Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 51 - Chapitre 60

Elena Vance and Julian Vane went down to the lobby.Sarah Jenkins follows with file.In lobby, Arthur Vane and Vivienne Montgomery are there. Three lawyers in black suits with them. Two security guards stand by front desk.Arthur sees Elena and Julian."You think you won, parasite?" Arthur says to Elena.Elena looks at him. She holds black box of letters."No," Elena says. "I think you lost."Vivienne steps forward. She holds phone."Julian bankrupted Montgomery," Vivienne says. "Fifteen percent is gone. You bought it at midnight."Julian nods."I bought it," he says. "Because you used embezzled money for Birkins."Arthur laughs."You will not keep board, Julian," Arthur says. "I have signature. Thomas Vance fraud. You hid him in private wing."Elena steps forward."Thomas Vance went to state prison," she says. "State infirmary said he will not survive six months without private care. Board approved transfer. You signed it, Arthur. To protect Vane stock."Arthur face goes white."Show

Elena Vance wakes up in the penthouse. Julian Vane beside her. Black box on nightstand. Elena takes the brass key and goes to the observation room with Julian. She turns off the cam screens. She turns off the kitchen cam in the old apartment. She turns off the lobby cam that watches her desk. Four more red lights go dark. Julian watches. "How many left?" Elena asks. "Ten left," Julian says. "Which ten?" she asks. "Your car outside cam, your new apartment door cam, Vane lobby entrance cam for safety, and seven old school cams I keep for memory," he says. Elena turns off old school cams. Seven lights go dark. "Why keep school cams?" she asks. "Because you were thirteen there," Julian says. "I was thirteen ten years ago," Elena says. "Turn off." Julian nods. Elena turns off. Now three cams left. Car, door, lobby entrance. "Keep those three for safety," Elena says. "Turn off rest." "Yes," Julian says. They leave the room and lock it with the brass key. Elena keeps key.

Julian's PoVElena doesn't ask me about it right away.That's what guts me. Anyone else would have started firing questions in that elevator. Is it true? How long? Did your mother ever come back?She just stands with her forehead against mine and lets me breathe.We get to the penthouse and she takes off her shoes by the door. Her star necklace is crooked. I fix it without thinking. She lets me."Arthur tried to buy you a ticket," I say finally."He did," she says."How much?""Two hundred thousand."I laugh and it comes out wrong. "Cheap."She sits on the couch and pulls her knees up. The black box of letters is still on the coffee table where she left it. She hasn't opened any new ones since last night."Tell me," she says. Not a demand. A permission.I sit opposite her because if I sit next to her I'll touch her and if I touch her I won't be able to say it straight."My mother left when I was six," I start. I hate this story. I've told it to three therapists and a priest and it nev

Elena's PoVWe get back to the penthouse at midnight. My dad's good day wiped me out.Julian disappears into his closet and comes back with a small black velvet box. Not the big ring box from when he was eighteen. This one is old. The velvet is worn at the corners."Sit," he says.I sit on the bed. I'm still wearing my dad's hospital smell on my sweater.He opens the box.Inside is my star necklace. My mom's star necklace. The one I've worn every day since I was thirteen. Except the chain is different.The original chain was thin, cheap, the clasp always stuck. My mom bought it at a drugstore. I never took it off, even when the chain left green marks.This chain is new. White gold. Small, strong links. The star is the same — same tiny scratches, same slightly bent point where I dropped it in seventh grade — but it's clean. It shines."You fixed it," I whisper."The clasp was broken," he says. "You told Sarah it broke last month and you were using tape. I took it while you were sleepin

Elena's PoV*My dad has another good day the next morning, and another the day after that. The doctor says it might be the new meds Julian's private cardiologist ordered, or it might just be that he has something to stay awake for now.I come every morning at nine with Julian. We bring Jell-O, even though he hates Jell-O. We bring stories.On the third good day, my dad is strong enough to sit in the chair by the window instead of the bed."You remember the day you got the star?" my dad asks me.I nod. I was thirteen. My mom was in hospice at home. She couldn't speak much anymore."Tell him," my dad says, pointing at Julian. "Tell him how she gave it to you."I touch the star. The new white gold chain catches the morning light from the window."She called me to her bed," I say. "She had the little drugstore box. She couldn't open it, her hands shook. I opened it. Inside was the star. She said, 'So something of me is always touching you, even when I can't.' She put it on me. The chain w