Chapter 8 - ELEANOR’S COUNTERATTACK
Eleanor did not retreat.
She attacked.
She filed a civil claim saying the house was held in constructive trust for the Collins family because my mother allegedly acquired it through insider knowledge during Westbridge’s collapse.
A creative argument.
Weak.
But expensive.
Then she claimed ACR Holdings was created with my knowledge.
False.
Then she leaked photos of my bruises online and called them “self-inflicted evidence staging.”
I nearly vomited.
The public fight began.
Local gossip pages.
Neighborhood Facebook groups.
Anonymous comments.
Gold-digger.
Liar.
Daughter of a thief.
Thomas wanted to respond publicly.
Dana said no.
Documents first.
Then Eleanor produced an old letter from my mother.
Anne to a colleague:
I finally got the Collins property.
Out of context, ugly.
Full letter:
I finally got the Collins property transferred from foreclosure inventory. I hate seeing families lose homes, but at least the bank accepted a fair bid and the property won’t sit abandoned.
Context changed everything.
That became our strategy.
Full records.
Not fragments.
Then Eleanor claimed my father manipulated the county clerk.
Rebecca Sloan had never met him.
That failed.
Then she attacked Julian.
Said he acted alone.
Melissa too.
Everyone else.
Her narrative required Eleanor to be the only innocent person surrounded by conspirators.
Hard to sustain.
Then prosecutors found payments from ACR to a private investigator.
Target:
Me.
For eighteen months.
Photos.
Work schedule.
Bank visits.
Meetings with Dad.
Why monitor me?
Eleanor wanted to know when I started asking questions.
Then one report said:
Subject met with divorce attorney.
I had not.
I met with a business attorney.
Eleanor misread it.
After that date, the pressure escalated.
They thought I was leaving before I was.
Fear created aggression.
Again.
Then the private investigator admitted Eleanor asked whether there was “anything usable” to prove instability or infidelity.
Nothing.
So she built a narrative anyway.
May you like
The notebook’s incapacity plan was not theoretical.
It was already being prepared.
