Chapter 5 - Whispers and Whispers
The story appeared in the papers the next morning,
a perfectly crafted piece of gossip,
It spoke of a tragic incident at the Sterling gala,
a "misunderstanding" between the matriarch and her new daughter-in-law,
The piece delicately painted Clara as an opportunist,
a woman who had targetted Julian from the start,
It suggested that Clara had orchestrated the event,
that she had deliberately shattered the crystal to get attention,
"The girl from Queens who tried to buy her way in," read one headline,
Julian sat in the hospital waiting room, reading the article,
He crumpled the paper in his fist, his anger boiling over,
It was all lies, carefully constructed to protect Victoria,
"She didn't track down the wine, I did," he muttered to himself,
"It wasn't a cheap bottle, it was vintage,"
He looked toward Clara's room, where she was finally sleeping,
He knew this was just the beginning,
His mother wouldn't stop until she had completely isolated them,
His phone rang, a number he didn't recognize,
He answered it, expecting a reporter,
It was his aunt, Eleanor Sterling, Victoria's younger sister,
Eleanor was a rare voice of reason in the family,
"Julian, I saw the papers," she said, her voice filled with concern,
"It's all lies, Aunt Eleanor," Julian replied,
"We know, Julian, some of us know,
But your mother is powerful, and people believe what they read,"
"She's trying to ruin Clara," Julian said, his voice cracking,
"She is trying to break you, Julian,
She wants you to come crawling back,"
"I'm not going back, Eleanor," he declared,
"Good, you shouldn't, but you need to be smart,"
"What can I do?" he asked, feeling lost,
"You need to speak out, Julian, You need to tell the truth,"
"The papers won't print my story," he said, "Mother controls them,"
"Not all of them, there is a reporter I know, Sarah Jenkins,
She’s tough, she’s not afraid of a good story,"
"You want me to do a media interview?" Julian asked, hesitant,
He had always avoided the public eye,
"It’s the only way to fight back, Julian,
You need to protect Clara's reputation, and your own,"
He looked toward Clara’s room again,
he remembered the look of pure hate on his mother's face,
he remembered the blood on Clara’s arm,
"I'll do it," Julian decided,
He would tell the world the truth,
May you like
about the Sterling inheritance, the coldness of his mother,
and the love he had for the woman she tried to destroy.
