TIFFIN 4

21

The one thing I should have been focusing on was exhibits against Hero but instead dug deep into Ellie.  Never knew how little anyone knew about her despite how much she popped up in everyday issues. Even Luke barely spoke about the woman. Funny considering they dated. 

There was a game plan: tempt her to speak alone and convince her to see things from my side. The logical side. Years ago,  the sorority hopeful had been so sharp and witty only to become painfully docile. What happened? 

Well, that was an easy answer; Annie. She hid her true intentions so easily for many months. Made me believe we were friends, only to secretly have this dark personality that appeared at the slightest comment. For real. She'd switched so quickly it was scary. 

But now had become more so. There were several narcissistic tendencies riddled in her visit and... What had been said? Hero had done more than make the sex tape? Fuck. That just made everything more complicated. What else did he do? Would I hold it over him in court? 

Of course, it would need to come up.  God. Poor, poor Eleanor. How would she fare without her father in her life? 

Pulling myself out of this reverie, several Facebook profiles blared from the monitor, causing me to blanch. All these women seemed familiar, but Ellie looked so different. Blonde curls and black ink covering both arms. Yeah. They were innocent lambs compared to her.  But wait. 

Exiting the app I directed the cursor to another site that lightened a mental bulb: People Searcher. This made me seem like some weird stalker, but I needed to know her better to know how to breach changing sides. 

Expected this to take more than an hour, but to my surprise, took seconds for results to materialize. Okay. She was in her twenties and was attending Chico College and resided nearby and... What? 

Staring at the most depressing headline made me nearly reel back. Fuck. 

Pending Court Case: Thatcher VS Thatcher.

Immediately loading up the creepy article there were charges against an individual. But it wasn't Ellie's mugshot that appeared. No. Some greasy-looking man with bedraggled hair smiled showcasing crackled teeth. Below read: 

Darren Thatcher was recently arrested on counts of sexual assault and rape against his biological daughter. Sources have stated that there may be need to pursue incest charges seeing as his activity began when Ms. Thatcher was a teenager. It is a pending case which will decide whether Mr. Thatcher will see bail. 

Fuck. 

Standing from my office chair, I ran both hands through silky strands. This didn't excuse her poor behavior, but damn. Just how many people within Hero's inner circle fought their own demons? And that gross bastard that had done that to Ellie... 

Oh. Circling the entirety of the office, I suddenly remembered the comments he made at Jo's wedding. Concerning Kylie. That she had her own issues that couldn't be helped. Alright. I would question Ellie, but first, my concern was with her ex-friend. 

There were things to cover.  

Sorry for taking so long to update. 

Life is just crazy right now.

Please remember to comment what you think. ❣❣