AUTHORS NOTE:
Apologies once more for the delay in posting, please rest assured that this story WILL be finished as I do NOT leave stories unfinished. However, due to personal matters I am really busy at the moment. Real life has to come first and as I have explained before, I work six days out of seven and I have a home and family. To make matters worse, this chapter completely pissed me off as I couldn't get it to flow and I re-wrote it about 3 times and I'm still not totally happy with it. But better late than never! Enjoy and thank you all once again for your patience while I get around to updating.
CHAPTER 79
The next day…
"Are you sure you want to do this Gideon?" I look at Martha who is looking anxiously at Gideon. He had wasted no time in fulfilling his pledge to Ryan about going to check on Martha and he had also asked her about Dr Lucas to which she had confirmed his suspicions. Terence Lucas was indeed a former acquaintance of Elizabeth from college.
"Yes" Gideon replies firmly. "You said that you remember Lucas from your college days and that he ran in the same circle as my mother, Eric Landon and my father. I know you were unable to confirm as to whether or not he was complicit in their sexual activities but the fact you knew he was there at the same time as my mother and she knew him is enough for me to confront her with this".
Martha touches his arm gently, "Yes Gideon, but do you really believe that she will tell you the truth? That woman wouldn't know the truth if it slapped her in the face".
My father looks seriously at Gideon, "She is right Gideon, we have more than enough circumstantial evidence against her but nothing concrete and although there is a chance the DA's office could look at seeing what they can do for you, you have to be realistic about it as because it was all such a long time ago and because everything we have is more or less hearsay, I really don't think they would pursue it. Wait until Angus gets back to you after he gets to speak to Anne again, as that may alter things".
Gideon sighs and looks questioningly at Arash who is also with us. He shrugs, "I agree with Victor, I know it's frustrating and seems totally unfair from your point of view after the work we have all put in to uncover the information that we have so far. But how would you feel if the DA did pursue this and she got off on a technicality or something? That would be ten times worse. She is facing a shit load of litigation from former victims of the ponzi scheme and the concrete evidence we have on her for that is enough for her to get some jail time. I'm working with the sexual assault victims' lawyers from the college victims who have come forward and hopefully we can all get her on something in that respect, but its notoriously hard to get a conviction for a sexual assault case when its current, this is historical and with the fact the actual abuser in your case is dead it will be near on impossible to be able to prove she was involved with him".
Gideon nods, "I get that… I just need to know" he says.
I wrap my arms tighter around him and squeeze him tightly, "I know and it's killing me that you never got your justice. I just wish there was something I could do to help" I say.
"Maybe there is" Ana says carefully.
I look at my sister questioningly. Ana and Christian have been sitting silently listening to everything that has been going on and I noticed for the majority of the time Ana looked deep in thought.
"What are you thinking?" I ask.
Ana looks at me, "Remember how we went to talk to Carrick and Grace? What if we went to speak to Elizabeth?" she asks, waving her hand between us.
Gideon shakes his head, and opens his mouth to speak but Ana holds up her hand, "Let me finish" she says. "If you go in there throwing accusations and questioning her, she will immediately go on the defensive. The lies will start spewing out and you will never get the truth. However, if Eva and I go in there, she doesn't like Eva so she will be on her guard but I think if we go in there and maybe bluff a little as to what we know, make her think we know more than we actually do and if we go about it the right way rather than accusing her we could get the truth out of her that way".
"Even if you did that, and it was successful the evidence you acquired wouldn't be admissible in any case you pursued" Arash says immediately.
Ana nods, "I know and I accept that fact but I'm sure for Gideon, what he needs most is his mother's acceptance of what happened. He needs her to stop denying everything".
Gideon nods, "I do" he says simply.
"Then it's worth trying" Ana says firmly.
Gideon smiles at Ana, "Thank you" he says gratefully and Ana waves her hand dismissively, a gesture that she has learnt from Christian.
"Even though anything we get wouldn't be admissible, if we were to get a recording of anything she does tell us and we make her aware of that after the fact it may make her more willing to cooperate as she won't know what we are going to do with whatever evidence she gives us" Ana adds with a sly grin.
I smile, I can see what Ana is getting at. "Are you suggesting blackmailing my mother-in-law?" I say with mock shock and horror.
Ana grins again, "I wouldn't put it quite like that but if we are going to do this then we need to be prepared to utilise whatever advantage we gain from doing it" she says. "Elizabeth reminds me of Carla in many ways, her selfishness and lack of a maternal instinct is identical. Although Elizabeth tried until recently to maintain a veneer of good parenting, although that was just for show". Ana pauses and snorts, "Carla just didn't give a damn and checked out of my life completely - but the similarities are there, Carla didn't believe me when I tried to tell her about Stephen. So, whilst that was an entirely different situation and she wasn't involved per se, I still have some point of reference with how I am going to handle Elizabeth… if Gideon is happy for me to try?"
I glance at Christian and he looks reasonably calm about all this, he hasn't argued against Ana's idea but I am certain while he will be fairly happy for us to do this, he will ensure conditions are applied and that security will be tight.
"Do you think it would be a good idea for me to come in with you? I mean you said yourself that Elizabeth can't stand me. If I am there, she might just clam up completely" I say.
Ana grins, "That's what I am hoping for, I'm thinking about playing a good cop/bad cop thing. You will obviously be the bad cop, whereas I will be the nice one and hopefully she will be keen to talk to me to try and make me see what a huge mistake we are making and that she isn't the monster that you have made her out to be, I will use that and hopefully get something out of her in the process".
"Sneaky" I say with a grin.
"I do my best" Ana retorts.
Before anyone can say anything else, there is a knock at the door and Angus appears. He looks at Gideon and the look on his face says everything we need to know. Gideon immediately stands up and looks expectantly at Angus.
"Well?" he asks simply.
"Anne, was very helpful lad" he begins as he sits down with us.
"So, Lucas and Elizabeth were friends?" I ask as Gideon retakes his seat and reaches for my hand once more.
Angus takes a shot look at Gideon before replying, "According to Anne, they were good friends at college… very good friends if you get my drift".
I go cold and I feel Gideon's grip get tighter.
"He had a relationship with her?" I splutter.
Angus nods, "According to Anne, he had photographs of his time at college which show him with Eric, and your parents, and she said that she had recalled him telling her that he'd had a brief physical relationship with your mother".
"I see" Gideon says simply.
I look at Ana, "That gives us a bit of an advantage when we talk to Elizabeth" I say and Ana nods in agreement.
Angus reaches inside of his pocket and pulls out an envelope, "Anne has sent the photographs she has in her possession of Lucas with Elizabeth, Eric and Geoff at college, there are quite a few of him with just Elizabeth as well as group photographs" he says as he hands it to Gideon.
We all watch in silence as Gideon pulls out the photographs and looks at them, his face impassive. He looks up and offers them to Ana.
"You might as well have these, Ana" he says simply.
oooOOOooo
The next day…
"Ok then are we ready?" Ana asks as she pushes the photographs of Elizabeth and Lucas and her phone into her purse.
I nod my head, "As I'll ever be, knowing I'll be in the vicinity of that woman" I sneer sarcastically. Ana snorts in response before walking towards Gideon who is standing silently beside me.
"We will do our best for you" she says as she wraps her arms around his waist. He smiles and let's go of my hand to return the hug.
"I know you will, and thank you" he replies gruffly as Christian gently pulls Ana away from him. I inwardly smile. No matter how comfortable Christian is around us all, he just can't stand to see Ana in the arms of another man, even her brother-in-law.
"Taylor will go with you" Christian says adamantly and Ana nods. We had expected this, and don't argue with him.
"But he will wait in the car with Raul, and he will be listening in" Ana says and Christian nods in agreement.
"Yes, but if he feels you need to be pulled out, you don't argue you just do it" Christian responds.
Ana waves her hand, "I know, I know" she replies with slight exasperation.
Christian grins at her, and pulls her close, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "You know it's only because I love you so much that I worry" he mutters quietly in her ear.
She places her hand on his chest and he covers hers with his own. "I know" she replies.
The ride to Elizabeth's apartment is in silence, as neither of us are really looking forward to this as we both know what we need to hear, but if we hear it we will know unequivocally that Elizabeth Vidal is a complete monster but we have to try and get something out of her for Gideon's sake to give him some sense of closure.
I look out of the window as we pass through the city. When Chris started divorce proceedings, Elizabeth moved out of the family home and into a small apartment. I was hoping she would be in jail considering everything that we have discovered about her but it seems we aren't that lucky and her lawyer has secured her freedom, albeit conditional freedom despite the charges being filed against her for the ponzi scheme.
When we arrive, Angus pulls up outside the apartment block and Ana looks out the window at it as Raul gives me the apartment address details.
"Just one small point, how exactly are we going to get in there?" Ana asks but Raul answers that with a smile, before rummaging in his pocket.
"Mr Cross owns the building so he has secured this key to override the security system and give you access to the building" he explains as he holds out a small key.
Ana leans forward and takes it from him, "Well, that's handy" she mutters with a grin.
I let out a small snort and I shake my head; I don't think there is much in New York which Gideon doesn't own. I should've realised that he would probably own the building where his mother now lived.
Ana climbs out of the car and I follow and we make our way slowly to the front door. There is no reception desk or concierge and while it isn't a dive it clearly isn't afforded the levels of luxury that Elizabeth is used to. I wonder if this is deliberate on her part to try and get out of paying anything to the victims of the ponzi scheme, she is pleading poverty and this apartment is part of that charade.
We silently make our way through the building until we reach Elizabeth's apartment. I wonder and not for the first time if this is all a waste of time as she will surely just spew out another load of lies to try and make herself look innocent.
Ana knocks on the door and we wait. A moment later the door opens and Elizabeth stares at us. She looks shocked to see us.
"Surprise!" I say facetiously and she scowls at me in response.
"How did you get into the building? You didn't buzz me to let you in," she asks looking at me and then at Ana, in the tone of voice which clearly tells us if we had we wouldn't be standing here right now.
Ana holds up the key, "We have our own access all areas pass" she replies with a grin.
Elizabeth stares at the key before pulling herself together, "What do you want?" she asks haughtily.
"To talk" Ana says simply.
"I have nothing to say to you" Elizabeth replies and goes to shut the door, I quickly reach out and stop the door from closing.
"Oh no you don't, if you don't let us in, we will just stand here and shout through the door what we want to say and trust me you won't want your neighbours hearing about your sordid past… with Dr Lucas!" I say with a sickly sweet smile.
Elizabeth hesitates and her face pales at the mention of Lucas. After a moment's hesitation she opens the door wider and gestures for us to come in. I take a deep breath and follow Ana into the apartment. I run my finger along the hidden receiver on the lapel of my jacket and hope that Raul can hear everything that is being said and is recording it.
We walk into the small comfortable living room and before being invited to I take a seat on a sofa. Ana grins at me and sits down beside me resting her purse on her lap. Elizabeth, takes the sofa opposite us and starts fidgeting nervously and we know if we do this right we will get want we need.
"I had no idea Dr Lucas had lied about Gideon" Elizabeth begins and Ana holds up her hand to stop her.
"Stop, please don't insult my intelligence with your lies. We know exactly who Terrence Lucas was to you and we have the proof" she says as she pulls the photographs out of her purse.
Elizabeth's eyes widen as she sees her younger self with her arms wrapped around Lucas.
"Where did you get those?" she gasps.
"Anne Lucas, she was very helpful…do you remember her? She was Lucas' wife and she helped Gideon previously when he got him stripped of his licence to practice so she was only too happy to give us all these" I say.
If its at all possible Elizabeth pales even more at that information, but I ignore her discomfort as I continue.
"She was also the sister of the man who raped your son" I add coldly.
At this point Ana leans forward and I sit back and let my sister take over. "Elizabeth, we have discovered a number of very disturbing things and we need to know exactly what you knew and what you didn't know. Gideon deserves to know the truth and you have lied to him for long enough" Ana says.
Elizabeth juts her chin defensively and purses her lips. "I have no idea what you mean" she begins.
"Oh come off it!" I blurt out and Elizabeth just glares at me.
Ana shakes her head, "I'm sorry but I'm with Eva on this one. You knew, you knew Dr Terrence Lucas from your college days, you had a relationship with him for gods sake, did you go to him and ask him to lie about what had happened to Gideon for old times sake?" she asks.
"No I did not, I had no idea that Gideon had been abused… you know nothing about me, so stop throwing accusations around that you can't substantiate" Elizabeth snaps.
Ana smiles, "Oh you would be surprised what we have discovered about you, along with what came out of your own mouth it doesn't paint a pretty picture. How about we tell you what we think and then you can tell us if we are wrong or not?"
I look at Ana wondering where she is going with this, not only because we are bluffing that we know more than we actually do but because this is just giving Elizabeth the opportunity to deny everything. I look at Elizabeth once more as she shuffles uncomfortably but remains silent.
Ana looks unfazed which seems to make Elizabeth even more uncomfortable and she begins to calmly speak, "So, to begin with we know you, Eric and Geoff were at college together. You played them both. The three of you sexually abused your fellow students, Eric and Geoff did the deed while you got yourself off by watching them. One of your victims was Gideon's rapist Hugh Bryant and he was chosen because you wanted to see a man being fucked by other men. Which leads me on to my first question, when he showed up a few years later as the therapist for your traumatised son, surely you recognised him?" Ana asks and waits.
Elizabeth swallows hard and shakes her head, "No, I didn't… I mean I vaguely remembered him as someone I once knew. I didn't recall the name and his face was familiar but I didn't remember him as such," she says.
"But he remembered you" I put in coldly.
Ana nods, "And you engaging him was just the revenge he was looking for, except he took it out on an innocent child. Then you take Gideon to Dr Lucas, a man who you had previously had a relationship with, and who was so conveniently married to the sister of your son's rapist, surely you can see how this looks? It looks like you knew Gideon had been abused and you wanted to cover it up. You didn't want the scandal, after everything you had endured previously with Geoff and the ponzi scheme. You wanted to carry on with your new life and your new husband, and so you went to Dr Lucas as you knew he would help you cover up the abuse because he had a vested interest to do so as he would want to protect his wife from the blowback. If it came out her brother was a paedophile… not to mention the fact her brother was also a victim of yours, Eric's and Geoff's in college and there would be a very good chance that could come out if you pressed charges against him".
Elizabeth doesn't say anything but just shifts slightly in her seat and her silence speaks volumes. Ana has hit the nail on the head, but Elizabeth is admitting to nothing just as we suspected. Ana sighs and leans forward, "Does it not bother you at all? Is there no part of you that feels some kind of remorse for what Gideon endured as a child?" she asks gently.
Elizabeth remains silent and just turns her head away. I am trying so hard not to say something because I know if I go on the attack she will throw us out, but the fact she hasn't said anything says to me that thought never entered her head.
Ana sighs again, "Look, you are obviously not going to give us what we need for Gideon to give him the closure he deserves so I am just going to carry on telling you what we have uncovered and how that relates to what we believe happened at that time… you know you remind me so much of my own mother, she had something missing maternally and put her own needs before her child. I don't have children, but maybe some day in the future Christian and I will start a family and I know for a fact that if I had a child their wellbeing would be paramount before anything else, even Christian who is my world".
I nod in agreement; Gideon and I haven't discussed having children but my view on parenthood goes along the same lines and I would've thought any reasonable decent human being would share that view.
"It's not as simple as that" Elizabeth mutters quietly.
"What do you mean?" Ana asks and waits.
I see a tear fall down Elizabeth's cheek, I'm not sure if it is crocodile tears or she is genuinely emotional, but I stay silent and almost hold my breath at what she is going to say.
"I had no point of reference for parenthood. My late father - Senator Yarwood was a womaniser with some very dubious morals. I witnessed him fucking many women who weren't my mother from a young age. As I grew older, I found I enjoyed watching my father have sex – especially when the women were not… totally willing". She pauses and the shock is reverberating through me at what she is saying. I actually feel physically sick at her admission.
"Did your father ever find out that you watched him?" Ana asks as she looks equally repulsed by what she has heard.
Elizabeth nods, "Yes, I was fourteen and he discovered me watching. Instead of being angry… I was invited to join him… my father took my virginity".
Ana looks at me the shock and horror evident on her face.
"He took my virginity and… and… I enjoyed it" she whispers quietly.
I just want to get up and leave right now, this is far more shocking than I had ever anticipated. I never ever expected anything like this but it explains how Elizabeth was and how she behaved as her whole introduction to physical love was warped from a young age by a predator, and that predator should've been the one man who protected her rather than abused her.
"I knew" she says so quietly that we barely hear it.
"You knew what?" Ana asks.
"I knew Gideon had been raped, I heard him screaming for help and telling Hugh to get off and it hurt… I knew and I didn't do anything".
"Did you watch?" I blurt out before I can stop myself.
I go cold as I see the truth in her eyes briefly, she fucking did! But she shakes her head in denial.
"Of course I didn't" she states firmly. I look at Ana and she looks at me and the unsaid truth passes between us, she knew and she watched her own child being raped.
"Liar, I don't believe you. You watched and you did nothing, did you get off on it? Get off on watching your son being raped? Did it remind you of when your daddy raped you?" I spit.
"I didn't watch" she says weakly, but the denial is so half hearted we know it is a complete lie.
"I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore" I say and stand up. "I can't be in the same room as this fucking monster any longer" I add.
Ana nods, she is very pale and she shakily gets to her feet. "Let's go Eva, we won't ever get the truth out of her so it's pointless continuing. Gideon has us and his real family to support him and he is improving and slowly coming to terms with his past with the help of the therapist so I think we are done here" she says.
I pause and turn to look at Elizabeth, and I decide to play the final card I have. "You have one final chance to tell the fucking truth or your sordid past gets leaked to the media and your late daddy's legacy is ruined forever" I say. Ana's eyes widen as she realises what I am saying.
"I don't understand" Elizabeth says as fear appears in her eyes.
I flip the lapel of my jacket to reveal the receiver, "Everything that has been said here today has been recorded, and our security has heard every word" I say.
"What?" Elizabeth breathes, she looks as though she is about to collapse at this revelation.
"You fucked up your son's life so its only fair that I fuck up yours as you have got away with far too much for far too long" I say with a shrug.
I see the fear and anger as Elizabeth gets to her feet, "And what happens if I do tell you the truth? You will leak that to the media as well?" she snarls.
Ana shakes her head, "No, we only came here for the truth for Gideon's sake so he could have some sense of closure".
Elizabeth lets out an angry scream and throws up her hands, she looks demented and Ana and I actually take a step back. "It's all about fucking Gideon isn't it. Nobody actually gives a damn about what I went through, Ok yes I knew Terrence Lucas, and yes I went to him as I did not want the scandal of a rape and paedophilia case. I knew he was married to Hugh's sister and so I knew he had a reason to help me cover up the abuse".
"Which means you also knew who Hugh was when you engaged him as your son's therapist?" Ana asks.
Elizabeth shakes her head, "No, I didn't. I had no idea until he turned up at the house and then it was too late" she says.
"So, you were afraid he would reveal what had happened to him in college?" Ana asks and Elizabeth nods.
"Yes" she says simply.
"Did you watch Gideon being abused?" I ask.
"No" Elizabeth replies quickly, a little too quickly.
"Let's try that again, did you watch Gideon being abused?" I ask.
"No I didn't, not at first" she replies.
I go cold at that, "Not at first?" I say jumping on the final part of that denial.
"No, I didn't" she reiterates and I know there is no way she is going to admit to watching her own son being abused.
"She's lying" I say to Ana and she nods.
"I know" she replies simply, "But we got what we came for and that is the information that she knew Lucas and she colluded with him to cover up the abuse, that is what Gideon needed and we have it" she adds, before reaching for me.
"Come on, lets get out of here, I feel like I need a shower after listening to all that" Ana pauses and turns towards Elizabeth, "You are a very sick individual and you deserve everything that is coming for you and more with regard to the charges you are currently facing. But you have our word that what you revealed about your father will go no further as unlike you, Eva and I have integrity and we honour our word".
With that Ana comes to stand beside me and links her arm around mine and we leave Elizabeth's apartment without another word.