Chapter 4 - THE MASK SLIPSI held the pen over the signature line,
the tip hovering like a needle.
The tension in the room was so thick it felt like it could be sliced with a knife.
Daniel’s hand was resting on my shoulder,
his fingers digging into my skin with a subtle,
threatening pressure.
"Is everything okay,
Eleanor?"
Dr. Sterling asked,
his voice devoid of any real empathy.
"You seem hesitant."
I looked up at Daniel,
my eyes wide and wet.
"If I sign this,"
I whispered,
"will you promise not to let them take me to that place?"
Daniel leaned down,
his breath hot against my ear.
"Sign the paper,
you stupid girl,"
he hissed,
too low for the doctor to hear.
"Or I'll make sure you never see the sun again."
The sheer malice in his voice was the final confirmation I needed.
I didn't sign my name.
Instead,
I wrote three words in large,
bold letters across the center of the document:
I AM SANE.
The silence that followed was absolute.
Daniel stared at the paper,
his face turning a deep,
mottled purple.
"What is this?"
he roared,
dropping the pretense of the loving husband entirely.
He grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the chair.
"She's having a psychotic break!"
he shouted at Dr. Sterling.
"Look at her!
She’s delusional!"
Rachel stood up,
her face pale.
"Daniel,
calm down!"
"I will not calm down!"
he screamed,
turning on me.
"You think you’re smart,
Eleanor?"
"You think you can fight me?"
"I have been drugging your tea for a month!"
"I have been rewriting your life since the day your father died!"
"You are nothing without me!"
I stood my ground,
even as he loomed over me.
"I know about the pills,
Daniel,"
I said,
my voice steady and clear for the first time in weeks.
"I haven't taken them in three days."
"I know about the lockbox."
"I know about Rachel’s gambling debts that you’re trying to pay off with my inheritance."
Rachel gasped,
her hand flying to her mouth.
"How...
how do you know that?"
"Because I’m not the one who’s crazy,"
I said,
glancing at the chair where the recorder was hidden.
"And because I'm not the only one in this room who's been keeping secrets."
Dr. Sterling looked uncomfortable.
"Daniel,
perhaps we should reschedule..."
"No!"
Daniel yelled.
"She’s staying here!"
"Doctor,
sedate her!"
He lunged for me,
his hands reaching for my throat.
I dodged him,
knocking over a floor lamp,
the light flickering and dying as it hit the carpet.
"Help!"
I screamed at the top of my lungs.
"He’s trying to kill me!"
Daniel was beyond reason now.
The prospect of losing the money had stripped away his humanity.
He threw himself at me again,
pinning me against the wall.
"You’re going to sign those papers,"
he growled,
his face inches from mine.
"Even if I have to break every bone in your hand to make you do it."
"Is that a confession,
Daniel?"
A new voice boomed from the doorway.
I looked past Daniel’s shoulder to see Mr. Henderson,
my lawyer,
standing there with two uniformed police officers.
The look on Daniel's face was one of pure,
unadulterated terror.
He released my arm as if I had suddenly turned into fire.
"Officers,"
Mr. Henderson said,
holding up his phone.
May you like
"I believe my client has been the victim of a coordinated attempt at kidnapping and fraud."
"And I believe she has the evidence to prove it."
