Thomas’s voice grew sharper, anger building with every word. “Your father was a coward, Noah. I cleaned up his messes, kept his secrets, and watched as he paraded around like the lord of the manor, while Lilian was the one who made all the decisions, the one who kept the family and the business going. Stephen was nothing but a figurehead and Eleanor…well, she was no better. She was a reckless, self indulgent and spoiled brat. She brought shame to this family. They both deserved what they got, a reckoning that was long over-do.”
Noah shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes, his voice cracking as he spoke. “El’s death was no accident, and she didn’t die in childbirth, did she?”
Thomas sat back, lacing his fingers together as he rested his hands in his lap. “No.” He answered quickly and coldly, showing absolutely no emotion in his response. “Oh, Stephen never meant to push her. I’m sure of that. He didn’t have the spine and he was quite remorseful when she fell. They had fought, just as Eric indicated in his letter. Eleanor was going to leave. She was going to expose Stephen and Lilian for keeping her here against her will and then she planned to sue Stephen for her inheritance. When she tried to go, Stephen grabbed her arm, she turned around and spat in his face. In a moment of blind rage, Stephen shoved her. She lost her balance and fell.
Stephen didn’t have a clue what to do then. Eric had heard the scream and came running. He was at Eleanor’s side in an instant, begging Stephen to call for help. Stephen panicked and called me. I advised them not to call for an ambulance. If Eleanor died, Stephen would be the main suspect and her child, if it survived, would be taken by social services. Lilian wouldn’t have that, of course, so instead of calling for help, we took her to her room.
Lilian desperately wanted that baby. You, Noah. We worried that Eleanor wouldn’t live long enough to deliver so Lilian decided to help her along by giving her a drug that induced labor. She’d researched this all months before and had everything she would need for a home birth. The plan had always been for Lilian to take the baby but after that, who knows. Maybe they would have let Eleanor leave. Paid her off to keep her mouth shut. I don’t really know. Anyway, it only took about an hour before her water broke and the contractions began. Lilian and Eric delivered the baby themselves, a healthy baby boy. Of course you already knew that.
Eleanor did survive the birth but she was weak, I doubt she would have lived much longer anyway, at least, not without proper medical care and we couldn’t take her to a hospital. The staff would ask questions, they would want to see the baby, the police would be involved. No, we had to keep it secret, only those of us who were present would know what happened that night. The other house staff knew about Eleanor but not about what happened that night. That was one reason Lilian had chosen to keep Eleanor on the third floor.
No staff besides Eric and myself were ever permitted to enter the third floor. Of course there were whispers, rumors, the staff back then liked to talk but they knew that Eleanor had problems with drug addiction so it made sense that we would want to keep such ugly business in the family, to avoid scandals. Besides, none of the staff wanted to risk losing their jobs. Lilian paid them well, better than any other domestic service job would have paid. It was a good incentive for them to keep their heads down and their mouths shut. But, we didn’t have to worry about that for too much longer anyway. As I said, Eleanor was weak and without proper medical care, well, I consider what Lilian did as a mercy killing, considering the poor girls condition.”
“Lilian?” Noah’s brain stuttered for a moment, every part of him pausing as his thoughts raced to catch up. He was sent reeling, unable or unwilling to comprehend what he had just heard. Thomas was lying, he had to be. There was just no way that Lilian could have done what he was accusing her of doing. No way in hell.
“How dare you!” Noah shouted, suddenly enraged. “She would never, could never, It’s not possible.”
Thomas’s eyes flickered with a dangerous light, his lips curling into a tight smile. “You don’t know Lilian the way I do.” Thomas told him. “You have no idea what she’s done or what she’s capable of doing to get what she wants and she wanted you, Noah. She wanted you more than anything. You were the one thing missing in her life. She wanted a child.
Initially, the plan was to have Eleanor give you up. Willingly or, if need be, forcefully. They believed it was in your best interest but over time, Lilian became more and more obsessed with the idea of having a child of her own. When it became clear that Eleanor wasn’t going to cooperate though, Lilian became desperate. If there was any chance that Eleanor could recover and take you away, any chance at all, then Lilian would lose the upper hand. She had to make sure that could never happen, and she could only think of one way to do that. I don’t think she had planned to murder Eleanor in the beginning but her fall had given Lilian the opportunity she needed. She confessed all of this time me after the fact, though I wouldn’t have tried to stop her even had a I known before hand.”
Thomas’s gaze shifted from Noah, his eyes following an invisible path to something far off, some distant memory. There was no pain in his expression, no remorse or guilt. Rather, he had a calm look of contentment as thought the memory he recalled was a happy one and not the memory of a murdered girl.
report “I suppose it was meant to be.” Thomas said and Riley swore he saw the man smile. “Your mother, Lilian, she sat right in this room, on that very couch and poured her heart out to me. Eleanor had just given birth. Eric had taken Noah into the other room and Lilian was left alone to tend to Eleanor. While she washed her, she began to feel this deep seeded rage building up inside. It was no secret that she hated Eleanor, always had. Eleanor had been born to privilege, everything handed to her on a silver platter while Lilian had had to claw her way out of poverty to be where she was. She felt that Eleanor had taken her privileged life for granted and Lilian hated her for it.
Now, she had a child and Lilian was certain that Eleanor couldn’t care for that child. Once she was gone, she would go back to her life of drugs, drinking, and wild parties, squandering the precious gift she had been given. Lilian’s anger turned to fear and in a moment of desperation, she took the pillow she’d been holding and put it over Eleanor’s face. Eleanor struggled for only a moment, too weak to fight back, and then, she went completely still.
Lilian removed the pillow and looked down. Eleanor had stopped breathing. She had no pulse, no sign of life, and when Lilian realized that she was gone, really and truly gone, she felt relief. You may think what she did makes her a monster but she did it for you, Noah. To protect you. To ensure that you were given the best chance at a full and happy life. What she did, she did out of love.”