Chapter 7 - Beatrice's Desperation
Two weeks later, the reality of Eleanor’s financial guillotine had firmly crushed Beatrice’s glamorous lifestyle.
The sprawling Harrington estate was filled with moving boxes instead of catered appetizer trays.
Beatrice was aggressively pacing the living room, screaming into her cell phone at her panicked husband.
“What do you mean the country club canceled our membership?!” Beatrice shrieked, her voice echoing in the empty, cavernous room.
“My mother cut off the corporate cards, Beatrice! We don't have the cash to pay the monthly dues!” her husband yelled back.
Beatrice threw the phone against the expensive leather sofa in a fit of absolute rage.
She refused to accept that a pathetic waitress and an eight-year-old brat had caused her total downfall.
Desperation makes arrogant people incredibly foolish, and Beatrice was no exception.
She decided that the only way to win back Eleanor’s favor was to prove that Clara was a gold-digging fraud.
Beatrice hired a shady private investigator using the last of her hidden emergency cash.
She ordered him to dig into Clara’s past, demanding any evidence of debt, criminal records, or scandalous behavior.
For five days, Beatrice waited anxiously in her half-empty mansion, dreaming of the moment she would expose Clara.
When the investigator finally called her back, Beatrice practically ripped the phone off the charger.
“What did you find? Tell me she has massive credit card debt!” Beatrice demanded breathlessly.
There was a long, uncomfortable sigh on the other end of the line.
“Lady, I dug through ten years of this woman’s life,” the investigator said bluntly.
“The only thing she does is work double shifts, pay her taxes early, and volunteer at a free pediatric clinic on weekends.”
Beatrice’s jaw dropped in sheer, unadulterated horror.
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“You’re telling me she’s actually perfect?” Beatrice whispered, the last shred of her sanity slipping away.
“I’m telling you that if you try to drag this woman’s name through the mud, you’re the one who is going to look like a monster.”
