Chapter 2 - The RecordingRichard couldn't move.
Victoria moved first.
She grabbed for the phone.
Richard pulled it away.
“Give me that.”
“No.”
“Richard, you don't understand.”
“I heard you.”
“It isn't what it sounds like.”
He stared at her.
“What could that possibly sound like besides a threat?”
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
“She provoked me.”
Richard looked at his paralyzed seventy-year-old mother.
Then back at Victoria.
“She provoked you?”
“I was angry.”
“You told her she'd be dead.”
“I didn't mean it.”
Emily stood beside Eleanor.
“She meant it when she threw the vase.”
Victoria turned on her.
“Shut your mouth!”
Richard stepped between them.
Victoria immediately realized what she'd done.
Her expression softened.
“Richard…”
He didn't recognize her anymore.
Or perhaps, he thought, he was finally recognizing her.
Security arrived.
Richard ordered them to remain outside the bedroom.
He did not want anyone touching Victoria until police arrived.
Victoria stared.
“You're calling the police on your own wife?”
“Yes.”
Her expression changed.
“Then you'd better call them on yourself.”
Richard frowned.
Victoria pointed toward Emily.
“You assaulted her.”
Silence.
Richard looked at Emily.
Victoria smiled faintly.
“You slapped an employee in front of witnesses.”
Richard's shame deepened.
Victoria continued:
“If I go down, Richard, you're going with me.”
Emily said quietly:
“He already knows what he did.”
Victoria stared at her.
Emily continued:
“That's the difference between you.”
Victoria lunged toward her.
Richard caught Victoria's wrist.
“Enough.”
She stared at his hand.
Then at him.
“Let go.”
Richard released her immediately.
Police arrived fifteen minutes later.
Emily gave her statement.
Eleanor tried.
Her speech was weak and fragmented, but understandable.
Victoria denied everything.
Then the officer watched the recording.
Victoria's confidence changed.
She claimed the recording had been taken out of context.
Richard watched her lie.
Smoothly.
Naturally.
Without hesitation.
He wondered how many times he'd watched her do exactly that without realizing it.
When police escorted Victoria from the bedroom, she stopped beside him.
“You'll regret this.”
Richard didn't answer.
She leaned closer.
“You have no idea what your mother has done.”
Eleanor's eyes widened.
Victoria noticed.
A strange satisfaction crossed her face.
Then she was taken downstairs.
Richard turned toward his mother.
“What did she mean?”
Eleanor looked away.
“Mom.”
Tears ran down Eleanor's face.
Emily gently touched Richard's arm.
“Not now.”
Richard looked at her.
The bruise on her cheek stopped him.
He immediately stepped away.
“I'm sorry.”
Emily said nothing.
“I was wrong.”
Still nothing.
“I should never have touched you.”
Emily finally looked at him.
“No.”
“You shouldn't have.”
Richard swallowed.
She continued:
“You didn't slap me because you knew what happened.”
“You slapped me because someone gave you a person to blame.”
Richard lowered his head.
“You're right.”
Emily returned to Eleanor.
Richard didn't ask for forgiveness.
He hadn't earned it.
Then Eleanor whispered:
“Emily…”
Emily leaned closer.
“Yes?”
“Closet.”
Richard looked up.
Eleanor's trembling eyes moved toward the bedroom closet.
Emily opened it.
Nothing seemed unusual.
Then she noticed scratches along the inside edge.
The closet door could be locked from outside.
Emily looked at Eleanor.
“Did Victoria lock you in here?”
Eleanor shook her head.
Then whispered:
“Me… no.”
Richard frowned.
“Who?”
Eleanor began crying.
She forced out two words.
“Your father.”
May you like
Richard went completely still.
His father had died six months earlier.
Related Stories
