Chapter 4 - The Church Scandal
Eleanor bailed herself out by maxing out three different credit cards. Her first instinct wasn't to lay low; her first instinct was to control the narrative.
That Sunday, she put on her best cream sweater and dragged Arthur to the Crestwood Community Church. She intended to play the victim, to tell her wealthy friends that her unstable, vindictive daughter had staged a misunderstanding to steal her money.
But I had already played my hand.
I hadn't just given the police report to my lawyer. I had anonymously mailed a copy of the 911 transcript, along with a photo of Chloe in the hospital bed, to every member of the church's board of elders.
When Eleanor walked into the sanctuary, the chatter died instantly. It was a deafening, suffocating silence.
She walked toward her usual front-row pew, smiling nervously. But Mrs. Gable was sitting there. Mrs. Gable stood up, looked Eleanor up and down with absolute disgust, and spat on the floor right in front of my mother's designer shoes.
"Child abuser," Mrs. Gable said loudly.
The pastor approached Eleanor. He didn't offer a prayer. He pointed to the heavy wooden doors at the back of the church.
May you like
"Eleanor. Arthur. You are no longer welcome in this congregation," the pastor said, his voice carrying through the silent room. "Leave."
Eleanor turned bright red, her mouth opening and closing like a suffocating fish. She ran out of the church in tears. The social exile had officially begun.
