Chapter 9 - The Erasure of Elise
While Julian was being formally handed over to a heavily armed FBI transport team, Elise was escorted to the edge of the estate.
She wore plain, inexpensive clothing purchased from a discount store, her designer wardrobe having been incinerated by Victoria’s staff.
In her hands, she held a cheap duffel bag containing exactly two pairs of jeans, three shirts, and a single pair of sneakers.
Clara and Victoria stood on the grand porch, watching the weeping girl shivering in the cool morning air.
“You signed the confession, so you get to walk away with your freedom,” Victoria said, her voice devoid of any maternal warmth.
“But your bank accounts are zeroed out, your credit cards are canceled, and your passport has been flagged.”
Elise looked up at them, her eyes red and puffy from days of relentless crying.
“Mom, please, how am I supposed to live? I don't know how to do anything!” Elise begged.
“You will get a job, just like the billions of regular people in the world,” Clara answered for her mother.
“If you ever attempt to contact the media, sell a book, or speak our names again, the confession goes to the district attorney.”
Elise dropped to her knees on the gravel driveway, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Clara, I’m your sister! You can’t just erase me!”
Clara looked down at her, feeling a brief flicker of sadness for the little girl they used to be, before crushing it completely.
“You erased yourself the moment you smiled while I was choking to death.”
Clara turned her wheelchair around and headed back into the warmth of the mansion, leaving Elise in the dust.
May you like
A black sedan pulled up, and two large men forcibly placed Elise inside, driving her away to a random bus station in a city three states over.
The Sterling family was finally cleansed of its poison.
