Chapter 14 - The First Wife's VoiceJulian's next attack arrived on Friday morning.
A video appeared online.
It showed Elise during her rehabilitation, sitting in a softly lit room.
Her face was partially obscured by medical dressings.
A woman outside the frame asked whether she believed certain people intended to harm her.
Elise nodded.
"They'll find me."
"Who will?"
"The Cross family."
The unseen woman spoke soothingly.
"Could that be part of the fear you've experienced since the fire?"
Elise began crying.
"I know what they did."
The video ended.
Within an hour, television commentators were debating whether Elise was suffering from a persistent delusion.
Julian's public relations team issued a statement expressing concern for her health and warning against exploiting a vulnerable woman.
Nora watched the clip in Priya's conference room.
"Where did they get that?"
Elise looked physically ill.
"It was recorded during a therapy session."
Priya paused the screen.
"We need to establish the source and whether it was lawfully obtained."
"Julian's people released it," Nora said.
"We don't know that yet."
Elise's breathing quickened.
"That was September 2023."
She looked at the frozen image.
"They kept telling me that the people I remembered couldn't have done those things."
Nora sat beside her.
"What happened in that session?"
Elise stared at her hands.
"I was afraid. I couldn't sleep. Every time a door opened, I thought someone had come to kill me."
"That doesn't mean you were wrong."
"No. But it doesn't mean every fear I had was accurate, either."
Nora looked at her.
Elise's honesty surprised her.
For days, she had watched both families make absolute claims.
Julian insisted Elise was delusional.
Celia insisted the first wife's return was a calculated fraud.
Edward had insisted he knew nothing.
Elise was the first person willing to acknowledge uncertainty without surrendering the truth.
"I was confused about some things," she continued. "Pain medication, nightmares, missing weeks. I still struggle with details."
She swallowed.
"But I know who I am."
Nora took her hand.
"I believe you."
Elise looked up.
Nora had not intended the words to sound so final.
Yet they did.
For the first time since the wedding, Elise's face softened.
"Thank you."
Priya returned to her computer.
"We should obtain the full recording through proper legal channels. A selective clip doesn't establish what happened before or afterward."
Tessa entered carrying a printed page.
"I spoke to someone at the rehabilitation facility."
Priya looked up sharply.
"Be careful. We don't want anyone violating patient confidentiality."
"I didn't request medical records. I asked whether the facility would comment on the public release."
"And?"
"They referred me to a lawyer. But the video file contains a visible timestamp and a facility room number."
She placed the page down.
"The facility is saying it has no record of authorizing public distribution."
Elise looked at her.
"That recording was supposed to be private."
Priya nodded.
"Then whoever disclosed it may face serious questions."
Nora stood.
"I want to see Julian."
Priya frowned.
"I strongly advise against meeting him alone."
"I'm not planning to."
They arranged the encounter through attorneys in a neutral conference room later that afternoon.
Julian arrived with counsel.
Nora came with Priya and Tessa, who waited outside.
The moment he saw her, his expression softened.
"Nora."
She remained standing.
"Did you release Elise's therapy video?"
Julian sat down.
"There's been a great deal of misinformation."
"Did you release it?"
"Her mental condition is relevant to the accusations she's making."
"That's not what I asked."
His attorney intervened.
"My client won't discuss confidential medical material without an appropriate legal basis."
Nora looked at Julian.
"You knew people would see that video and think she was crazy."
Julian's jaw tightened.
"Elise went through a devastating trauma."
"She also went through a marriage to you."
He leaned forward.
"Do you have any idea what our marriage was like?"
Nora hesitated.
It was the first time he had offered to discuss it without sentimental restraint.
"Tell me."
"She stopped trusting everyone. My mother. Our accountants. Me."
"Why?"
"She thought money was disappearing."
"Was it?"
Julian's eyes flashed.
"You don't understand how corporate financing works."
"Then explain why $12.4 million designated for housing ended up in payments to a company that appears to have provided almost no services."
His attorney moved.
"Julian—"
But Julian was already speaking.
"That money was temporarily redirected as part of a restructuring."
Nora stared.
He stopped.
The room became still.
Priya leaned forward.
"Mr. Cross, are you acknowledging the funds were redirected?"
His attorney rose.
"This meeting is over."
Julian looked at Nora.
She could see him realizing what he had said.
Not a complete confession.
Not enough to prove fraud by itself.
But he had confirmed a fact he'd previously avoided.
Nora spoke quietly.
"Elise wasn't imagining the missing money."
Julian looked away.
"Nora, please."
"You knew she was right about that."
He stood.
"You're making this into something it isn't."
She shook her head.
"No. I think you've spent years making it into something it isn't."
He approached the door.
Then stopped.
Without turning, he said, "Elise was never supposed to see those records."
Nora froze.
Julian's attorney caught his arm.
"Don't say another word."
Julian walked out.
Priya waited until the door shut.
Then she turned toward Nora.
"That may be important."
Nora looked at the empty doorway.
What frightened her wasn't that Julian had admitted Elise was investigating the records.
It was the meaning beneath his final sentence.
May you like
He hadn't said Elise was wrong.
He'd said she was never supposed to see them.
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