him access to your traumatised son. The son who was distraught about his father's death and who was being set aside in favour of the shiny new life you were building. You allowed a man who you three had irrevocably damaged mentally access to your son… and what did he do to your son mother, what the fuck did he do to me?" Gideon spits his voice staying eerily calm, yet so cold and composed it is scary.
The only clue to his true emotions is the way he is gripping my hand so tightly it hurts. I touch his fisted hand with my free one and he looks down and notices and he loosens the grip but only slightly.
Elizabeth shakes her head once again, but doesn't say anything.
"What the fuck did he do?" he repeats.
"He…" Elizabeth starts and then stops.
"He raped me" Gideon finishes. "He raped me, he raped me just how my father and Eric Landon raped him while you watched. Tell me mother, did you watch me getting violated? Did you hide somewhere out of sight and get off on what that man who you had previously helped to destroy did to me?"
Everyone gasps at that, as nobody had ever considered that could be a possibility.
"NO!" Elizabeth yells and she leaps to her feet.
Gideon simply shrugs as Angus steps forward and pushes Elizabeth back down into her seat. "Surely you can see why I had to ask?" he says, "After all, I was clearly heard screaming for help as I was raped as a child and yet you have consistently denied it ever happened to me… surely you heard me, you knew who that man was so you knew… you fucking knew… you knew what he was doing to me in that room, violating me in the name of therapy, when in reality it was his own sick form of revenge" he spits.
Martha gasps and her hand is over her mouth, and tears are flowing down her cheeks as she is made aware of the horror of what happened to Gideon.
"I didn't know, I took you to a Paediatrician and he found no evidence and so I believed him" Elizabeth argues.
"And you have denied it ever since" Gideon says bitterly.
"I am not rehashing this with you again" Elizabeth retorts, "We have argued about this far too many times, it's getting boring" she snaps.
The shocked gasps fill the room at that heartless declaration and Martha lets go of Ryan's hand and moves over to Gideon, "I… I am so sorry, for my part in what happened to you" she gasps.
Gideon rises to his feet and shakes his head, "No, you were as much a victim of my parents as Hugh was and all the others, they believed they were untouchable… but no more" he says and he glances at the mirror.
"Well Chris? What do you say now about your wife?" he states calmly.
Christopher and Ireland look thunderstruck at the mirror and I meet Ana's shocked eyes. Christian is the only one who doesn't look astounded by what Gideon has just said.
A moment later the door carefully opens and an ashen faced Chris Vidal enters the room.
"Chris!" Elizabeth gasps but he avoids looking at her completely as if she isn't there.
"I had no idea, this is nothing like what she told me… she made out she was a victim all these years" he pauses and walks over to Ireland and Christopher and pulls them into a tight embrace. It isn't lost on anyone how he has completely ignored Gideon though.
Christopher pulls away and gestures towards Gideon, "What about him?" he states.
Chris stiffens and turns towards Gideon, "Despite what your mother did, which I in no way condone, how you have gone about this was wrong. I want nothing more to do with you after this ridiculous performance" he spits.
At that Ireland and Christopher push away from their father, "In which case I want nothing more to do with you dad" Ireland states.
"Ditto" Christopher says simply.
At that Chris stares at them, and then at everyone else in the room before waving his hand dramatically in the air and storming out. A moment later there is a knock at the door and it opens to reveal my dad.
"Dad!" I say as I can't quite believe what I am seeing.
"Gideon… son" my dad begins and moves closer.
Gideon stands up, and looks warily at my dad. "Well now you know everything" he says simply.
My dad doesn't hesitate and pulls Gideon into a tight embrace, "Don't I just! But it doesn't make any difference you are still a fine man and my colleagues are waiting to take that woman away and question her… I will also say the lawyers for the other victims were rubbing their hands with glee at what they have just heard. But the main thing here is - are you ok? Do you realise what you have just done? Are you really alright with outing yourself and what happened to you like that? Everyone will know now, it will become a matter of public record with everything that has happened today?"
Gideon nods, "Its time the whole truth was out there, I wasn't to blame and in a way now I see even my rapist was a victim, but he took his revenge out on the wrong person, which made him no better than my parents and what they did to him... I was innocent though; I wasn't to blame" he says firmly.
My dad smiles at him, "No, son you weren't" he says.