A year after businessman Eric Trost lost his wife and son under mysterious circumstances, he took a new woman as his bride. Just as they say their vows, the unthinkable happens.
“My lovely Sylvia,” Eric Trost toasted, holding a champagne glass on high. “A year ago, I was inconsolable with grief. I was alone, unsure of where to turn after my ex-wife ran away with my only son. When the police eventually closed the investigation, assuming they were both dead, you turned up and gave me something new to fill my heart with.”
The doors of the large hall the wedding had congregated in whispered open, filling Eric’s pause perfectly.
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The groom continued, “Now I stand here looking at you, at how breathtaking you are, and all I can think is…”
Eric fell silent, staring as a small crowd of his friends gathered in the main walkway parted to let a feminine figure through.
“Is…”
He kept staring, his bride becoming slightly anxious. As the figure approached the pulpit behind the pair waiting to be bound in matrimony, Eric’s glass slipped from his now dangling hand.
“This is impossible,” Eric mumbled into his microphone, just loud enough to be audible.
His new bride, Sylvia, followed his gaze, puzzled by the indignant, black-haired woman strutting closer and closer. Before she could enquire what was going on, the intruder stopped at the bottom of the small set of stairs leading up to the bride and groom, smiled wanly at Sylvia, then turned her attention to Eric.
“Eric, would you mind explaining?” the ebony-haired woman probed, but Eric kept staring in disbelief, champagne slowly swirling around the sole of his shoe.
“No? In that case, allow me.”
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The crowd dispersed at Eric’s request, leaving the three alone. The woman began by saying her father named her Moira, hoping the name would carry on his legacy of good fortune. At first, it seemed the name was apt. She excelled in school, and her dad, Reinardt, quickly adopted her as his protégé.
Together, they built a business that could barely be rivaled by any of their competition. Moira sunk her entire life into the business, working her fingers to the bone to ensure her father could see the company was rock-solid before he passed away.
When she married Eric, her dear dad thought the future was even brighter. Eric presented himself as a fine young man. “As he undoubtedly did to you as well,” she quipped. Reinardt gave his blessing, and Eric and Moira got married.
At first, life was great. They had tons of laughs, went on exotic trips, and truly enjoyed each other’s company. Eric seemed distracted every now and again, but Moira chalked it up to his failure to get a decent job.
“Don’t misunderstand, he is a bright guy — brilliant and well-read. People just seemed to shy away from him when it came to business deals. But he worked hard and tried to prove himself to every prospective employer,” Moira assured.
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After a while, the old CEO’s health went downhill, and his daughter took over the company altogether. Although Reinardt was getting frailer by the day, she wanted to make him proud, so she kept her nose to the grindstone, helping the company dominate the competitors. Vacations were a thing of the past, and the business became her priority.
After a while, she fell pregnant. Moria had never considered having a baby but was overjoyed when she heard the news. The only problem was that the company heavily relied on her, and she couldn’t be a devoted mom while keeping the company afloat. So, Eric took over. Moira shrugged, “As I said, he was brilliant and well-read.”
Shocked and now apprehensive, Eric held his tongue.
Eventually, Reinardt passed away, but the business ran like a well-oiled machine, and the couple’s baby boy was as fit as a fiddle. Only, Eric was never home. He barely spent one night per week at home and was acting secretive.
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“Now, I should have seen the signs. Most people would have seen it ages before I stumbled onto it. But you never look for something you don’t want to find,” Moira contemplated.
One day, the dutiful mother stumbled upon a pair of lingerie in his office when she went to look for an old photograph of her dad. Then she found the other woman in his contact list, and things spiraled out of control.
“‘I swear, it’s not what you think,’ Eric lied to me.”
“‘I bought it for you. I only had to take it out of the packaging to ensure it was the right fit.’ Silly lies at that,” she sneered.
Moira’s story was briefly interrupted by Eric’s protests. He looked pleadingly at his new bride and blurted, “I swear, none of this is true. You’ve known me for a year now. You must trust me.”
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“Hah! A year?” Moira laughed.
“I knew him for four. Four years, and he turned on me the moment I confronted him with the threat of divorce. He just couldn’t let go of the comfortable little fortune I had placed at his feet like a naive little girl.” While Eric ran the company, he made connections. Most people saw him as the rightful CEO, and he had the force of many skillful lawyers behind him.
In answer to Moira’s demand for a divorce, Eric pulled out his trump card. The slimy scoundrel had gathered false evidence alleging his wife was an unfit mother.
He presented her with images of her bruised child taken out of context, claims of drunkenness and substance abuse, and even accusations that she had poisoned her father to take his company.
Moira added, “Of course, Eric portrayed himself as a sweet little hard-working husband who was strung along for the ride.”
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“You realize this is all just hearsay, woman?” Eric interjected again.
“None of this can be proven, and none of it is admissible in court. You don’t have a leg to stand on,” he smirked.
Moira took a deep breath, rolled her eyes dramatically at the increasingly concerned Sylvia, and sighed, “Eric, if you want to get out of here with some of your dignity intact, I suggest you let me finish regaling your dear bride with this interesting tale.”
Shocked and now apprehensive, Eric held his tongue.
“As I was saying. I gave in with the threat of losing my son hanging over me. I submitted myself to Eric, who kept his position in the company and forced me to live my life away from everyone I knew.”
Moira picked her way through the river, careful not to leave a trail.
Moira became a recluse, unable to contact anyone or save herself. But she did so for her son.
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The only place that offered her some respite was a cottage outside the city, the only place that still reminded her of her dad.
“I went there often to clear my head,” she said solemnly.
“Oh, I know the cottage,” Sylvia chimed in, for the first time starting to show signs that the story seemed genuine. “Eric took me there often. We had our first real date there.”
“So did we. My treat at the time. It seems Eric can’t come up with anything original,” Moira replied.
Erik merely snarled, too anxious to hear what ace his ex-wife had up her sleeve.
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“Anyway, one night, about a year ago, I needed some time away from the property Eric and I had bought together.”
“The penthouse?” Sylvia asked.
“Exactly.”
The penthouse had become like a large cage, smothering Moira. So, she took little Elliot, her son, got in the car, and drove to the cottage. Eric was aware of her movements since he had had a tracker installed in the car and cameras in each property. Nonetheless, it felt like a temporary escape.
The night was dark, and the road was slippery from the pouring rain. It took about an hour to get to the cottage, with the city giving way to thick woods after about 35 minutes. Once the trees started appearing in Moira’s peripheral vision, she relaxed. Her shoulders sagged, and she felt the stress leave her body, even if it was only a brief respite.
But this wasn’t Moira’s usual getaway. Despite Eric’s constant surveillance, she had decided to risk an attempt at escape. She had transferred enough of her father’s money to a private account to support her and Elliot for a while and would make a break for it once she parked the car at the cabin.
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Feeling like everything would work out, she switched on the radio, taking her eyes off the road for a brief second. Suddenly, the car rocked, the suspension howling like it was about to shatter, and the tires drumming a rapid, erratic pattern. The world tilted, and the earth slowly orbited around her head as she glanced out the window. As everything exploded in an ear-shattering noise, she realized what had happened.
All Eric could do was reel from the shock, and he jumped to his feet.
When she woke up, it was still dark, and Elliot was wailing in his seat next to her. In a rush, she unbuckled him and headed for the door, luckily finding a way out of the wrecked car that didn’t require too much effort.
The car had crashed into the bend of a shallow stream, and everything was wet. Moira changed Elliot’s clothes and kept him warm but had no idea what to do about the car. Suddenly, she realized that the accident could work in her favor. It was merely a terrible accident that took the lives of Eric’s wife and son.
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Moira made her way through the river, careful not to leave a trail. She knew Eric would be busy that night, so she had ample time to find her way through the thick forest. After an exhausting hike, the forest thinned out, revealing a large, empty pasture.
Dawn was just starting to break, and she moved her way through the field with much more ease, eventually coming to a stop in front of an old farmhouse. The mother knocked on the door, waking an old farmer and his wife. After a hearty breakfast, warm tea, and a change of clothes, Moira felt much better and put Elliot to bed.
She didn’t tell the sweet old couple everything, but they surmised enough to let her stay until she knew what to do next. There was an unused house on the plot of land, which she rented from them, and Moira helped out with many of the animals.
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Moira paused for a bit, catching her breath. The three sat in a tight circle facing each other beneath rows of white linen and dangling candles.
“And now, here I am,” she finished.
Eric glowered at her. Sylvia shifted her gaze between her soon-to-be husband and his yet-to-be ex-wife.
“I don’t see why you’re back, Moira. If you made it out of the apparent prison of a marriage, why would you come back?” Eric snarled.
“I’ve been keeping my eye on you, Eric. I know the police gave up searching for me, and I knew I had to stop someone else from making the same mistakes I made. I even prepared to pay you to leave this poor woman alone.”
“How much?” Eric shot back almost instantly.
Moira smiled, “Ah, you see how desperate he is, Sylvia? He ran my dad’s company into the ground. He’s using you to keep himself from going to prison for fraud.”
Sylvia glanced at Eric, now thoroughly confused.
Eric felt her eye on him and started, “Syl, you know I love you. I know you wouldn’t let me go to jail. Please, this is so much more complex than what this woman is saying. I need you to trust me.”
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Sylvia took a moment to reflect. She turned to Moira.
“Look, it seems I’ve been too trusting. I think we’re a lot alike, but I have no idea what to believe. If I believe you, I’m going to need back-up, and so are you.”
Moira smiled, “I’ll take any help I can get.”
Smack.
Sylvia’s hand traveled through the air, connecting solidly with her fiancé’s face. All Eric could do was reel from the shock, and he jumped to his feet.
As he stood up, the doors burst inward, spewing hordes of personnel in bulletproof vests. Two agents walked up to the group, ensuring Eric that running would be useless.
“Mr. Trost, we’re arresting you for fraud. Please don’t resist.”
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As Eric was hauled away, Moira and Sylvia stood by the doors to the hall, looking on. After a lengthy trial, Eric was charged with several felony offenses, ensuring he would be behind bars for a while.
Although Sylvia was glad to hear the truth, it was a bitter pill to swallow. Moira stood by her as she recovered from the shock of being deceived, and with all Eric’s crimes revealed, Sylvia was more than happy to stand by her new friend amid the legal battle.
Elliot grew up with his mom right outside the city. Moira sold the penthouse and expanded the cottage, making it their permanent home. She lined the walls with images of her father and the medals her son brought home.
She could finally live a life free of the ensnaring hold of her treacherous ex-husband.