Chapter 5 - Splintered Glass
The confession hung in the afternoon air like poison.
Evelyn Vance gasped out loud, dropping her champagne glass. It shattered against the flagstones, spraying amber liquid and sharp crystalline fragments across the tailored hem of Diane’s skirt.
"Diane..." Evelyn stammered, her voice thick with disgust. "You told the entire committee that Clare ran off with a promoter from Miami. You asked for our prayers at Sunday service for Julian’s broken heart."
"Quiet, Evelyn!" Diane snapped, spinning around like a cornered viper. "Don't lecture me about morality! I know about your husband’s offshore account in the Caymans! I know about your son’s DUI that you paid the magistrate to erase! Don't you dare judge me!"
A collective gasp went up from the church crowd. Evelyn turned pale, her mouth falling open in shock. Within seconds, two other prominent couples turned on their heels, marching briskly toward the parking lot without uttering another word.
"Wait! Richard! Brenda!" Diane called out, her composure completely shattering. She lunged forward a few steps, her arms flailing. "She’s lying! They're all working together to extort me! Julian is having an episode!"
"Nobody is extorting you, Diane," Clare said calmly.
Clare pulled a small digital audio recorder from her pocket. She held it high so everyone could see the small red indicator light.
"Before I came over here today, I stopped by your house. The front door was unlocked because the caterers were loading the dessert towers. I left a thumb drive on your dining room table containing thirty-six recorded phone calls from the last five years. You called me every six months, Diane. Even after I moved to Philadelphia. Even after I changed my number twice. You called to make sure I never reached out to Julian, threatening to send fake reports to my licensing board if I ever stepped foot in this county again."
Diane’s eyes widened to dinner plates. "You... you recorded me?"
"One-party consent state, Diane," Beth added smoothly, stepping beside Clare. "We checked with three attorneys. Everything we have is verified, legal, and cataloged."
Diane began to tremble. Her carefully curled hair was coming loose in the humid June breeze, stray gray wisps sticking to the sweat glistening on her forehead. The woman who had ruled our home, our extended family, and her social circle with an iron fist of whispered lies looked suddenly withered, small, and grotesque.
May you like
She turned back to me, her voice dropping into a desperate, pleading whine.
"Julian... baby... look at what they're doing to your mother. Look how they're ganging up on me. You know how frail my heart is. You know what the doctor said about stress. You can't let them do this to me on my sixtieth birthday. Tell them to leave. Please, Julian. We can go home. I’ll make the roast you like. We can forget this ever happened."
