Just after one, Molson shut Holly’s office door behind him, slumping gratefully onto the couch. “Did I miss anything?”
“Shh!” Holly warned him. She had her laptop on a chair facing the couch, tuned to the New Business network. The anchor was describing what was to come. “It’s almost ready to start.”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, concentrating on the screen as the view changed to Sterling Denver.
“Thank you,” Sterling didn’t smile, a serious demeanor emanating from her. “Today I was asked to interview Rachel Ramesly, wife of David Ramesly. Rachel has graciously agreed to give an interview about the rumors of David’s health, his reinstatement as head of Ramesly Pharmaceuticals, and her son Michael’s imprisonment. Thank you for coming, Rachel.”
Rachel nodded regally. Just in her eighties, she was neatly dressed but frail looking. Her eyes gazed intelligently at Sterling.
“Why don’t you tell me a little about how you met David Ramesly?” Sterling asked gently.
“I was very young,” Rachel began. “I was also impressionable. My parents wished for a good match for me. When David took an interest, he was encouraged. He came from a good family and my parents approved of him. David can be very charming when the occasion needs it.”
“But that’s just a façade?” Sterling questioned.
“Yes,” Rachel took a deep breath. “It didn’t take long for me to understand that David is manipulative and selfish. He expects to get his way all the time. He looks for ways to make people feel small, to push them to do what he wants, to get what he wants. While he never physically harmed me, David made it very clear that if I left him, he would maintain custody of our children and I would never see them again. It was a different time. There weren’t the support systems for women back then as there are now. Back then a wife simply ignored bad behavior on the part of her husband as best as she could.”
“What sort of behavior?” enquired Sterling.
“David had multiple affairs. He has illegitimate children,” Rachel stated calmly. She smiled a little. “I’m supposed to pretend I don’t know about it. So many of us wives do that at the club. We pretend we have the perfect husband, perfect children, perfect lives. We wrap up our bodies and homes in fashion and glitter, but we can’t cover what’s really happening. It’s there for everyone to know, we just don’t talk about it. We’re too classy.”
“David was disloyal to you in your marriage,” she reiterated.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you leave him when the children were grown?” Sterling wondered.
“I had been the perfect housewife for so long, I wasn’t sure how to be anything else. Divorce was still frowned upon,” Rachel admitted. “It takes a very brave woman to leave a situation that she should. It takes a brave woman to stay in a marriage, working or not. I also foolishly thought I could mitigate the damage that David might do in his son’s lives. I did my best to counsel the boys to be better than their father. To have a sense of duty, honor, loyalty. That love, and goodness were more important than anything else. If I had left. I would have given up any influence I had in their lives. I firmly believe that David would have done his best to keep them away from me and David always gets what he wants.
“You have to understand,” Rachel frowned thoughtfully. “I believe the clinical term is sociopath. David doesn’t feel things like a regular person. He doesn’t have empathy. He can’t feel sorry for someone, it’s just not possible for him. That makes all the people around him tools to be used. He’s always been power hungry and it’s gotten worse in his old age. David truly believes that he can get away with anything. He thinks he’s invincible, that he will live forever and basically rule his corner of the world. He’s quite mad.”
“Do you fear repercussions for talking out today?” Sterling enquired.
“No,” Rachel gave a delicate sigh. “I’m sure there will be repercussions. David won’t take my betrayal lightly. However, I no longer fear him. I’ve left him.”
“You’ve left him?”
“When Michael was put in prison on that trumped up nonsense, I confronted David about his part. He boasted about pointing the finger at Michael. That he was now free, and Michael was paying for forcing David to retire.
“Anyone who knows Michael would realize that he would never be involved in any criminal activities. He’s as upright as they come. He’s sweet and gentle. He’s a good lawyer and would never have risked his career. Michael had more than enough money, he didn’t need to involve himself in drug smuggling. I know my son is innocent. I know David was behind Michael’s arrest.”
Sterling leaned forward in her chair. “Do you have any proof?”
“No. I wish I did. When I learned of what he had done, I packed a bag and told David I was going to stay with Ann. Ann was pregnant at the time and now she was alone, with Michael being incarcerated. David was livid. He doesn’t like Ann,” Rachel told her. “I simply left. I plan on enjoying my beautiful grandbabies.”
“What has David’s mental health been like lately?” Sterling questioned.
“He’s become more vindictive,” Rachel responded. “He continues to lay on the charm and manipulation when he needs to but he’s moodier. He’s very intent on punishing anyone he believes has done him wrong. I’m not sure he can tell the difference between the reality of someone slighting him or his own imagination. He is now a little paranoid. That’s new behavior for him.”
“How is he paranoid?” Sterling tilted her head to the side as she shuffled through her notes.
“He claims someone is listening in on the phone,” Rachael scoffed. “That people are tracking his every move.”
“Are they?”
“No. He’s just being silly.”
“Do you believe he should be running a business? Is he competent enough to manage a multi-billion-dollar company?” asked Sterling.
