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“I’m glad to see you’re okay,” Claire said, not giving anything away.
“Yes, we all are,” Helena added with forced sincerity, while her gaze remained cautious. “Claire told us after visiting you at the hospital that it was just a bad case of the flu.”
“Actually, it was a bad case of arsenic poisoning,” Elle said bluntly as she approached the side of the table where Helena sat, while Hunter remained a few feet behind, arms crossed over his chest. “Another few days of consuming the arsenic and I probably would have died.”
“Arsenic poisoning?” Helena set her coffee cup down and had the audacity to look startled at that statement. “How is that possible?”
Elle stared down her stepmother. “It’s possible because you’ve been putting it into my tea leaves and sugar.”
Helena’s hand fluttered nervously to her throat, though her expression turned indignant. “That is an outrageous accusation, Elaina. What makes you think I’d do such a thing?”
“Because you recently took out a fraudulent second loan on this house to withdraw the equity, and you knew eventually I was going to find out and getting rid of me was your best option.”
Gwen, who was sitting next to her mother, now wore a nervous expression on her face, which reflected Helena’s growing apprehension. As far as Hunter was concerned, the two of them looked guilty as fuck, while Claire had grown quiet as she watched and listened as her mother adamantly denied her involvement.
Helena sat up straighter in her chair, contempt and righteous anger radiating off her. “You have absolutely no proof to back up your preposterous claims.”
“I do,” Claire finally said as she met her mother’s narrowing gaze. “I saw you put something into Elle’s tea leaves and sugar and watched where you put the bottle of arsenic. And when you left the house, I took a picture of the poison so I’d have proof, just in case something happened to Elle.”
Fury flared in Gwen’s eyes as she glared at her sister, her jaw clenched tight. “Shut. Up.”
“No, I’m not going to shut up!” Claire shouted and stood up from her seat at the table, unleashing her own anger on Gwen and Helena. “You could have killed Elle and that’s not something I wanted on my conscience. You two treat her like she’s a pariah in this house when Elle has done nothing to deserve it, and I’m tired of watching her suffer.”
Then, surprisingly, Claire turned tear-filled eyes to Elle, her features apologetic and etched with genuine remorse. “I’m so sorry, Elle, for anything I’ve said or done to hurt you, and for me it stops here. And I need you to know, whatever these two are conspiring against you, I have no part of.”
“I know,” Elle said, clearly believing the other girl, while Hunter silently applauded Claire’s courage for supporting Elle and for standing up against her sister and her corrupt and vicious mother.
Claire ran out of the room, leaving Elle to face the other two women at the table, who were trying to smother their fear beneath disdainful, superior expressions that did nothing to deter Elle from her goal. She set the dossier on the table and slid it toward Helena, who didn’t dare touch it.
“This is an extensive and thorough investigative report on you, past and present,” she told her stepmother, her voice level and confident. “And inside, there are printouts of the loan documents that were fraudulently signed and notarized and are clearly not my signature.” Elle shifted her gaze to Gwen, who was trying to remain composed. “Considering that the bulk of the equity money is sitting in a personal savings account in your name, it’s clear that you were part of this reprehensible plan of Helena’s.”
Hunter expected Gwen to deny any involvement, but both women were starting to realize just how much eviden
ce Elle had against them and remained quiet.
Elle returned her attention to her stepmother, her gaze direct and unwavering. “So, here’s how it’s going to go, Helena, and know right up front that there is no room for negotiation, because my offer is far more generous than you deserve. Either you do exactly as I say or I will press charges against you for attempted murder and financial fraud. Same goes for you, Gwen, because I’m guessing that if a handwriting expert took a close look at my signature on the loan documents, they’d find that a lot of the variation of letters and characteristics are yours, not mine. You’ll both spend years in prison.”
Judging by the panic in Gwen’s wide eyes and Helena’s pursed lips, Elle had finally struck a nerve and they both knew they were screwed. There was too much evidence against them to balk.
“What do you want?” Helena asked, the haughtiness not so strong this time.
“To start with, I want everything signed over to me,” Elle said calmly. “This house. The realty company. And the four hundred thousand dollars in equity you stole from me.”
Helena swallowed hard, her initial anger ebbing into despair. “That . . . that will leave me with nothing.”
“I think it’s a fair trade for not going to jail for a very long time.” Elle shrugged, holding firm on her more than charitable deal. “I also want both of you out of this house and gone in one week.”
Helena gasped. “We can’t possibly move out in a week’s time! Where are we going to go?”
“That’s not my issue, it’s yours.”
Her stepmother abruptly rose, as if standing toe to toe with Elle would make her seem more intimidating. “You can’t do this,” she said, and there was no mistaking the desperation threading her voice or the fear in her eyes.
“I can, and I will,” Elle replied simply, not backing away from how close Helena had positioned her body. “You’ve pushed me around and manipulated me long enough, and you’ve taken far too much that belongs to me. I refuse to let you have anything more. I want you out of my life. For good. Accept all my terms and walk away with your freedom, or I’ll press charges and you go to jail. The choice is yours.”
“Either way, I’ll end up with nothing,” Helena hissed bitterly.
“As it should be,” Elle replied unemotionally. “None of what you currently have belongs to you. It never did. It’s mine, Helena, and I want it back. So, what will it be?”
