Riley cocked an eyebrow then walked to the sofa and sat down as instructed, eyeing Lilian carefully. “I want the truth.” He said coolly. “No more games. I have a right to know what happened.”
“Oh, you’ll get the truth, boy. Just remember, you asked for it.” Lilian sat on the couch opposite Riley and lit a cigarette as she waited for Noah to take the empty seat beside him. She blew out a cloud of thin, gray smoke, and then began to speak…
“You’ve been reading Eleanor’s diary so it should come as no surprise to you when I say that Eleanor was an addict of the worst kind, pregnant. She would have been high or drunk throughout her entire pregnancy if Stephen and I hadn’t stepped in to help her. We gave her food, shelter, paid her medical expenses, and tried to give her a better life. Or, at least the chance at a better life. All that we did for her wasn’t enough for Eleanor though. She couldn’t give up the life style she had become so accustomed to. She didn’t care about us. She didn’t care about her child. She didn’t even care about herself. The only thing she did care about was getting her next fix.” Lilian flicked her ash into the crystal tray on the coffee table then leaned back against the couch and sighed.
“She tried to run away several times. Despite everything we had done for her she would have rather lived in squalor with her drug addict friends, spiraling further out of control. Eventually she would have ended up dead. Stephen was convinced that he’d get the call that she’d been found in an alley somewhere, or that her body had been discovered in a dump. That’s why he eventually stopped her allowance. He’d hoped that with no more money and no way to support herself she’d come home. She did, of course. When she found out she was pregnant she came back here looking for a hand out, demanding more money but Stephen wasn’t about to further fund her addiction. Not when there was an innocent child’s life at stake.
So, he gave her an ultimatum. Jail, or move back in here and let us help her. Either way she would be off the streets and with any hope, off the drugs. She chose to move back in here with the stipulation that she stay clean and follow our rules. No drugs, no alcohol, attend all her medical appointments, and she was never to see any of the low life gutter trash that she stupidly thought were her friends. She agreed but the transition wasn’t easy for her. The withdraws were terrible and her self harming behavior continued. We had to watch her 24/7 which was not an easy task.
I couldn’t deal with her twenty-four hours a day nor did I want to. She disgusted me. I’ll admit that. I was disgusted with how she’d turned out, how she let her life go down hill so badly. She came from a good family, had money, and was offered every opportunity to make something of herself but still she chose a lifestyle that was not only dangerous but unacceptable. She was a drain on this family and a huge embarrassment. All that I could forgive, but it was her total lack of concern for the well-being of her child that made me grow to hate her.
Stephen and I had been trying for a child, for years. After losing three pregnancies we decided to try fertility treatments. I had my hopes dashed so many times but we kept trying. I wanted children desperately and Stephen wanted an heir. Seeing Eleanor disregard the precious gift she had been given, to take that miracle for granted when I had tried and failed over and over again, well, it was more than I could handle. I hated her because she had everything that I wanted and yet she was willing to throw it all away just to serve her own selfish needs.
I told Stephen that I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t stand to look at her let alone be in the same room as her. Everything she said or did made me furious and I had to remove myself from the situation before I said or did something that I knew I’d regret. At this point it was the child that we were most concerned for. We couldn’t let her harm that baby. I couldn’t let her harm it. I wouldn’t. So, I spoke to Stephen and he agreed that we needed some help.
He placed an add for a companion slash caregiver and over the next two weeks we interviewed dozens of applicants until we came across Eric Morgan. I wasn’t too keen on an omega, especially since he had no prior work experience. At least not outside the home. I was about to dismiss him but then he told me how he’d recently been helping to care for his ailing mother. The way he spoke about her and all that he did for her on a daily basis touched me. He didn’t seem to resent her and he wasn’t angry that she’d fallen ill. There was sadness there, pain, and sympathy for her condition but there was also love.
I asked him who would take care of her if he were hired to look after Eleanor. He told me that his father had recently been let go from his job and was finding it difficult to find employment anywhere else. That’s why Eric was so desperate to get the job. He needed the money for his parents. We decided on an arrangement where Eric would stay at Reaney Hall through the week. His father would look after his mother and then on the weekends Eric would stay at his parents to help out and essentially give his father a break.
His task while working here was simple. Keep an eye on Eleanor, make sure she ate and took her medication, as well as provide companionship for her. Of course we told him of her attempts to run away and so he was ordered to accompany her everywhere. She should never, under any circumstances, leave the estate without a chaperon. Eleanor saw this as Stephen and I holding her prisoner here.” Lilian laughed as she took another drag from her cigarette. “We were merely trying to keep her and the baby safe. Of course she didn’t see it that way and would constantly beg us to let her leave.
Stephen had finally had enough and so he sat down with her one day and offered her a deal. She obviously didn’t like living under our rules and we obviously couldn’t let her jeopardize the life of her child. The fertility treatments weren’t working and I couldn’t take the constant disappointment of finding out I still hadn’t conceived. The solution seemed simple to us. We couldn’t keep Eleanor here against her will and we knew that she would be incapable of taking care of the baby once it was born.
She only had three months left and so Stephen proposed this, she remain with us until the baby was born then, agree to allow us to adopt the child and Stephen would write her a check for an amount that would sustain her until she turned twenty-one and her trust was released to her. After that, Stephen wanted nothing more to do with her. She was free to go, do what she wanted with her money, but she would never be welcomed back here again. I know it seems harsh but we gave her every opportunity to make a better life for herself and she refused our help at every turn. Eventually we had to wash our hands of her. We had the baby to think about now. At least we could save one of them.