LN Cronan

Worth the wait! And her Facebook post is very gracious!

And with her snippets to us here and there, its the equilavent of Gideon and Eva having secretly "stolen moments" away from prying eyes (darn publishers), no!!! Lol

 

Thrilled that the Entwined stolen moments we've seen bits of are a lot happier and hotter than Gideon cornering a reluctant and confused Eva in elevators. Pinning her up against a wall in a remote corner of a nightclub .... whew ... fanning myself thinking about where that'll lead next.

Hi LN Cronan, I agree with your position about Christopher. I also just wanted to add that; on pg. 265 of BTY..."To an observer, it was clear he knew her body well-where to pet and where to rub....", it may be possible the Magdalene and Christopher may have had sexual relations prior. Could it be that is part of what Eva found was creepy about Christopher? It seems that his guy was playing some people like a fiddle.

Most definitely, GiGi: it's obvious they've been sleeping together for some time. How it must have burned Christopher that Magdalene had been still pursuing Gideon all that time.

 

Maybe the creepy look on Christopher's face came from the knowledge Gideon had finally rejected her (in a manner of speaking) so Christopher now had "dibs" on her. Even though Christopher was telling her things she wanted to hear (Eva's not Gideon's type, he'll tire of her soon) Magdalene could clearly see Gideon was in love. More ammo for Christopher. 

 

I wonder whether Christopher knows about the tape. Gideon never did tell Magdalene how he (Gideon) got it. And I'll bet that Eva's the last person Magdalene suspects, because Eva was busy with Gideon in the library the whole time she was busy with Christopher outside on the estate grounds.

Dully noted. I am just being "Eva-style restless". I figure since I have to wait, I might as well.

 

Love this, KiMa!! And some of us fans also have a Gideon-style impatience. We want what we want when we want it. And though we try for delayed gratification to heighten the reward, the fact of the matter is "We Can't Wait. We Want It. Now."

 

Is it any wonder we're hooked on the books. 

Authors, even the most successful ones, are in the end at the business mercy of their publishers. I wonder whether the publisher pushed the release date as part of fueling the fire by whipping the fans into a frenzy. It's working, too, I think. In their defense, though, there is a massive amount of logistics to co-ordinate around the release of a book that is guaranteed to hit the best-seller lists immediately.

Anyhoo. Sylvia's been great about keeping we fans informed. She's assured us that the June date is "set in stone." But we fans continuing to talk about (and gripe about) the release delay is a very powerful petition itself. I'm in public relations, and I can assure you the publishers do read fan sites, Facebook, Twitter, all the social media. There is very sophisticated search engine technology that captures information like this, technology that even captures the very tones of social media buzz. Technology the biggest corporations pay big money for to test the moods of their customers. Note: this sort of customer feedback isn't the type of PR I do, but I know of the existence of this social media search technology via some clients I do have.

So a petition would get at least the notice of the publisher. Change the date? Probably not: the publicity about June is now out there. But it would at least send a message.

Eva saw a glimpse of the dark side of Christopher when she saw the video of him having sex with a distraught Magdalene at the garden party. Eva thought, "That he was taking advantage of her was obvious. It was there in the contemptuously triumphant look on his face as he screwed her until she was limp." And once Eva was done watching the tape, Gideon watching it too over Eva's shoulder in the car on the way to work, she described Christopher as "creepy."

The conversation that followed gave us a glimpse, from Gideon, about why Christopher hates him. "He thinks I got all the attention when we were younger because everyone was worried about how I was handling my father's suicide. So he wants what's mine. Everything he can get his hands on."

Other hints we've seen: Christopher started acting out angrily too as a kid, imitating Gideon's outbursts. Gideon described the adult him as "unstable." Gideon tried controlling the adult Christopher through a combo of throwing money at him and threatening him. And that Gideon, realizing it didn't work, has taken a damage control stance.

It's obvious that Christopher "getting his hands on" what's Gideon's has included some sort of history of Christopher using women who were after Gideon. "I thought Maggie would be safe from him. Our mothers have known one another for years. I forget how much he hates me."

Eva met Christopher the first time Gideon took her out publicly, the advocacy dinner. While Gideon was busy elsewhere talking to people, Christopher introduced himself and asked Eva to dance. And started plying her for information about the nature of her relationship with Gideon. And was pleased to hear Eva still considered herself available (at that time). From the get-go, Christopher flirted with her, and he upped the ante the two times he saw Eva post-Gideon break-up.

Fast forward to near the end of Reflected, when Eva had asked Christopher to lunch, part of her going after people around Gideon to determine what role they all played in the mess (his mother, then Corrine, then Dr. Lucas). Christopher started off with a cheap shot, wondering whether her having lunch with him had anything to do with " ...Gideon getting back together with Corrine." Ouch. Hoping Eva might end up distraught enough to sleep with him?

Eva asked Christopher why he hated Gideon, and by the time lunch was over, concluded to herself she had a pretty good idea why. Jealousy fueled the hatred: Gideon was richer, more handsome, more powerful, more confident. And Christopher believed Gideon got all the attention when they were children. "Worse, the sibling rivalry had crossed over into their professional lives when Cross Industries acquired a majority share of Vidal records."

When Cary and Eva first met in group therapy years ago, both were promiscuous and angry and wild. The few hints we have about Cary's past is that his mother was a junkie who abused him and allowed others to abuse him (I'm guessing sexually, but neither Bared nor Reflected give any details.) That he bounced around the foster care system and later rehabs, becoming a drug addict himself. That when he and Eva first met, the only way he could relate to others was sexually, and he kept propositioning Eva.

Things I view as progress: 1. He's not doing drugs any more. 2. He's pursuing a career. 3. He's at least is trying to have a relationship with a nice guy. 4. This is key, he has a close, trusting, platonic, practically-family relationship with Eva. To sum it up, he's grown from junkie to someone trying to make something of himself, and he's become part of a family.

Ways he's still stuck: 1. Sabotaging good relationships. 2. Though off the hard drugs, he drinks too much. 3. The way he superficially sexually relates to female partners (Mommy issues?) 4. He's far too dependent on Eva and on her mother/stepfather.

Snippet 8 posted a short time ago;

 

Here's the link: http://www.sylviaday.com/2013/02/14/entwined-snippet-8/

 

HAWT!

 

I don't think this is a continuation of the nightclub scene we've seen parts of in snippets 6 and 7? Last we knew, Gideon and Eva were up on a skywalk in a nightclub, him pinning her standing up against a mirrored wall and the two of them about to get busy.

 

But in this snippet, it appears they're laying down somewhere: " .... he shifting to lie half over me. My hands slid up and down his back, my leg lifting to hook over his hip ...."

 

Also not a continuation of the scene where Gideon sneaked into Eva's apartment, desperate to determine whether she couldn't handle the truth he killed Nathan. She was wrapped in a bath towel. Here, she's wearing clothes " ....his hand crept beneath the hem of my T-shirt ..."

Last night, Sylvia tweeted "Snippet tomorrow for Valentine's Day! :)" 

 

♥ ♥ ♥ 

Last night, she tweeted "Snippet tomorrow for Valentine's Day! :)" 

 

♥ ♥ ♥ 

Hello, I am new to this site so bear with me!

I have a question, maybe already been asked..but here goes!

 

After Monica saw NAthan outside of crossfire, did she do anything about it? Or did she just tuck it under her hat? Has anyone brought up the idea that she may have called Gideon after that (since it was right outside his building) and met with him and Stanton to discuss how to handle...so they were in the plot to at least get rid of Nathan somehow and keep Eva in the dark. Maybe this is why she didn't ask any questions about Gideon to Eva after she found out Nathan was dead and she didn't ask any questions about him during Spa day?

 

Interesting idea re: Gideon working together with Monica and/or Stanton. I'm liking it too! Couple of thoughts based on some things we definitely know from Bared and Reflected as well as theories.

 

I think Stanton definitely found Nathan was in town almost immediately after Monica spotted Nathan outside the Crossfire. She wasn't the only one to see him - Stanton's driver/bodyguard, Clancy, was there and saw Nathan too. This we know from Reflected. I think Clancy definitely would have called Stanton immediately. Monica too, probably, all in a panic and crying and leaning on Stanton, her rich powerful husband, to handle the situation.

 

So did Stanton call Gideon, and if so, when? That day Nathan was spotted outside Crossfire? (Remember, Eva works in the building too, and I'll bet Stanton could have been worried and demanding to know what Gideon planned to do about Nathan being there.) Or might Stanton have called at a later time, soon after Nathan attempted to blackmail him, asking Gideon whether Nathan also tried extorting money from him (Gideon)? 

 

The cops have gotten copies of the security tapes from the office building where Stanton works, we know, because Monica told Eva (after the murder). Maybe looking for evidence Stanton and Gideon met, and if so, how many times? We already know, from Bared to You, that Gideon went to Stanton's office at least one time, right after Eva first told Gideon about Nathan. Gideon went there asking Stanton about his (Stanton's) paying money to tighten the secrecy seals on the civil lawsuit settlement.

 

Were there additional meetings? Or at least phone calls between Stanton and Gideon (with the telephone numbers showing up on phone records)? Maybe one of the reasons the cops are seriously investigating Stanton is they're trying to find out whether Stanton was some sort of accomplice? Both men had motive for wanting Nathan dead. But Gideon also had opportunity to get to Nathan. We know they're investigating both men (this is in Reflected.) But we know from the end of Reflected the cops definitely think Gideon did the deed, yet they just can't prove it thus far. Maybe they're hoping if Stanton was some how involved and they can find evidence against him, they'll offer Stanton a deal in return for turning state's evidence against Gideon?

It's almost as if Monica has adopted Cary as a foster son. More misguided guilt? Allowing Eva to have a good brother of sorts (Cary) to make up for the monster step-brother (Nathan)? Mind you, I think it's unhealthy of Eva too, allowing her family to semi-support Cary too like they semi-support her via paying for housing. She's giving in to her mother in a dysfunctional way. But then again, Eva is not exactly the picture of functional (understandable with her trauma background).

 

As Sylvia puts it about Gideon, "Gideon has a lot to work through". So does Eva. So does Cary too. The main difference is Eva and Cary have worked through more than Gideon, because both Eva and Cary have benefited from a very good therapist (Dr. Travis in San Diego).

 

I'm hoping that as part of growing in Entwined, Cary grows a pair, so to speak, by starting to support himself and by stopping sabotaging relationships.

Both Elizabeth Vidal and Monica Stanton (Monica Barker at the time) appear to have used the power of money to make sure no one ended up getting criminally charged. Which is wrong, but we know the power money can exert. For both women, the main motive was to make sure the accusations never reached the arrest level (and thus became public). Both were trying to keep the situations secret. The only main difference is Elizabeth refused to believe the accusations were true, while Monica knew they were true but never wanted them public.

 

I fault Monica in many ways for handling things in a way that ended up not protecting Eva. Sure, Monica got a total of $7 million dollars ($5 million of that for Eva herself) in order to make sure there was enough money to have the financial security of protecting Eva. Monica's biggest flaw is equating wealth with protection.

 

Had she not stood in the way of Nathan being prosecuted, he might still be in prison. Sure, he was still a teen-ager at the time, but by the end of the rapes was old enough to be charged as an adult. He was two years older than Eva, so when she miscarried at age 14, he was 16. I gather from the story she's around 25 years old now. He could still have been in prison for child rape eleven years later.

 

Monica failed again when Nathan showed up in New York. She and Stanton continued to try to conspire to hush everything up, by at least considering paying the blackmail in return for Nathan going away. Monica told Eva, after Nathan died, "That's why Richard decided it would be best to just pay him what he wanted. Nathan said he'd stay away from you as long as he had the money to leave the country."

 

Keeping Eva in the dark put her in terrible danger. Nathan wanted more than money. He was after Eva, stalking her, building up to likely raping and then killing her. And because Cary didn't know either, he almost ended up dead - Nathan beat him with a baseball bat to the point where Cary ended up in the hospital with a skull fracture, concussion, broken ribs and a broken arm.

 

Of course, Gideon was at fault too exactly the way Monica was - keeping Eva in the dark that Nathan was in New York. Rather than protecting her by telling her the truth and going to the police (about the blackmail, and if those pictures are of her being raped as a girl, sexually-explicit images of a child) so he could go to prison, Gideon decided to use money/power to quietly put her under physical protection. When he realized Nathan was way too dangerous (because of Cary) Gideon still didn't go to the police. He took matters into his own hands.

Under the U.S. justice system, the "burden of proof" to convict someone of a crime is the highest level in the justice system "beyond reasonable doubt" at a trial. However, police do not need beyond reasonable doubt to investigate someone, nor do they need beyond reasonable doubt to arrest. There are lower levels of proof. Using a simple example of drunk driving I'll illustrate the basic three levels in a criminal case.

 

The first level is "articulable suspicion." A cop cannot simply pull someone over for the heck of it. He/she needs to be able to say "I pulled the person over because (fill in the blank)" To "articulate" equals to "say". Example: "I pulled the driver over because he was weaving." It's enough to further investigate.

 

The next level is "probable cause" which means "it's more probable than not a crime has been committed by this person". Probable cause is enough to arrest someone. But probable cause requires some evidence. Using the drunk driving scenario, examples of evidence amounting to probable cause are signs the person has been drinking (like a strong odor of alcohol on someone's breath), failing field sobriety tests (which can show impairment), and especially failing a breath test - that last one is forensic evidence.

 

But to get a criminal conviction, the police/prosecution must use then use their evidence to prove at a trial the evidence is strong enough to meet the ultimate burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt.

 

In Reflected In You, the police definitely have articulable suspicion. Gideon had a motive (so did Stanton, for that matter, which is why they're investigating him too). But Gideon also had opportunity: he owns the property where the murder happened and he was within 15 minutes walking distance at the time. Thus he had access to Nathan. Note: an alibi is the opposite of incriminating. It's known as "exculpatory". Even if a person has the opportunity to commit a crime, a solid alibi can prove the person didn't take the opportunity to do it.

 

What the police do not yet have is enough evidence for probable cause. The best evidence of all is a confession, which is almost slam dunk. As are eyewitnesses to the crime itself. Evidence not as strong but sometimes enough for probable cause is eyewitnesses placing the suspect at the scene and/or forensic evidence linking the suspect to the crime.

 

Detective Shelley Graves doesn't have probable cause yet to arrest Gideon. Gideon hasn't confessed anything to the police. There's no forensic evidence linking him to the scene (including no security tape.) No eyewitnesses placing him there around the time of the murder.

 

What's more, he's got an alibi the police haven't been able to break (though not for lack of trying). So that's exculpatory: it removes opportunity. Plus he punched a huge hole in the motive by showing he'd left Eva for Corrine well before the night of the murder. As Graves put it, "Cross cut you off, started seeing an old flame .... it wiped out Cross's motive. Why would he kill a man over a woman he'd dumped? He set that up pretty well -- he didn't tell you. You strengthened the lie with your honest reactions."

 

My theory is the police are trying to set him up to confess to Eva. It's their last shot. And if it works, the police might be able to scrape together at least probable cause Eva heard a confession. Maybe through some more "honest reactions" on her part. Like taking him back out of gratitude. Or better yet, her being so horrified he's a killer she decides to go the police herself. If they can get enough probable cause to make her go before a grand jury to testify (either voluntarily on her part or trying to force her by imposing immunity) they could get the evidence they need to arrest him.

 

One last thing: normally, she could refuse to testify before a grand jury by invoking her right against self-incrimination (the "right to silence") She can't be made to testify about someone else's crime if she could implicate herself too (such as she knew beforehand, she actually helped, or she covered up after the fact.) But with forced immunity, the prosecution gives up the ability to use anything she testifies against her own self. If she testified, they could use it against Gideon but not bring any charges against her for anything  she knew or did before, during or after the murder. If she still refuses to testify, even with forced immunity, then they can try to charge her with obstructing justice.

 

Theories, theories. But glimpses we've seen into Entwined show that Gideon is still acting like he's done with Eva (so motive is still weak) and she's acting like she didn't go back to him in gratitude he killed for her (so probable cause he confessed is weak.)

Definitely Shawna, I think. Shawna was the first female friend in New York to ask Eva to go out partying. Shawna was the one who got the Sixth Ninths tickets and then invited Eva to go to the concert. I can see Shawna inviting Eva along to go clubbing with her and some of her friends. Shawna's got a boyfriend, but he's over in Italy.

Megumi maybe. She's gone to lunch with Eva a couple of times. But Megumi's got a brand new boyfriend, that guy she first went out on a blind date with and then ended up getting an invite for a weekend at a place in the Hamptons his family owns.

Cary? Not sure. I'm eager to see what role he plays in the whole Gideon-Eva secret. How much, if any, of the truth do they tell him? Nothing about the murder is my guess if they know the cops are tailing Eva and/or Gideon. The more people who know, the greater the danger. But maybe they do tell Cary that the pair of them (Eva and Gideon) don't want to be seen in public anymore (no more tabloid photos). Cary I'm sure will continue to be a very important character.

I dunno if Eva would be dirty dancing with a strange guy if Cary were at the club the night described in the two snippets.

Back to the detective, Shelley Graves, and her spilling the beans to Eva. Red flags scattered throughout the scene.

 

Graves looked at me, her gaze sharp and flat. Cop's eyes. My Dad had them too. .... (Graves') foot started tapping along with her fingers, her slim body radiating nervous energy ... Graves shrugged, but her eyes gave her away. ....

 

During parts of her laying out the story for Eva, Graves pointedly looked away. And as she was looking away, did nervous little things to try to vent her nervous energy. Tapping her fingers. Taking a swig from a water bottle. Rolling her shoulders.

 

The detective wasn't being kind, I firmly believe. She was making a high-stakes gambit to try to catch Gideon by setting a trap with Eva as bait. Maybe she thought Eva already knew and would give herself away with her own body language. Then the police could exert pressure to have Eva come in with her lawyer and turn state's evidence. Or if Eva didn't know, she'd run right to Gideon (which is exactly what she did do). Graves hoped Gideon would admit to Eva is was true. The cops would watch Eva to see how she reacted, either in horror or, more likely, get back together with Gideon. If what they saw convinced them Gideon admitted to Eva it was true, then the police, again through her lawyer, would try to get her to either turn state's evidence or go down herself for obstruction of justice.

 

This makes sense with Entwined in You glimpses we've seen that Gideon and Eva secretly do get back together but put up an elaborate act they're not.

Agree, GiGi, about Corrine showing up unannounced at Crossfire to try to get to see Gideon and being turned away. He had Nathan in his office at the time. And he would have told his assistant, Scott to not interrupt him under any circumstances. I'll bet when she arrived downstairs, security called up to Gideon's office, and Scott would have had her politely turned away because Gideon was absolutely unavailable at the time.

 

Remember, the night before had been the dinner at the Waldorf, where Corrine and Eva met for the first time. Gideon spent most of dinner talking to Corrine. Dr. Terry Lucas caused trouble by trying to lure Eva away from Gideon. It ended with Eva walking out on Gideon and him chasing after her, barely saying good-bye to Corrine. Makes sense the whole thing made Corrine so insecure she desperately tried to see Gideon, not phone him, the next day.

 

Earlier that same day, Magdalene phoned Eva at Eva's office in a supposed gesture of making up to Eva how rotten she treated Eva. Magdalene also had been at the Waldorf. She'd eavesdropped on the entire Gideon/Corrine conversation.

 

Among the things Magdalene said, when explaining Gideon had not been ignoring her (Eva) while talking to Corrine throughout dinner:

 

"He wasn't ignoring you .... He was managing her, Eva ... I just want you to know he seemed to be thinking about you, trying to keep Corrine from upsetting you."

Hi LN Cronan, You raise some really good points, but here is my question: Who was the second pediatrician/coconspirator who also agree that Gideon wasn't being abused? Did the two individuals know each other or were they unrelated? Here's my next question; why didn't the pediatricians contact Child Protective Services? When a complaint about abuse is made, a healthcare provider is mandated by law to register the complaint so that even if physical evidence of abuse isn't found, a social worker could follow up to ensure the safety of said child. A physician would also have to question the child about the abuse (very gently) and if the child stated that he/she had been abused to the healthcare provider (for example), then the physician would have no alternative but to report a case of abuse. My question is; What the heck happened here?! It seems that both Eva and Gideon were failed by the healthcare system at every single turn. Physicians failed to report complaints of abuse, potential and physical evidence that was found was disregarded, etc.... The type of initial abuse that is described in the book is basically grooming a child for the abuse. I personally think that maybe Gideon tolerated a lot before he said something and that someone or a group of someone's lied. After all how can one explain the level of hatred that Gideon has for Dr. Lucas? I also just want to be clear that there is no mild molestation. What we have here is a case of; fondling, potentially oral and eventual anal penetration. Gideon did not elaborate thus far except through his nightmares. So it will be interesting to see how this entire thing unfolds. He is a man with many dark secrets...

 

Hi GiGi! I've got some theories about the points you raise. But first I want to affirm you're absolutely right -- there is no "mild" molestation. All sexual abuse, especially of children, is serious and is wrong. I should have found a better word to convey the pattern Gideon's abuser used to victimize him, and you hit on exactly the right word: grooming. Grooming is how is started, and it escalated from there.

 

Wikipedia has an article on child sexual abuse that explains the myriad ways it is committed (as well at many of the effects it has on the victims). I invite others on this thread to read the article to discern which abuse patterns Gideon and Eva were subjected to and how in many ways the resultant damage was the same. The link is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_sex_abuse

 

As for the reporting: obviously in Gideon's case, his mother and stepfather used their money to squash the entire matter. Private consultations with pediatricians, and I'll bet the examinations were done at the Vidal house instead of doctor's offices. After all, the therapist originally hired to treat Gideon for his anger issues came out to the house to see him instead of him going to the therapist's office. She (the child therapist) came, bringing a male doctoral student (who became the abuser) along. She was supposed to work with Gideon, but she ended up working with his mother instead, who was in the midst of a difficult pregnancy. The doctoral student was left to work with Gideon. Unsupervised and behind closed doors with him (in the library) at the Vidal mansion.

 

Should the pediatricians Elizabeth Vidal hired to examine Gideon have alerted authorities? YES. They had a legal and moral responsibility to report even the accusations. They should have reported even strong suspicions. Child Protective Services would take over as outside authorities to investigate. I think Elizabeth Vidal privately paid a lot of money to have the accusations investigated herself, out at the house, by private doctors. The outcome was she decided Gideon must be lying. End of case. He was failed on every single level. The private mental health system that exposed him to the actual abuser. The private medical establishment. And worst of all, his family.

 

In Eva's case, Child Services did become involved. Here are a couple of passages from Bared to You from the conversation in which Eva told Gideon about Nathan. One of the questions he asked is how she got out, how did the abuse end.

 

"When I was fourteen. I thought I was having my period, but there was too much blood. My mother panicked and took me to the emergency room. I'd had a miscarriage. In the course of the exam, they found evidence of ... other trauma. Vaginal and anal scarring -- "

 

" ... The hospital reported the abuse to child services. It's all a matter of public record, which has been sealed, but there are people who know the story."

 

We know Nathan was dealt with behind closed doors instead of criminally prosecuted. However, Eva's mother believed her right away and got her out of the home, leaving her first husband, Nathan's father, and divorcing him soon after. Child Services, I think, deferred to the way the case was handled because the child victim was permanently removed from the abusive household, which consisted of a step family, by the biological mother of the victim, who whatever other choices she made, at least immediately took decisive steps to protect the victim. Which likely included continued medical treatment for the physical and psychological damage.

Eva surmised Dr. Lucas is one of the two pediatricians that Gideon's mother consulted, and that's why Eva confronted him. Her guess was based on what Eva got from confronting Gideon's mother. From Reflected (these are things Gideon's mother said during the fight with Eva)

 

"I had Gideon examined by two separate pediatricians to look for .... trauma." 

 

"Who was I supposed to believe when there was no proof. No one could find anything to support Gideon's claims."

 

When Gideon finally told Eva some things about the abuse, the behavior he describes is molestation that began mildly and escalated in seriousness as it continued. Molestation wouldn't leave physical marks. But from some things Eva overheard him say during his nightmares (get off me ... it hurts) it sounds like the abuse ultimately escalated to forcible penetration, which does leave scarring. What if his mother had him examined while the abuse was still in the molestation phase, decided Gideon was lying for attention because there wasn't any signs of physical trauma, and forced him continue to see the abuser. This part of what his mother said to Eva chills me.

 

"Gideon was a troubled boy, struggling through therapy over his father's death, and desperate for attention."

 

Reflected in You spoiler question for Sylvia (though the answer might be in Entwined.) Did Dr. Lucas lie about the results of his examination of Gideon, or, were there not yet physical trauma signs when he did examine Gideon? Gideon hates him not because Lucas lied, but because he was one of many adults who failed to protect him? That Lucas basically said "the kid's lying" and the abuser ended up continuing to have access to Gideon? And the abuser, knowing the "coast was clear" because no one believed Gideon, escalated from molesting him to raping him?

The dance club scene (snippets 6 and 7) takes place in New York. Gideon is at home and Eva is out with some girls at a club Gideon owns. The clues are in snippet 7, the phone call Eva makes:

"I went to the bar and waited for an opening to ask for Pellegrino and the phone. I dialed Gideon’s cell number, since it was the one I had memorized. I figured it was safe since I was calling from a public place he owned."

Meaning she used the bar phone, instead of her cell phone. She's got his cell, office and home numbers programmed into her cell phone, but it makes sense it's his cell she had memorized, because she rarely called him at home.

Further down in snippet 7:

He growled. â€œCome home and be bad with me.â€

The thought of him at home, ready for me, made me even more eager for him. “I’m stuck here â€˜til the girls are done, which looks to be a while.â€

 

“I can come to you. Within twenty minutes ....(what he says next is pretty hot).

So she's somewhere within 20 minutes of his apartment. She's out partying like a single woman as part of continuing to keep up the public act she and Gideon aren't seeing one another. And when he does show up 20 minutes later, he's careful about his appearance. From snippet 6:

" .... him in a dark T-shirt and jeans, his hair pulled back from that breathtaking face. No one seeing him would put him together with Gideon Cross, the international mogul. This guy appeared younger and rougher, distinctive only for his incredible smokin’ hotness."

 

Two things interest me: I think Eva is able to sneak in and out of his apartment building just like he's able to sneak in and out of her's. And they're being careful about which telephone numbers they use (numbers that leave a paper trail on phone records.)

Eva told Gideon her dad never knew about Nathan, but her dad could see she was wild an angry, which is why he sent her to therapy. Her dad knew about a particular therapist out there in San Diego, Dr. Travis, had "mad skills" (Eva's joke) working with troubled young people.

Eva went to live with him for several years around the time she was in college, because she felt she needed to get out from under her mom's overprotectiveness. Once she got out there, she went through a promiscuous phase. From hints dropped in the story, her dad knew at least something about her unhealthy relationship with a rock singer (that would have been Brett). And on duty one night, her dad ended up pulling over another one of Eva's boyfriends, discovering the guy was driving while getting a blow job (NO, not from Eva - it was some other woman). Yikes.

Eva's mom, Monica, is deeply ashamed of what happened. I see two reasons why she never told Eva's dad, Victor, about the rapes.

One: as a cop, he'd want to see a child rapist like Nathan sent to prison for the rest of his life. Whereas Monica never wanted anyone to find out what happened. She opted to have the case quietly handled in civil court with a confidential settlement instead of openly in criminal court.

Two: as a father, he might have tried to take custody away from Monica. Not saying he'd succeed, but he almost certainly would try.

I totally agree with you. I think Angus had no idea what happen to Gideon until Gideon told his mother, the I think Angus was the only one that believed Gideon and with that go the most absolute trust from Gideon. I don't believe Angus had anything to do with Nathan... Gideon wouldn't want to involve anyone.

 

 

I like your Angus theory that he may have been the only person under the Vidal roof who believed Gideon, thus earning Gideon's absolute trust. This makes sense that Gideon kept him in his life even after he became independent of his family. And remember, Angus isn't simply Gideon's chief driver - he's also Gideon's bodyguard.

 

As soon as Nathan showed up in the background, Gideon quietly started having Eva protected without her knowledge, especially by Angus. I'm sure at some point Gideon confided in Angus about Nathan, maybe as soon as Gideon learned Nathan had come to New York. Almost certainly once Gideon found out Nathan had beaten Cary half to death (and so Gideon now knew Eva's life was in danger.)

 

If there was anyone Gideon could trust, it would be Angus, and I think with the stakes so high, he would have told Angus the truth.

Gideon couldn't trust Corrine with his own dark secrets even when he was engaged to her all those years ago. No way would he trust her with the even darker secret of who Nathan was and why he had to die. Especially because he never wanted Eva to know any details about what happened to him as a boy and that he committed Nathan's murder. To tell someone else, especially Corrine, was to risk Eva learning those secrets.

 

He took Corrine to the party (and took her to dinner two nights before) for one reason only: so that he was photographed in her company. Corrine is part of his cover story that he had left Eva and part of his alibi for his whereabouts the night Nathan died.

 

He'll have simply asked her if she'd like to spend a little time with him. And she'll have jumped at the chance, no questions asked.

 

While he and Eva were apart, he began trusting Eva more, especially about his abuse history. He worked up the courage to finally open up to her after she worked up the courage to go after his mother and Dr. Lucas for their roles in sweeping the abuse under the rug. But still, he never wanted her to know he was a killer. His first reaction to her finding out from the cops was despair.

The snippet released today was seriously HAWT!