Digging Up Dirt

Eloise and Chadwick Paternal Grandparents POV

Kids can be cruel. There is no denying that but usually they outgrow that by the time they get into junior high and high school. That is, if they have parents who are raising them right to have respect, morals and a kind heart. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that Veronica has, or ever really had, any of those qualities. To be honest, I'm absolutely shocked that Oscar married and stayed married to such an evil woman. Actually, I take that back. There was a time when she was charming and sweet and captured my son's heart. That was in the beginning when they first met and up until after James was born. Although, when we met her before they got married there was something about her that raised a red flag. I couldn't help but think that she was a spoiled, self-entitled and materialistic person. We stayed out of that as much as possible, though we did encourage Oscar to have the proper legal documents written up to protect him and his assets. Thankfully, he listened to that advice, considering he didn't listen to us when we told him what we thought about her. Love makes you do crazy things, though I'm not sure what they have could be considered love.

The really noticeable changes took place after James was two years old and Oscar was out on deployments regularly. We noticed Veronica was having us watch him a little more than usual, which wasn't really an issue because it gave us time to spend with our grandson. It also gave us a chance to teach him some morals and respect. We also took advantage of the opportunity to allow us to discipline him. To us, it was kind of a win-win in the sense that we could be involved in his upbringing as well as being the best grandparents we could be.

In the beginning, she didn't seem to mind us stepping up and helping care for James. After all, he was our first grandchild and we were excited to have him in our lives. We did notice that as time went on, we were watching him a lot more often than usual and it usually coincided with when Oscar was deployed. After a while, when James around two years old, we were notified by friends and colleagues of my husband's that she was seen out and about hanging around bars and clubs and socializing with different men. Now, there's nothing wrong with having friends of the opposite sex, we all do, but there is a difference between making a point of being alone with other men and being with a group of people.

It was at this time that my husband and I decided to keep an eye on her and her activities. Chadwick, my husband, had contacted our friend Scott, the Chief Warrant Officer and Master Chief, to have a couple of people monitor her activities. While that was being done, we spoke with our attorneys and had them start digging into her background. What we found was surprising to say the least. Oscar has been gone for two weeks of a month deployment and we were waiting for information to come in so we were prepared to show it to him when he returned.

I was on the patio enjoying the warm afternoon sun when I heard Chadwick come in.

"Ellie! Where are you?" I roll my eyes as I hear him ask, more like holler, looking for me. It never ceases to amaze me that no matter the rank of a man they still think it's ok to yell in the house.

"Yes dear, I'm out back." I answer, my tone much quieter than his intentionally. He knows better than that. I'm not someone who he can command and bark orders at. I'll be damned if I'm going to let him yell in our home, especially at me.

It doesn't take him long to figure out where I am. I have my back to the door so I can't see him but I can feel his presence as he exits the house. I smell his aftershave long before I feel the stubble on his chin graze my cheek.

"Sorry, Love. I forgot my head for a moment. Forgive me?" He asks, then I feel his warm lips press on my cheek gently. His deep baritone voice combined with the raspy feel of his stubble sends chills throughout my body and I can't hold back a shiver.

"Oh I don't know. I'll have to think about it." I smile slyly and reach my hand up to caress his face.

There's a brief pause then I hear him sigh. I can feel the tension radiating off of him. "What's wrong dear? Do you want a drink before dinner?"

"Ellie, I need you to come to the study with me. Scott is waiting for us." His response is vague and leaves me with trepidation and a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"What did he find?" I breathe out. If he's here then there must be something interesting. God, I hope it's nothing bad.

He holds out his hand to help me stand up and I follow behind him to our study. Walking in, Scott is standing in front of the picture window.

"Good afternoon Scott. Would you like something to drink?" I smile and he turns to face me.

"Eloise, you look lovely as ever. Wick is a lucky man." He glances at Chad with a smirk on his face, as he kisses both of my cheeks. His smirk grows into a full-on smile and a hearty laugh at Chad's response.

"Scott, your luck may run out if you're not careful." Chad growls then ends with a laugh.

Most of the people who work closely with Chad call him Wick. I'm fairly certain I'm the only one who calls him Chad. At least I better be the only one, otherwise we're having a little chat and he's going to end up keeping the couch company.

"Please, Love, come in and have a seat." Chad extends his hand once again indicating for me to sit on the couch in front of the window. He sits next to me and Scott sits across from us in one of the chairs.

"OK Scott, spill it. What did you find?" I want to get this conversation going, no more dilly-dallying.

Thirty minutes later I'm sitting in front of Scott, papers strewn across the coffee table, and my jaw is almost on the floor. To say I'm stunned is an understatement. It takes me a moment to gather my wits after the bombshell that was just unleashed.

"I KNEW there was something about her! That gold-digging little bitch!" I half hiss, half shout. "Who the fuck does she think she's messing with? I'll be damned if I'm letting her get away with this." I'm spitting mad and already plotting my revenge.

I hear a chuckle to my left and turn to see Chad smirking. "Love, calm down. While I find it extremely sexy for you to use such vulgar language, I highly doubt that Scott wants to know about it." He laughs as my eyes grow wide at his comment. I'm pretty sure he was trying to diffuse the situation, and believe me it worked, because Scott looked stunned and I couldn't help laughing.

"Sorry Scott, but it is what it is." I laugh and shrug.

"All silliness aside, it's crazy how we were looking for one thing and found something completely different that is just the cherry on top." The irony is not lost in his tone as he continues, "You're right Eloise, she is a gold digger, and she most certainly cannot be trusted." I sit and listen as Scott tells me everything they've uncovered.

Veronica's maiden name is Hartwick. According to the research, she and her family are descendants of the founder of a college in New York in the 1700's. Her father Preston and mother Joann are very upstanding people who are well respected and trusted in their community. They are not military directly but they have connections to military and are well known in most communities through their fundraisers and foundations they've built to help the people who need it.

Veronica is far from being a socialite like her mother. Her mother puts all her effort into their various fundraisers and foundations. She forces Veronica to participate in some things by using her trust fund as an incentive, hoping the experiences will give her a starting point to being less self-centered and more giving. So far it hasn't worked, it's only brought attention to her blemishes. She never had a close relationship with her father and mother yet, shockingly, they still set up a trust fund worth $5 million for her that she would have full access to once she turned twenty-one. Once she had access to the trust she focused all her time on spending and enjoying her money. She did nothing of significance, no schooling, no career and not even a regular job crossed her mind. She was too busy socializing and trying to impress people with her status. The only indication of her continuing to stay in contact with her parents are the yearly contacts at the typical Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, other than that, there's silence from both sides.

The deeper we dig into her history the more peculiar it becomes. Veronica has a younger brother, Bruce, who's been in and out of jail for most of his life. His arrest record is littered with various convictions; assault with a deadly weapon, menacing, stalking, domestic violence and attempted sexual assault. The Hartwick's set him up with a trust as well, but there is a stipulation that in order for him to receive access to the funds he has to be free of convictions, charges and any crime related activities for five consecutive years. Based on the information we have, it's unlikely that he will ever gain access but miracles do happen so it's possible. There is a sign that Veronica and Bruce have kept in touch with each other periodically. It seems like once a year they communicate in some way and she loses about $100,000 while Bruce seems to have a windfall around the same time. Obviously, they are close enough that she helps him out when he asks for it.

The information that was proof enough to us about Veronica were the statements and paperwork that showed that she was running out of money. She's spent most of her trust money and she's not been working or doing anything to save back up or investing or anything. She needs a living, breathing, walking bank account who will allow her to do whatever she wants. Finally we are able to take something concrete to Oscar and show him what her true intentions are.

Regarding the socializing she's been caught doing, we're still gathering information on that. We want solid proof, and an abundance of it, just in case something happens in the future. She seems like the type to stop at nothing to get what she wants and we're here to protect Oscar and James' interests. With that knowledge, we've decided to let the investigation continue and present our findings when Oscar returns from deployment.