LN Cronan

 The same way characters speak to us as readers inside our own heads. The first "reader" of a story is the person who writes it.

 Eva is now on a need to know basis about everything related to the killing and the subsequent investigation, because she now is actively part of the plan to prevent the authorities from attempting to charge Gideon with first-degree murder.  But more importantly, Gideon now knows two things: No matter how dark the secrets, Eva won't leave him even if she knows the worst. He will, however, lose Eva forever if he starts shutting her out again. Secrecy and lies are her deal-breaker issue, and she'd already started taking the first steps toward a future without him because of it.  Plus, there is one other way we readers can find out about some of the details of the dark secrets without Gideon going through with spilling every sordid detail to Eva. Sylvia can include passages from Gideon's point of view -- let us inside Gideon's head. Like she did in the New Year's teaser, the only look we've had inside him.Â

 Gideon also did digging into Eva's past -- and tripped himself up by knowing, even before she'd told him, where she attended college. So what might have digging into Nathan's past unveiled?  New spoiler material Sylvia posted in this thread indicated Nathan was locked up in a mental institution, not juvenile detention, after being convicted of raping Eva. That was approximately ten years ago, and because Nathan was convicted as a juvenile, his criminal sentence would have been only a few years. Where has Nathan been in the years since then? In and out of mental institutions? Accused of, but never convicted of, other crimes of violence? Maybe charges that got dismissed because he had been incompetent to stand trial? Send him through another spin cycle of mental hospitalization and then let him loose on the streets again?  What did Gideon find out? He probably started digging immediately after Eva told him about Nathan and thus his investigation was weeks ahead of the police investigation (their's didn't start until after Nathan was found dead.) As and good as the resources of the NYPD are, Gideon could -- pun intended -- give them a real run for their money. He had the resources to hire the best private detectives in the world, many of them former cops themselves. Private detectives not constrained by rules of evidence the cops must adhere to. Private detectives  with the skills to bend and break rules -- and the willingness to do so in this case, not only because of the money but because of the nature of the sicko they were investigating? A child rapist? Heck, plenty of ex-cops would be happy to bend and break some rules there to get dirt on the dirtbag.  So who knows what Gideon found out? Stuff that the police probably still don't know about? It's possible. And when did he find out stuff? Maybe the same week Cary was attacked, Gideon received new information about Nathan. Gideon met with his security people at his apartment two nights before the killing. (This meeting isn't in Reflected, but Sylvia revealed a meeting happened in response to a spoiler question. Eva called Gideon that night in the middle of the meeting, from the hospital where she was by Cary's bedside. She figured out he wasn't alone, and he wouldn't explain -- and she jumped to the conclusion Corrine was at Gideon's apartment.)

One thing to add on my feelings about Sylvia's post a little while ago is thoughts on two words she used to describe Nathan - "proven threat"Â We don't know yet exactly what information or evidence Gideon obtained that proved just how much danger Eva was in, but it had to have been pretty bad. Â Even the detective admitted to Eva that evidence the police found made them believe Nathan was going to kill her. "Usually when we find that sort of thing, it's too late." - Detective Graves, Reflected page 334 Â Maybe it was already on the brink of becoming too late, and Gideon found out -- found out things that even the police don't know about. After all, Gideon somehow found out well before the cops did that it was Nathan who'd nearly killed Cary. It's possible -- I think likely -- that the evidence against Nathan goes beyond what the cops uncovered after his body was found. Stuff a whole lot worse than proof Nathan was actively stalking Eva and already had amassed detailed information about Eva's daily schedule.

 ^^^^THIS!!!!  No matter what we readers feel about what Gideon did, I think the one thing we can all agree on is why -- that he would do anything, would risk anything, to keep Eva safe.

One more thing -- if Angus secretly took into his own hands the stopping of Gideon's abuser, he could continue to remain employed as a servant in the Vidal household, where he could continue to watch over and protect Gideon as best he could physically as well as do what he could emotionally to try to help the poor kid. Gideon already had been a hot mess even before the abuse, because of his birth father's death. Throw onto the pile sexual abuse and you have a child in danger of drowning in the deep end, so to speak -- a child whose own mother failed to protect.  Someone made a huge difference in Gideon's life, looking at him today. Yes, underneath he is in some ways still a hot mess (so is Eva) but in other ways he is very self-sufficient and highly functioning. And still capable of feeling love, empathy, pity -- he's got a heart.  Who is the only person from his childhood Gideon is close to? Angus.

 Perhaps the first examinations were more sinister than the straight-forward "proving nothing". Perhaps they were specifically arranged by Gideon's stepfather to brand the victim a liar. Maybe Vidal Sr. actually knew it was true Gideon was being abused in a way (at that time) would not leave physical evidence (i.e. hand jobs). Perhaps Vidal arranged things to make absolutely certain the whole matter was kept the deepest of secrets -- when he hired those doctors, he bribed them off to convince Gideon's mother that Gideon was NOT abused.  Certainly, those doctors kept their mouths shut instead of performing their moral and legal responsibility to report to outside authorities the mere accusations themselves, regardless of the results of any physical exams. The only thing I can think of that stopped them was that they were both bribed.  And if Angus had inside knowledge that Vidal Sr. successfully bribed not one but two doctors, Angus might have concluded that Vidal Sr. would continue trying to bribe people -- and possibly get away with it yet again. Without any marks on him (at that time) it would be Gideon's word alone that would form the basis of a public investigation where those investigators could end up pitted against Vidal's own private medical examiners.  This, I think, could have been the reason Angus decided, "I'd better personally stop this animal to protect this child."  Angus is a trained bodyguard, not just a driver, so that would indicate Angus would have excellent skills in both armed and unarmed combat. Plus based on the fact Angus is somewhere in early middle age now (his hair has started graying) approximately 15-16 years ago he would have been of an age then when his physical powers would be at their absolute peak. I could see Angus hurting that rapist very badly.

 AAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We're being tortured!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Great job, KiMa, though, in grabbing the text of Snippet #11 and getting it here before the rush possibly temporarily swamps the server. And my math of noontime was off by two hours. I'm wondering whether a time difference from Sylvia's location was to blame. or maybe I've just not had enough coffee yet.  Sooooooo ..... is this snippet from the nightclub scene, after Gideon pinned Eva up against that wall and screwed her brains out? Her thanking him for all the work of just lifting her up, holding her there, and giving her a real reason to have had a very good time during girls' night out?

 Gideon's own mother was convinced Gideon was lying about the abuse. We know that for a fact, based on what Elizabeth told Eva when Eva confronted her in Reflected. We don't know what role Gideon's stepfather played in preventing the accusations from ever reaching the ears of outside authorities. So perhaps Angus, even understanding that the proper thing to do would have been to go to the authorities himself, either feared (or actually knew) that in this particular case, it would only make matters worse, so Angus decided to take matters into his own hands.  Because who knew what Vidal Sr. could do attempt to do in order to continue to make this matter go away? Bring in more private pediatricians? Bring in more psychiatrists? Try everything possible to get Gideon labelled as mentally ill, and perhaps even get Gideon institutionalized?  Here's just one possible scenario I see: The two pediatricians that examined Gideon actually DID NOT find any physical evidence of abuse. From what Gideon described to Eva, when he first told her a little bit about what happened, the abuse started out as hand jobs. Hand jobs would not leave physical marks. Angus, from his inside knowledge of that household (and who knew how evil Vidal Sr. was/is) that the chances of "the system" protecting Gideon weren't good, not when thrown up the power extreme wealth wields, power that can be abused? Thus far, that power had been used to convince Gideon's own mother he was simply lying because he was disturbed. Angus may have still been trying to figure out what to do when the abuser got at Gideon again and anally raped him (his nightmares strongly suggest anal penetration.) Angus found out about that right away -- perhaps even Angus caught the rapist in the act. Angus took matters into his own hands on the spot.

Hi KiMa  I'm hoping too that today's snippet will contain things Gideon says to Eva about Nathan's killing.  Perhaps even a snippet from Gideon's point of view -- take us inside Gideon's head, not Eva's. Sylvia treated us to that on New Year's Day, the only time thus far we've gotten into Gideon's head.  How sweet would that be!!!!  Sylvia was reading this particular thread last night -- in fact, posted some spoiler material related to Nathan being prosecuted as a juvenile for having raped Eva. Sylvia could see for herself the absolute fan frenzy here that erupted following her answering the spoiler question on a radio show about "Did Gideon kill Nathan for Eva."  So my big hope is snippet material today about the killing. If not that, my second guess (based on the fact Sylvia focused on Nathan's past last night, including that Nathan had been incarcerated in a mental institution) is that today's snippet is going to provide details of just how insanely dangerous present-day Nathan had become. Material that might make some Gideon fans less sorrowful about what he did to stop that maniac. If Nathan had become a very real and present danger to Eva's very life, then it would bolster that what Gideon did was a form of justifiable homicide. Because justifiable homicide extends beyond killing in self defense -- depending upon circumstances, it is also justifiable to kill a person in order to stop that person from killing someone else.  (Let me repeat that even I think it was WRONG for Gideon to take matters into his own hands, and I believe he planned this killing hours, perhaps even days, in advance. But I also believe his motive was that he had some very concrete evidence Nathan was about to attempt to kill Eva, and so Gideon put a stop to him from ever being able to get at her. If this is true, I feel Gideon did not commit murder, but rather, he committed a form of justifiable killing.)

 Most elite private bodyguards (and other members of the top-notch private security companies that very wealthy people hire) generally come from one of two places: the military and law enforcement. Often some of these are the best of the best in those public sector jobs: special forces (military) and top-level police (detectives and upper-level police department management.) They take their skills to the private sector, where the pay is much, much better than what they'd earn as cops and military personnel.  Could Angus be an ex-cop? Perhaps even former NYPD? I'm convinced he helped Gideon kill Nathan. Perhaps Angus also schooled Gideon in some of the steps Gideon should take to lessen the chances of being charged, from establishing an alibi to leaving as little forensic evidence as possible.

Somewhere in the neighborhood of fifty is my guess too. And obviously in top shape physically (he is a bodyguard as well as a driver).  See page 164 of Bared. Eva emerges solo from the Crossfire at the end of the workday (Gideon's not with her at the time -- he's planning to go over to her apartment later.) Angus is waiting at the curb, per Gideon's order, to drive Eva home. It's not the first time she's seen Angus, but it is the first time she notices him as a person, especially because he greets her by name.  "He was an older gentleman with graying red hair, pale blue eyes, and the softest of cultured accents." is the physical description we readers get.  The additional things we learn about Angus on that page: She sees that he's wearing a handgun in a shoulder holster under his jacket and so she realizes that Angus, like her mother's driver (Clancy) is also a bodyguard. He's worked for Gideon for eight years. Gideon hired Angus away from his (Gideon's) stepfather. Angus has known Gideon since Gideon was a child. "I drove him to school when he was a boy." is what Angus told Eva.  The use of the word "boy" as opposed to "teen" is a red flag, I think. Doing the math, Gideon was in the neighborhood of age 11 or 12 when Gideon was abused. That's right on the threshold of teenager. My guess is we're going to find out in Entwined, when we learn more about Gideon's childhood, that Angus was already a servant for the Vidal family prior to the start of the sexual abuse Gideon suffered.

Eva asked Angus how long he's been working for Gideon (as an adult, that is). Angus' answer was eight years. Gideon is 28, so he was 20 when he hired Angus away from Christopher Vidal Sr. Which means by age 20 Gideon already was financially well off in his own right, fast on his way to become insanely rich.  Gideon confessed to Eva the foundation of his fortune had been blackjack winnings he amassed by counting cards -- and by making useful business contacts over the gambling tables. I've got this great image of Gideon, still an undergrad student at Columbia and underage for getting into the casinos of Atlantic City (where the minimum age to gamble in casinos is 21) using fake IDs and disguising his appearance.  I wonder whether it was Angus' positive influence that made Gideon turn to an honest way of earning a fortune through investing instead of cheating at blackjack (counting cards though technically not a crime is a form of cheating). Think about it: Gideon's dead father engaged in the ultimate form of financial cheating, a massive Ponzi scheme, and I think it's safe to say Christopher Vidal Sr. was a bad example of how riches can be used to manipulate and control people. Then there's hard working Angus, the sole positive  adult role model that we know of in young Gideon's life.

New snippet is coming this today!!!! Sylvia said on Twitter and Facebook "Snippet #11 in T-Minus six hours ...." That was four hours ago, so roughly we're talking somewhere around noon U.S. Eastern Time.  This is the link to the webpage where snippets (and snapshots too) get posted: http://www.sylviaday.com/category/snippet/  Favor to ask for anyone who manages to get in right away before the server goes down temporarily because of the rush of legions of fans trying to view the snippet when it's still hot off the press, so to speak ..... could anyone who does manage to view it right away copy the text and paste it here, so that we can all read what the snippet says.  I'm going to try to do the copy-and-paste myself if I can see the snippet right away. But I know some other regulars here have a lot of luck getting into the snippet/snapshot page early as well.  UPDATE: SNIPPET CAME AROUND 9:45 A.M. (Either a time zone difference or my fuzzy math was off) KiMa and Kirsten both got it right away and got the text posted in the other busy threads today, including the snippet thread and the Gideon killed Nathan spoiler thread. Both ladies rocks!  Here's the text:   Gideon cupped my face in his hands and kissed me, our flavors mingling. “Thank you.† What are you thanking me for? You did all the work.† There’s no work involved in f****** you, angel.†His slow smile was pure satiated male. “I’m grateful for the privilege.† I sank back onto my heels. “You’re killing me. You can’t be that gorgeous and sexy and say stuff like that. It’s overload. It fries my brain. Sends me into a meltdown.† His smile widened and he kissed me again. “I know the feeling.â€

 Which leads me to a big Entwined spoiler question I'll throw out anyway, though I'll wait for my answer on June 4 ....  What did the servants in the Vidal household know about Gideon being sexually abused as a child? One servant in particular - Angus. Did Angus figure out Gideon was being abused and take matters into his own hands to stop the guy? Is that what earned Angus Gideon's absolute trust?

 :::: Waving HI to Sylvia!!!! ::::  I had a feeling you were reading this thread after the ultimate Reflected in You spoiler question you answered the other day. Very nice job on the interview, BTW. I could hear the smile in your voice.  Question regarding the pictures Nathan took of Eva and later showed Gideon, if they're sexually explicit images of a young Eva, wouldn't that count as present day possession of child p***?  The statute of limitations would have run out on production of child p*** (and Nathan had still been a minor himself when he took the pictures) -- but -- present day possession of those pictures could be considered a crime. It depends, of course, on the exact nature of what the pictures depict, but I'm wondering if this could have been thrown onto the pile of Nathan's present crimes too, along with the extortion attempts? (And of course, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for Cary's beating, plus stalking Eva.)

We've been warned all along that Entwined would go to some dark places. Â If Gideon had to take the law into his own hands figuratively, at least he did so literally too. Had he taken the expected route of hiring a hitman, the blood still would have been on his hands figuratively. Instead, he was willing to literally get blood on his hands to make certain Nathan would never again endanger Eva.

 That's an excellent question, when would it be a safe time for them to get back together (openly, that is). That depends a lot on other factors we don't know about yet.  The "cover" does not need to go on forever. It does, however, need to be pretty much unbreakable that Gideon unquestioningly had good reason to have rejected Eva while Nathan was still very much alive and well. The tabloids could take the passionate kiss and the fight -- lurid in their own right -- and blow it out of proportion into full-fledged cheating. Try selling the public (and thus ultimately a jury) on the idea that a cheated-on Gideon would kill for Eva.  Ultimately, he could decide to "forgive" her and give her a second chance.  Note: The above, "plan B" (or Plan Brett as I'm calling it) is only one of some other possibilities. Plan Brett strictly handles Gideon's cover on the motive side of the case. There are other ways the case could go away. Another key scenario could be that the trap Graves has laid is set with bait that's now legal poison, which could make anything Graves gets inadmissible. In the middle of talking to Eva, Graves slipped up and asked Eva one question (getting Eva to admit she dumped Gideon on Saturday morning during the phone call he took at the police station.) Graves crossed the line into questioning Eva without Eva's lawyer present after Eva specifically invoked (when Graves first approached her) a refusal to talk (i.e. be questioned) without a lawyer.

On the plus side, I think the Brett situation provides a much stronger safety-net cover story for Gideon and so Gideon no longer needs to rely on Corrine as his cover. He can pull away from her now. He no longer needs to pretend he picked Corrine over Eva when the much stronger story (bolstered by lots of witnesses) is that he "dumped" Eva over Brett. Â The fight outside the concert, witnessed by many people, of an enraged Gideon and of Eva being bodily dragged away by Gideon's bodyguard and Gideon's friend. Videotape from the Crossfire security cameras showing Brett coming to the office tower several days later specifically to see Eva -- and Eva leaving the building with him.

Moving forward, I think much of the story will be Gideon and dealing with his issues. Eva had years of therapy to start to change her life for the better, therapy prompted by someone she loves (her Dad) and supported by someone both loves and trusts (Cary). Gideon has had (by the end of Reflected) only about a month and a half of life-altering love that's given him a reason to start -- operative word start -- to change for the better. By the end of Entwined, he'll have had only two months. Â Gideon has got a lot of work to do. Now that he's got the support of someone he loves and now trusts, he can really start changing.

 I took it to be no more break-ups.  Gideon dumped Eva in Bared. He dumped her the day after she witnessed one of his nightmares for the first time had pulled one of her runners on the spot because refused to be honest with her about it. Eva dumped Gideon in Reflected. She was convinced he was f******* Corrine again because he could no longer bear to continue a sexual relationship with her (Eva) because he'd seen the rape photos of her.  Reasons for both break-ups: a combination of both their issues -- Gideon's secrecy and Eva's insecurities.  Both of those issues are now over at the end of Reflected. Eva faced her own demons, and Gideon dared start opening up.  Then Eva found out about his darkest secret of all, and she ran to him, not away.

 Happily Ever After is coming. That part also was clear in yesterday's interview. The other big spoiler question the host asked (besides did-Gideon-do-it, that is) was would Gideon and Eva end up together. Sylvia made it clear they'd never let go of one another.Â

Keep in mind, too, we might finally find out (with Gideon finally being honest with Eva) just how dangerous Nathan truly had become. The more dangerous, the better the argument for a form of justifiable homicide (killing to save another life) versus stone-cold murder.

 I wonder whether Detective Graves questioned Corrine. If Graves did, Graves never told Eva -- but if it's true Graves is trying to trap Gideon, Graves would have told Eva only enough to get Eva to run back to Gideon.  All we know right now is what Eva knows -- and Eva's been kept in the dark about a lot of stuff. So we have to assume that some people, Graves included, are still keeping Eva in the dark about key things, telling Eva half-truths.  My own guess is that Graves did question Corrine right after Graves got confirmation from some hotel employee(s) there had been an hour-long disruption at the hotel where the party was. Not that I think Corrine could have told them anything beyond the fact she was Gideon's date that night, and yes, she did have to hang outside for a while along with everyone else (party guests and hotel guests alike.)  But now it could have Corrine wondering why the police even wanted to know about Gideon's movements that night. And could have Corrine -- a schemer -- digging to try to figure out why. If she finds out there's some sort of Eva connection -- oh, dear.

Text of Oscar night snippet:   â€œShut up, caveman. I’m not into that ‘me Cross, you Cross little woman’ bull****,†I snapped. “In case you’ve forgotten already, we made a trade. You got me, and I got you. I protect what’s mine.† Eva, don’t fight my battles for me. I can take care of myself.† â€œI know that. You’ve been doing it your whole life. Now, you’ve got me. I can handle this one.† Other snapshots have tied into snippets, so my guess here is Snapshot #10, of the luxury woman's watch, tied into this snippet. The watch signifies Elizabeth Vidal, Gideon's mother, and the "battle" is the continuation of the confrontations Eva started against both Elizabeth and Dr. Lucas over the cover-up of the sexual abuse Gideon suffered as a child. Gideon is trying to get Eva to back down, and Eva has no intention of doing so.