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Entwined With You Snippets


LN Cronan

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But the Detective said to Eva that the evidence that they collected from Nathan's hotel room showed that Nathan was stalking her.

From this evidence, the detective said that she felt Gideon perceived Eva to be in mortal danger.

 

I believe that Gideon and his security team had Nathan followed, knew his whereabouts and had cased his hotel room...

 

Yes!!! Another member of Team Gideon Had Nathan Followed.

 

Gideon having had Nathan under surveillance is one of my firmest theories. It's the only explanation I can see for why Gideon knew on Monday that Nathan had gone postal on Cary, but the cops didn't learn until sometime after Nathan's body was found Friday (five days later) that Nathan had been the one who attacked Cary.

 

Gideon must have had Nathan under surveillance. Why wouldn't he? C'mon, this is the guy who has Eva followed around all the time, "keeping a protective eye" on her (otherwise known as stalking -- Gideon takes it way too far.) If he's going to keep constant tabs on Eva just because he's a control freak, why wouldn't Gideon be monitoring every last movement of a rapist who has explicit photos of Eva being victimized and who is trying to blackmail Gideon. You can't tell me he was constantly watching Eva and yet letting Nathan run around loose.

 

My own theory is that Gideon's original motive for having Nathan followed was two-fold: find out where the originals of the Eva photos were hidden, and to make sure he wasn't going anywhere near her. Gideon obviously had something planned. But the beating changed everything.

 

It's important to note two things Sylvia has clarified in spoiler-question postings:

 

  1. Gideon shifted gears because he believed the danger level to Eva had become too high.
  2. The North Carolina trip was not part of the plan to pull away from Eva. It began after that.

 

They spent an entire weekend completely out of contact with the outside world (no phones, no Internet) in North Carolina. They got home to New York around midnight Sunday. By Monday night, Gideon was blowing off Eva and taking Corrine to dinner. So Gideon had to have found out on Monday that Nathan beat Cary half to death, because he'd begun pulling away from Eva. Thursday night, Nathan was killed.

 

Meanwhile, the official police case was still open when Nathan died. If the cops had known Monday (or Tuesday or Wednesday or even during the day Thursday), they would have arrested Nathan. When the cops showed up at Eva's apartment on Friday night, she instantly assumed they were there to see Cary in connection with the investigation into the assault. 

 

It is interesting to note the cops never did tell Cary that Nathan did it. There's good reason for them to have kept their mouths shut. Because they now had an open investigation into the murder of the assailant, an investigation in which Cary's beating played some sort of part --- and an investigation in which Cary was surrounded by what cops call "persons of interest" (i.e possibly involved somehow): his roommate/best friend Eva, her boyfriend Gideon, her mother Monica, and her stepfather Stanton.

 

I do have a couple of things that puzzle me, which I hope Entwined clears up:

  1. Nathan had been stalking Eva. Did this continue after Gideon put Nathan under surveillance? And if so, what was Gideon doing about it then? Because I wonder if Nathan's stalking included being outside the Crossfire that afternoon Eva's mother, Monica, and Monica's driver/bodyguard, Clancy, spotted him on the sidewalk.
  2. What exactly was Gideon's original plan to punish Nathan for everything Nathan had done to Eva as a child and what Nathan was trying to do now (blackmail Gideon)? Gideon had to have had something specific in mind. As Sylvia says, Gideon does everything for a reason.

Whatever Gideon had been planning, that changed suddenly after the Cary beating. Detective Graves herself told Eva her theory: Gideon now believed Eva's life was in danger. Graves even admitted she thinks Gideon was right. Sooner or later, Nathan would have killed Eva.

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Wow GiGi,

 

You have given me a lot to think about. I really want to think about some points you mentioned that I hadn't thought about before so let me get back to you later today with a response!

 

Hi Mrsmajessick,

That’s exactly my point sister! I agree completely! I would like to think that Gideon is coming from a child’s perspective; that is he is reacting like an eleven year old boy, instead of a twenty-eight year old man.

I once read an article that basically said “that a child’s development tends to arrest at the age when the child was first abusedâ€. It is a form of arrested development. I don’t know if there is any specific literature or any type of proof that refutes this assertion but in this instance Gideon’s actions seem to fit this theory.

I think that Gideon’s lack of compassion toward Corinne may end up creating a devastating situation for all parties involved. Corinne may go by way of “fatal attractionâ€. As Corinne continues to have interaction with Eva, she seems to be getting nastier and nastier. It wouldn’t be a far stretch for me to see Corinne losing it mentally and then retaliating in an aggressive or violent manner. If something like that happened then I would be profoundly sad for her. Other than loving Gideon and being caught up by his lies of omission, Corinne seems to be a good person.

I think that this type of situation could occur very easily because I don’t think that Corinne may have taken a really good look at why her relationship with Gideon didn’t work out. I think it was easier to blame herself then to look at Gideon’s actions. If Corinne really moved back to New York thinking that she was going to win back Gideon, then that should be a huge red flag for everyone. Corinne married a man she didn’t truly love and left a man that never really loved her. That is an incredibly sad situation for someone to be in.

What I don’t understand is why Gideon wasn’t freaked out by the fact that Corinne picked an apartment right around the corner from him. If you combine that with the fact that Corinne calls and speaks with Gideon on a daily basis that would send up another red flag for me.

I can hardly wait to see what is going to happen in June. It will be very interesting to see how Sylvia deals with Gideon’s lack of compassion toward Corinne. For such a smart man, Gideon can be very short sighted and it seems that because of his obsessive love of Eva, his short sighted tendencies seem to be affecting everyone.

Your theory about Gideon’s moral compass is absolutely plausible and quite frankly I never thought about it that way. Well put! As for the killer and quantifying killers bit, I have to finishing laughing, pick myself up off the floor and post this! :)

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Wow GiGi,

 

You have given me a lot to think about. I really want to think about some points you mentioned that I hadn't thought about before so let me get back to you later today with a response!

 

Hi Mrsmajessick,

That’s exactly my point sister! I agree completely! I would like to think that Gideon is coming from a child’s perspective; that is he is reacting like an eleven year old boy, instead of a twenty-eight year old man.

I once read an article that basically said “that a child’s development tends to arrest at the age when the child was first abusedâ€. It is a form of arrested development. I don’t know if there is any specific literature or any type of proof that refutes this assertion but in this instance Gideon’s actions seem to fit this theory.

I think that Gideon’s lack of compassion toward Corinne may end up creating a devastating situation for all parties involved. Corinne may go by way of “fatal attractionâ€. As Corinne continues to have interaction with Eva, she seems to be getting nastier and nastier. It wouldn’t be a far stretch for me to see Corinne losing it mentally and then retaliating in an aggressive or violent manner. If something like that happened then I would be profoundly sad for her. Other than loving Gideon and being caught up by his lies of omission, Corinne seems to be a good person.

I think that this type of situation could occur very easily because I don’t think that Corinne may have taken a really good look at why her relationship with Gideon didn’t work out. I think it was easier to blame herself then to look at Gideon’s actions. If Corinne really moved back to New York thinking that she was going to win back Gideon, then that should be a huge red flag for everyone. Corinne married a man she didn’t truly love and left a man that never really loved her. That is an incredibly sad situation for someone to be in.

What I don’t understand is why Gideon wasn’t freaked out by the fact that Corinne picked an apartment right around the corner from him. If you combine that with the fact that Corinne calls and speaks with Gideon on a daily basis that would send up another red flag for me.

I can hardly wait to see what is going to happen in June. It will be very interesting to see how Sylvia deals with Gideon’s lack of compassion toward Corinne. For such a smart man, Gideon can be very short sighted and it seems that because of his obsessive love of Eva, his short sighted tendencies seem to be affecting everyone.

Your theory about Gideon’s moral compass is absolutely plausible and quite frankly I never thought about it that way. Well put! As for the killer and quantifying killers bit, I have to finishing laughing, pick myself up off the floor and post this! :)

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Hi LNCronan,

I read your posting (thread 122) and that’s what my understanding was as well. I think that Gideon may have a case of arrested development. It sounds crazy, but if the reader looks at his behaviours thus far, it seems like it is an eleven year old boy and not a twenty-eight year old man reacting to these situations.

• You make an interesting point about Gideon’s mother having left him emotionally. Gideon may very well have perceived that.

• I think that when Gideon told Eva to go slow that first time in the limousine, it was because he didn’t want her to get hurt. In BTY, Gideon described her anatomy as being “tightâ€, so it was my understanding that Gideon would not want to do anything that could physically harm her (i.e. As in Gideon was physically responsible for harming another person in such an intimate way.).

• Gideon’s concern for her comfort during s** shows a man who cares, is capable of caring and has compassion for another human being.

• I just want to clarify are you saying that there is a correlation between the scene in Gideon’s limousine and then later on the scene in Vidal family library? If so, please explain. :)

• As for the scenes between Gideon and Eva being in his apartment-to me that shows a man who is allowing another human being into his world “literallyâ€. I think that at this point Gideon is in love and that is why he is taking so many risks.

• Another point to be made is that it is cruel for Gideon to give Corinne (false/by omission/or otherwise) false hope. Surely Gideon must realize that Corinne is still in love with him. If he doesn’t then maybe he needs to get his “eyes†checked. Maybe he and Magdalene go in on a two for one special for cataract surgery! Sigh!

• It was my understanding that in Gideon’s mind, he and Eva had not broken up that first time. He was simply returning her keys to her, because he had a copy made and placed a key of his apartment on her key ring.

What do you think? What does everyone think? I am so looking forward to everyone’s thoughts. :)

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Hi LNCronan,

Are you trying to mock poor little “ol†me with your “red herring†theory that someone else killed Nathan (wink, wink!)? :) That’s ok, I said it before I will say it again…someone has to root for the underdog! It might as well be me! :):)

I was thinking about the whole Gideon confessing thing and somehow I don’t think that in the end he would. If by some stretch of the imagination he did the ultimate crime to Eva, I think that it would only be under the most controlled of situations and within the confines of a marriage. Spousal privilege would be applicable, etc.

I was also thinking about what you said about Eva’s dad and I have to wonder whether Victor would try to get Gideon to confess or whether he would go after him legally himself. My gut instinct would be a firm “NOâ€! If Eva’s dad went digging for all the facts in the case then he would find out about Eva being repeatedly and brutally raped, the subsequent pregnancy and miscarriage and all the evidence of “physical trauma†Eva suffered. I would then wonder whether his instincts as a father would outweigh his professional instincts. You never know, this type of situation could actually backfire and Victor could wind up helping Gideon and Eva cover up Nathan’s murder and not lose on ounce of sleep in doing so.

What I would love to see is how Victor would react to Monica the next time he saw her if he found out about his daughter’s abuse. I almost think that Victor would go looking for Monica and try to get some kind of explanation as to why Monica had her head in the clouds and wasn’t paying attention to her daughter for all those years. Surely Eva’s personality must have changed during those years of abuse? Why wasn’t Monica paying attention to that? What do you think? What does everyone think? :)

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Hi LNCronan,

I had a couple thoughts of my own about the theories:

• If Gideon had Nathan followed (which is possible), why didn’t the investigators intervene when Carey started being attacked.

• Carey took an initial blow to the back of the head, which means when he fell to the ground, he either fell onto his stomach or onto his back. His first instinct would have been to cover the back of his head or his face and head (automatic response). So this was a very serious situation from the start. Why did the investigators not intervene sooner? Or worse, did they just sit back and watch? I don’t believe this is a “red herringâ€. Gideon surrounds himself with only the very best people and yet someone on his watch let that kind of beating occur without him or her having done something sooner? I don’t buy it. By anyone’s standards that is a colossal screw up.

• In the first book BTY, Gideon said something along the lines “…I am going to make him wish he was dead…â€. That means that Gideon didn’t plan on killing Nathan I think he just planned on torturing the man and picking apart his world piece by piece until he had nothing! Literally! Figuratively! The Works!

• I made a comment earlier about imminent danger and perceived danger. There is a big difference there. If you read the detectives comments, she chooses her words very carefully and that distinction can mean the difference between justifiable homicide and premeditated murder.

• Gideon would have no way of explaining how he; stalked Nathan, have him under surveillance, beat him up, planned his murder….that all spells premeditation to me.

I also have to wonder where the original copies of the video and photos are. I am sure that Nathan wouldn’t have shown original copies to either Stanton or Nathan. There would be too much risk involved with the blackmail evidence being destroyed. Somehow, given the personality Gideon has, I don’t see that man resting until he has found every last copy (including the originals) of those damning videos and photos. What does everyone think?

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Hi LNCronan,

Your comments about Gideon entering therapy voluntarily relate in some way to what it was that I was saying. I think that Gideon did all of this because yes, he was afraid of losing Eva, but I also think that he was beginning to realize that everything he had done up until then wasn’t working. He knew that he needed help and he reached out.

If the reader were to sit and look at Gideon’s action of going into therapy; that would be a HUGE step for a man who had been horribly abused by a Grad Student/counselor. To me that is mind blowing! It is amazing what love can do to someone! That is where I see Gideon’s character growing and evolving. He is no longer just reacting like an eleven year old boy; he is taking the steps to act like a man. What do you think? What does everyone think?

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Hey GiGi, So many cool questions. 

 

Re: limo sex scene versus the library sex scene. No direct correlations: each stands on it's own. But there's a lot of different layers to the library scene. It's well worth re-reading, because in it are scattered several tiny clues about Gideon's past as a child. Clues that almost certainly will blossom as Entwined takes us into the dark places of Gideon's past. There's so much going on in that scene between library what Eva and Gideon are doing (which is pretty hawt!). It's the things Gideon is saying that are important. It's a very long scene. And with the party scene around it, it's one of the longest sequences in the entire book (Bared). There's a reason for this, I believe. In the first book, Sylvia planted a lot of things she planned even then to play out in the subsequent novels. Like I said, we could devote an entire thread just to the party at the Vidal estate.

 

One thing I did want to mention about that whole party is what a creep Christopher Jr. is. Not just for "doing" Magdalene out in the hedges while she was so upset about having walked in on Gideon making love to Eva in the library. But for inviting Eva at all. Christopher had found out somehow she and Gideon were on the outs. He convinced her to come to the party promising her that Gideon wouldn't show up. Christopher manipulated her into coming by inviting Cary so that Cary could make some business contacts. What was Christopher hoping to do? Watch Magdalene go after Eva? Mess with both women? F*** both if he could get away with it. I really can't stand Christopher.

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Nathan under surveillance when he attacks Cary ....

 

Remember the whole humor about Eva getting even with Gideon for having her closely tailed in Vegas by arranging for some goon bodyguard to plant himself within three feet of Gideon in Arizona? Cute, huh. But in all seriousness, physical surveillance of Nathan would involve people hanging back at a distance. Too close and he could spot a tail.

 

  • I think that at a distance, the tail spotted him attack, and he (or she) came running. Nathan got in several blows and then took off running as the witness (the tail) approached to intervene. 
  • Cary had a skull fracture, a broken arm and broken ribs. He said the first blow was to his head. After he went down and Nathan again raised the bat, I'm guessing Cory threw up his arm to protect his head. This is a classic defensive move that leads to defensive wounds to an arm. Second blow breaks the arm. And while the arm is up, the rib cage is exposed. Third blow is to the torso. Then Nathan hears something like "Hey you, stop!!!!"  Takes off running. The entire attack could have gone down in mere seconds.
  • The tail would have stayed with the seriously injured victim to get help. And to try to figure out who the guy was and why Nathan attacked.
  • My guess is the tail did not recognize Cary on sight (he was assigned to Nathan only.) Plus Cary's face was a mess. As a stranger, he wouldn't be able to get info about a semi-conscious guy. Digging for info through the hospital would take a while through back channels to learn Cary's identity. It probably took Gideon's people much of the weekend to learn the beating victim's identity. All sorts of alarm bells would have gone off then. 
  • Cary was attacked around the corner from a nightclub on Friday night. At the time, Gideon and Eva were at the concert. They left in his limo for an all-night drive to North Carolina. Angus drove part of the way, but they switched drivers somewhere en-route in the middle of the night. Gideon and Eva's cell phones were sent north with the car. No phone nor Internet at the beach house. They stayed all weekend. I presume they flew back Sunday in one of Gideon's jets. Originally, they were supposed to fly down, but Gideon ended up having them driven, giving him hours or privacy to fight/f*** with Eva about her kissing Brett. Neither took any phone calls.
  • Because Angus didn't drive all the way, he wouldn't know the exact location of the secluded beach house if he needed to find Gideon that weekend. By early Saturday, neither Gideon nor Eva was reachable by phone. It wasn't until they arrived home close to midnight on Sunday and Gideon immediately checked his phone messages first that they found out Cary was in the hospital.
  • Gideon arranged for Eva to stay by Cary's bedside all night. Early Monday morning before work, he stopped by to see her and to tell her he'd arranged with her boss to get her time off. He was as tender as ever. As he walked away, he answered a call to his cell phone. I think it was at that point he got the call telling him what his security people knew.
  • So not only would Gideon have been told Nathan did it, but probably got an eyewitness report of just how postal Nathan had got, how enraged he was. Gideon sees what Cary looks like in the hospital AND gets a blow by blow (literally) description of what happened. No wonder Gideon's anxiety level for Eva rose to the point where he decided on Monday Nathan needed to die.
  • After Gideon left the hospital, he started blowing Eva off, and he took Corrine out that night. Already, he was starting the Corrine-Gideon-Eva love triangle.

Detective Graves had a couple of theories. That Nathan attacked Cary to try to intimidate Gideon, probably because Gideon wasn't giving in to the blackmail demand. That right away, being seen with Corrine in public was an attempt to fool Nathan into thinking Gideon backed off from Eva. But also it was to start to eliminate his motive to get Nathan (the motive being him in love with Eva.)

 

We know, from what Sylvia posted somewhere, he met with his security people Tuesday night at his home. My guess: there was a full meeting re-examining all the weeks of intelligence they had on Nathan. Plus someone probably would have "cased" Nathan's hotel room by then. Finding the scary stalker stuff that even Detective Graves later described as evidence leading her to believe Nathan would have killed Eva sooner or later.

 

Gideon already laid some groundwork on Monday. My guess is Tuesday night, armed with all the evidence of how dangerous Nathan was, Gideon decided for certain to kill Nathan as soon as possible. He threw together the arrangements for his alibi (and Eva's alibi) for their movements on Thursday night.

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Mrsmajessick, I must say I LOVE your observation that Gideon's moral compass started pointing in the right direction when Eva came into his life!!!! A really great way of putting it.

 

Because as much as we love the good in Gideon, there's a lot of dark there too. He's done some pretty vindictive stuff. His capacity for cruelty even extended to Eva herself during much of the fight they had in the limo after he caught her passionately kissing Brett. It wasn't until she told him to stop treating her like a w**** (which is exactly what he was doing) that something sad entered his eyes. But rather than stopping it, he challenged her to stop it. He reminded her she could safeword at any time. So the punishment went on and on until he got the answer he wanted.

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OK, one more post for the evening ....

 

Why Gideon Just Doesn't Have a Clue Corrine's Chasing Him (and Magdalene Hanging On So Long) Is Nuts.

 

Eva tries to explain this to Gideon. See page 331 of Bared. He just doesn't get it. Even when Eva tells him she thinks Corrine is stalking him. And explains that Magdalene wore her hair long to make herself look more like Corrine.

 

She says something to Gideon that appears to go over his head at the time, but I'm hoping he remembers later about Corrine. Because he does remember things Eva tells him. Might not always take them as seriously as he ought to (and later finds out the hard way he should have.) But at least he listens.

 

So I'm hoping as Corrine gets increasingly desperate in Entwined, that Gideon will remember what Eva said to him the night she met Corrine for the first time:

 

     "Don't you get it? You drive women off the deep end because you're the ultimate. You're the grand prize. If a woman can't have you, they know they're settling for less than the best. So they can't think about not having you. They just think of crazy ways to get you."

 

He responded by joking that the one woman he does want, Eva, " ..... spends a lot of time running in the opposite direction."

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Hi LNCronan,

You are right about Christopher Jr. It is hard for the reader to figure out exactly where he was coming from. I personally wouldn’t even know where to begin in terms of speculation. The most obvious choice would be that he hoped Magdalene and Eva would have gotten into it again. Maybe so much so that Eva would have thrown her hands up in the air and walked away from Gideon for good. Then maybe Christopher Jr. could have swept in and walked away with the damsel in distress! Sigh! Rotten Fairy Tales!

The party scene was significant for me because it gave me a clue as to how Christopher Jr. felt about Magdalene. He was trying to send a woman in to do his dirty work for him (i.e. Break up Eva and Gideon for good) and he didn’t even care about a woman he was sleeping with. The reader is left with that feeling by the way Sylvia described the scene…â€it looked like he knew where to touch, rub, was well acquainted with her body…†(I am paraphrasing here, but the meaning is clear) Christopher Jr. and Magdalene had slept together before and perhaps on a regular or frequent basis. In Christopher Jr.’s eyes, Magdalene wasn’t a person with feelings. She was something to be used (like an object of sorts), used up and tossed as aside when his main objective/goal was achieved. Holy crap, this guy is starting to sound like Gideon…a cruder version of him….but him all the same.

It seems that no one in this family has a moral compass. I am really beginning to wonder if everyone is morally corrupt, then what is going to happen to poor Ireland. Sigh! Maybe Sylvia will give her a series of her own. :) What do you think? What does everyone think?

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Hi LNCronan,

I read your posting and that was exactly my point. Carey was hit from behind, put his arms up to protect his head and had his arm broken in the process. I personally think that Nathan got in several good blows before Carey’s bones started breaking. Carey was a healthy young man so it would have taken some effort to “break†a body. The argument could be made as to what kind of bat Nathan used (metal or wood) could be a determining factor in just how many blows he was able to get in before he was chased off.

You are doing an incredible job of compiling the information for this collective working theory. :) Thank you! :) I swear if you keep this up, you are going to be able to write an “alternate†fan’s choice of Sylvia’s books. You will have all the answers ready even before the reader has questions. If you are not Sylvia Day in disguise are you a modern day young Miss Marple? :) I just have to ask…:)

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Is it possible Christopher just invites Eva to the party so he can throw it in Gideon's face afterwards? Plus maybe he really believes he has a shot with Eva and he wants to take a chance when she is at a "weak" emotional moment? 

 

I still think Gideon was upfront with Corrine. Telling her that he needed someone to accompany him to events. Corrine will of course think this will lead to something more. She will become desperate in EWY IMO. Saying this though I worry about Eva. It kills her to see Corrine and Gideon together. As much as her relationship with Gideon has grown and they are starting to trust, she is still jealous on some level and seeing him with her constantly is going to sting.

 

Now... who do we think is going to to be the recipient of Eva's recently aquired Krav Maga skills?

 

When will Victor reappear?

 

Will Eva be honest with Cary about his assault and her quiet relationship with Gideon?

 

What is Christopher Vidal Sr. role in this? Surely he had one. That has to be the reason Gideon now has "CONTROLLING" interest in his company.

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We the readers directly know next to nothing about Vidal Sr., because we see the story through Eva's eyes, and she's met the guy only once, briefly, at the Vidals' garden party. But there's plenty of Gideon/Vidal back story to piece together from clues scattered in other parts of the two Crossfire novels. And because Entwined will delve into Gideon's dark past, I'll bet the bigger picture will paint his stepfather as a true villain.

Page 220 of Bared describes Eva meeting Mr. and Mrs. Vidal (Gideon's mother) for the first time in the receiving line at the garden party. Elizabeth comes off as so touchy-feely that it makes Eva uneasy. Plus Elizabeth is, IMHO, overly blunt about the fact Eva's blonde, not brunette. Elizabeth does not make a good first impression on Eva. But Eva's first impression of Christopher Sr. is bland, SO bland I think this is a MAJOR RED HERRING.

I'll bet you ladies that once we've sat up all night reading Entwined, we'll find out the man's got some serious skeletons. Maybe so bad that we'll be even angrier at Gideon's stepfather as we are at the pervert who at the very least molested Gideon (we know this based on the little Gideon told Eva near the end of Reflected, in which Gideon describes how he was touched) and who very likely brutally anally r****** Gideon (the nature of Gideon's nightmares, which involve reliving of physical pain, hint strongly of this.)

This is how Eva describes her impression of Christopher Sr. when she briefly met him, the only time she's yet to interact with the man. Starting in the middle of Bared page 220:
 

" .... I found my hand clasped by Christopher Vidal Sr. In many ways, he reminded me of his son (Christopher Jr.) with his slate green eyes and boyish smile. In others, he was a pleasant surprise. Dressed in khakis, loafers and a cashmere cardigan, he looked more like a college professor than a music company executive.


Here's what Christopher Sr. said to her. "Please call me Chris. It makes it a little easier to distinguish between me and Christopher (Jr.). His head tilted to the side as he contemplated me through quirky brass spectacles. "I can see why Gideon is so taken with you. Your eyes are a stormy gray, yet they're so clear and direct. Quite the most beautiful eyes I think I've ever seen, aside from my wife's." (Side note: Gideon got his stunning blue eyes from his mother, as well as his inky dark hair. Eva got her blonde hair from her mother and her gray eyes from her father.)


Christopher Sr. asked Eva whether Gideon planned to come to the party too. When Eva answered, "Not that I'm aware of," Christopher Sr. answers "."We always hope .... please head back to the gardens and make yourself at home."


And that, ladies, is it, of the direct knowledge we have from inside Eva's head about meeting Vidal Sr.. Pieces of backstory scattered elsewhere:


  • Elizabeth's first husband, Geoffrey Cross, had been the chairman of an investment firm who got caught running a massive Ponzi scheme. Rather than go to prison, he shot himself in the head. Gideon, their only child, was 5 at the time of his father's suicide.
  • Elizabeth married Christopher Vidal soon after and had two more children. Doing the math, it would appear Christopher Jr. was born very early in the marriage (making him around 6, maybe 7, years younger than Gideon. Ireland, their sister, was born 5 years after Christopher.)
  • Elizabeth had a difficult pregnancy with Ireland. Gideon, a very young teen at the time, had serious anger issues, and his younger half-brother (5 at the time) had begun imitating Gideon by physically acting out.
  • At that point, the Vidals put Gideon into therapy. The professionals treated Gideon at home (the Vidal mansion) instead of an office. The psychiatrist/psychologist was a woman. Tagging along was a doctoral student, who was male.
  • The shrink was supposed to be treating Gideon, but she ended up instead concentrating on Elizabeth. The pregnancy coupled with two acting out sons was too much of a strain on Elizabeth.
  • Gideon was increasingly left alone with the male doctoral student. It was at this time Gideon was sexually abused.
  • Somehow (we don't know yet) his mother found out. She had him privately examined by two pediatricians (we don't know who, but evidence suggests one of them was Dr. Terry Lucas, who would have been in his late 20s at the time ad thus fresh out of medical school.)
  • Elizabeth Vidal later told Eva, when Eva confronted her in Reflected, the examinations showed no sign of trauma. The conclusion: Gideon was lying for attention, because he was a messed up kid. The whole matter was privately covered up (instead of the mandatory reporting to outside authorities that even the mere hint of child sexual abuse should have been, regardless of the presence or lack of physical trauma signs.)
  • Something Dr. Lucas did "alienated" Gideon from his family. And left a grudge so deep that Gideon as a man got revenge by carrying on an affair with Lucas' wife. After Anne Lucas fell in love with Gideon, he rejected her and "sent her back to her husband." We've seen in both novels the men hate one another's guts.
  • Gideon left home for good when Ireland was young. I'm guessing this would be as soon as he turned 18 and was legally an adult. He attended Columbia University for undergrad. He didn't do grad school. It may be he even dropped out of undergrad to devote full time to start making a fortune. (Note: he wouldn't be the first gazillionaire to drop out of an Ivy league college to start a company and get filthy rich young. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg did, as did Microsoft founder Bill Gates, both of whom dropped out of Harvard.)
  • Gideon got his start playing blackjack, counting cards to win and making useful business contacts while at the gaming tables. He went on to found Cross Industries, whose holdings include entertainment properties like casinos, hotels and resorts in Nevada and Arizona (probably other places too) and major real estate holdings in New York City.
  • Somewhere along the way, Gideon's holdings came to include majority ownership of Vidal Records. (How he did this, we're not sure. But based on the vast wealth of Vidal Sr., I'm guessing Vidal Records is a public company, not private. The difference: public companies are traded on a stock exchange, and anyone can buy shares. The shareholders, not the founders, actually own the company, and a board of directors, not the founders, control it. Gideon could have acquired majority control by systematically buying shares every time some other shareholder sold his/her shares.)
  • Eva wonders what the story is behind Gideon acquiring majority control of Vidal Records. She even asked him. But Gideon, ever evasive about many matters Vidal, wouldn't explain.
  • Gideon almost never steps foot in the Vidal mansion he grew up in. His mother has visited him in his penthouse apartment (she's the only woman besides Eva and the staff to step foot there.)
  • Gideon did show up at garden party after all, upon learning somehow Eva (and Cary) were there as invited guests. At the time, Eva and Gideon were four days into their first serious estrangement. Gideon had distanced himself because she'd witnessed his nightmares for the first time. Then he'd hoped she'd come back on her own. When she didn't, he decided to chase her that day. Upon finding out where she was, he rushed there.
  • He hauled her into the library, where they talked, made love and reconciled. Then he took her away from the party after a brief, very frosty exchange with his mother and only a little bit of attention to his now-teenage sister Ireland. He spoke to Ireland only because Eva talked him into it.
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Based on all the backstory above, here are some Vidal questions I hope Entwined will answer. I'm even hoping Sylvia will toss out some Gideon/Vidal Sr. clues as spoiler question answers. Or snippets (Though thus far, the snippets are all juicy Gideon/Eva stuff and that's fine by me. I still laugh about "bad girl" nightclub Eva daring Gideon to "punish" her. And the new one this week, snippet 9, of Eva's weeping and Gideon's holding and kissing her made me reach for a tissue.)

 

  • Did the pediatrician exams actually FAIL to turn up trauma signs, because at the time there weren't any -- yet? Hand jobs wouldn't leave any marks.
  • Or, did the exams, in fact, turn up trauma signs? There are several ways oral and/or anal penetration would leave marks on a child. Forcible anal penetration would leave the most severe physical trauma signs of all on any child, male or female.
  • If there were trauma signs, was Elizabeth Vidal herself lied to? By pediatricians paid off by her husband? (Let's be honest, some doctors can be bought. Especially someone like a Terry Lucas, fresh out of medical school, probably struggling under student loan debt, and so willing to be talked into being paid a lot of money by Vidal Sr. in return for silence.)
  • Biggest question of all: regardless of what the exams did (or did not) reveal, was the abuser subsequently allowed to continue to have unsupervised access to Gideon? Because if this were true, his mother's failure to believe him, devastating on it's own, would be so much more devastating. Not only did she fail him, but now because she thinks Gideon is lying, the coast is now clear for the abuser to be as brutal as he wants.
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So here's my theory about who the "real" Christopher Vidal Sr. is .....

 

A man who got Elizabeth Vidal, a stunning woman, as a trophy wife for a bargain. He's rich. She's the recently widowed woman of a serious financial crook turned suicide, who would have left her penniless and with a young child. Vidal could have cared less about the son -- he wanted the mother. As soon as he could, he begot his own child on her, who turned out to be a boy that became Vidal's namesake. Gideon would have been shunted even further aside. It was only when Gideon became a bad influence on Vidal's son/heir and a problem for the pending arrival of Vidal's daughter, that Vidal even bothered to get Gideon help. Then Gideon got sexually abused, and Vidal used his money to cover up the crime.

 

Vidal doesn't respect women. He came on to the reputed new girlfriend of his stepson the first time he met her (Eva at the party - I think Vidal's remarks about her attractiveness were a bit inappropriate.) His son goes around trying to seduce his stepbrother's women (Christopher Jr. keeps hitting on Eva, starting with the instant he first met her. Christopher actually did seduce Magdalene, who had been to the world as close to a steady girlfriend as Gideon had just before Eva.) Even Gideon himself, prior to Eva, objectified women. There were two categories: steady arm candy (i.e. social trophies) and short-term casual sex partners. The only two exceptions: Corrine, his first serious girlfriend, and Eva, his first true love.

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One last thing that bugs me about Gideon's life with the Vidals ..... why wasn't Gideon renamed Gideon Vidal? He was a young enough stepson (pre-school) that it would not have been extremely unusual to do so, especially with his biological father dead. It would have been the kind thing to do too, given that the fiction story name "Cross" would have been every bit as notorious, especially in  in New York, as a real-life example, the notorious Ponzi schemer "Madoff." Gideon was bullied because of his last name.

 

Nope. It's my belief that Vidal Sr. cared a great deal about a son named Christopher Vidal Jr. Namesake and heir. And the name Vidal Records. Signs of his power and prowess. The stepson "Cross" shunted aside and likely destined for social shame as an adult, bearing the stigma of a father who ruined a lot of people and then blew his own head off.

 

So it must burn Vidal Sr. that Gideon Cross is one of the richest men in the world, more admired and famous than Vidal. Who named his empire Cross Industries instead of something else not bearing his last name (real life examples: Facebook, Microsoft, Apple.) And who now holds over Vidal's head the financial power that if Cross wanted to do so on a whim, destroy Vidal Records and with it the name upon which his stepfather's personal fame and fortune is based. Send Vidal into financial and social obscurity. 

 

I love the fact Gideon almost always answers his phone "Cross" ....... unless he sometimes says "Angel" when the other person on the line is Eva. Whom I hope at the end of Entwined (because romances have happy endings) will become Eva Cross.

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So here's my theory about who the "real" Christopher Vidal Sr. is .....

 

A man who got Elizabeth Vidal, a stunning woman, as a trophy wife for a bargain. He's rich. She's the recently widowed woman of a serious financial crook turned suicide, who would have left her penniless and with a young child. Vidal could have cared less about the son -- he wanted the mother. As soon as he could, he begot his own child on her, who turned out to be a boy that became Vidal's namesake. Gideon would have been shunted even further aside. It was only when Gideon became a bad influence on Vidal's son/heir and a problem for the pending arrival of Vidal's daughter, that Vidal even bothered to get Gideon help. Then Gideon got sexually abused, and Vidal used his money to cover up the crime.

I agree! That's exactly what I said last week in the Vidal Sr. thread. I really think this is who Vidal Sr. is at the truth of it all.

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Okay GiGi,

 

Here goes - I agree with you that Gideon could still be using the same coping skills he learned as a child, very plausible. I also agree Eva's love and Gideon's love for her is what is motivating him to change, become a better man. But here's where I have a slightly different thought and you know more about this than I do and could help me understand if it isn't possible. Could Gideon be both a sociopath and a psychopath? Having moments of frantic behavior and moments of total control? Could that be a split in his personality? Not like full blown dissociative personality disorder but another "coping skill" that would have only developed from being repeatedly abused as a child?

 

I think about Gideon's believe that he's a dominate - this isn't always true. Examples: Eva topped him in the limo (he freaked out, but she did). Corinne asked him to marry her (that's a woman taking charge of the situation). I think Gideon needs to believe he is a dominate because he was forced to be submissive to his abuser. I don't think he really understands what it is to be a true dominate and this is what causes his behavior to be all over the place at times. When he told Eva they were discovering who he is together, I believe that to be the real truth. I don't think Gideon ever really formed his own identity because of the abuse. I don't think he learned how to love or be loved. I think that's why he gives off slight moments of being a narcissist, sociopath, psychopath, loving, child like, and powerful because nothing is truly fully developed.

 

And, I think that's why readers see him in different views so much because he's a complicated mix of a little bit of everything. Being abuse at an age when children are discovering who they are must have affected his ability to become his own man and thus he has become whatever he needs to be to survive. Gideon points this out himself on a regular basis every time Eva mentions that someone's got a crush or something on him. His first words are always "what does she know about me?" A better question is, what does he know about himself. I think his deep love for Eva is he wants to be the man he sees in her eyes but he doesn't know how to get there yet and is afraid he'll never get the chance because of his past possibily scarring her off. What say ye Ladies?

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Okay GiGi,

 

Here goes - I agree with you that Gideon could still be using the same coping skills he learned as a child, very plausible. I also agree Eva's love and Gideon's love for her is what is motivating him to change, become a better man. But here's where I have a slightly different thought and you know more about this than I do and could help me understand if it isn't possible. Could Gideon be both a sociopath and a psychopath? Having moments of frantic behavior and moments of total control? Could that be a split in his personality? Not like full blown dissociative personality disorder but another "coping skill" that would have only developed from being repeatedly abused as a child?

 

I think about Gideon's believe that he's a dominate - this isn't always true. Examples: Eva topped him in the limo (he freaked out, but she did). Corinne asked him to marry her (that's a woman taking charge of the situation). I think Gideon needs to believe he is a dominate because he was forced to be submissive to his abuser. I don't think he really understands what it is to be a true dominate and this is what causes his behavior to be all over the place at times. When he told Eva they were discovering who he is together, I believe that to be the real truth. I don't think Gideon ever really formed his own identity because of the abuse. I don't think he learned how to love or be loved. I think that's why he gives off slight moments of being a narcissist, sociopath, psychopath, loving, child like, and powerful because nothing is truly fully developed.

 

And, I think that's why readers see him in different views so much because he's a complicated mix of a little bit of everything. Being abuse at an age when children are discovering who they are must have affected his ability to become his own man and thus he has become whatever he needs to be to survive. Gideon points this out himself on a regular basis every time Eva mentions that someone's got a crush or something on him. His first words are always "what does she know about me?" A better question is, what does he know about himself. I think his deep love for Eva is he wants to be the man he sees in her eyes but he doesn't know how to get there yet and is afraid he'll never get the chance because of his past possibily scarring her off. What say ye Ladies?

 

You make a compelling argument for Gideon being a complicated mix psychiatrically.

 

Being a narcissist or psychopath (formally known as borderline personality disorder) is not black and white. A person can have some of the tendencies of these conditions without being full-blown. And current research indicates childhood abuse is one of the main contributing causes of these conditions (collectively grouped as "personality disorders.") This is not to say every abused kid grows up to become narcissist or borderline. Plus there are some kids from loving homes who are, for lack of a better phrase, "born bad" -- damaged from the start and in extreme cases are what some would call "evil." Sickos who torture animals when young and people when adults. Some researchers believe there may be some biological factors involved too.

 

Descriptions of some of the things Gideon has done in the past indicate certainly some narcissistic behavior, and depending upon more of the stuff we learn he did in the past out of revenge against people who hurt him, he may also have done some of the things a borderline might do. Because borderlines especially can be very angry people who lash out.

 

But here is the important thing that shows Gideon does NOT have a full-blown personality disorder: EMPATHY. A true full-blown personality disorder involves as its hallmark a lack of empathy for others. Not caring for the feelings of others -- and using others to one's own ends. Lack of empathy is as part and parcel of a personality disorder diagnosis as mania is part and parcel of bipolar disorder diagnosis.

 

Gideon is capable of great empathy. This is more than just tenderness. He has empathy for Eva as a rape survivor. Too, I think he has empathy for Cary as being the product of a messed up home. Certainly, he cuts Cary a lot of slack -- so much slack it surprises me. I believe there's more to Gideon's putting up with Cary than the fact Cary is Eva's best friend. He may have empathy for the fact Cary has serious self-esteem issues. Because Gideon's got them too. His are beneath the surface -- Cary's are out there for all to see.

 

Another thing: Gideon is capable of great loyalty, something full-blown personality disorders are incapable of. The full-blowns are loyal to none but themselves. Gideon is extremely loyal to Angus (and vice versa). I am really looking forward to, when Entwined delves into Gideon's past, to find out exactly what Angus did that made such a difference to the damaged child Gideon was that today Angus is the only adult from his childhood Gideon has near him. Very near him -- daily. And Angus is not only his main driver; he's Gideon's bodyguard. There's something symbolic about Gideon trusting Angus with his body. I think that Angus is the one who on his own did what neither "the system" nor the Vidals did -- put a stop to the sexual abuse. And went on to become the one decent adult role model to young Gideon.

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Hey Mrs. M!!!

 

Any thoughts on my additional theories regarding Christopher Vidal Sr. objectifying women, and this being a really bad influence on his son (Christopher Jr.) and stepson (Gideon)?

 

There is so little to go on about the man himself, but look at how both of the boys he raised objectify women -- and both sometimes act like, putting it crudely, "male sl***"  Think Daddy Dearest was a very bad role model using both boys' mother as a trophy wife and disrespecting other women? Possibly even a serial philanderer who coldly discarded them soon after seducing them?

 

Could this account for Christopher Jr. being such a creep and trying to get women to cheat on Gideon with him. The thrill of the quasi-adultery. I wonder whether there's more behind simple jealousy of Gideon that makes Christopher go after his step-brother's women. Maybe it's the thrill of the cheat itself. Because Magdalene was as close to an official girlfriend (at least socially) that Gideon had when Christopher seduced her. And from the first night he met her, Christopher has hit on Eva. He's still at it -- at the end of their lunch near the end of Reflected, Christopher said he wants to take Eva out.

 

Then there's Gideon separating women into one of two groups: trophy dates for society functions or "strangers with benefits" (women strictly for one purpose, sex -- doesn't get to know them nor spend any time with them beyond the bedroom -- er, make that the hotel room) Only twice in his life has Gideon both slept with a woman and let it be known clearly to everyone he was in a committed relationship with her -- Corrine (his first lover) and Eva (his first love.)

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Okay GiGi,

 

Here goes - I agree with you that Gideon could still be using the same coping skills he learned as a child, very plausible. I also agree Eva's love and Gideon's love for her is what is motivating him to change, become a better man. But here's where I have a slightly different thought and you know more about this than I do and could help me understand if it isn't possible. Could Gideon be both a sociopath and a psychopath? Having moments of frantic behavior and moments of total control? Could that be a split in his personality? Not like full blown dissociative personality disorder but another "coping skill" that would have only developed from being repeatedly abused as a child?

 

I think about Gideon's believe that he's a dominate - this isn't always true. Examples: Eva topped him in the limo (he freaked out, but she did). Corinne asked him to marry her (that's a woman taking charge of the situation). I think Gideon needs to believe he is a dominate because he was forced to be submissive to his abuser. I don't think he really understands what it is to be a true dominate and this is what causes his behavior to be all over the place at times. When he told Eva they were discovering who he is together, I believe that to be the real truth. I don't think Gideon ever really formed his own identity because of the abuse. I don't think he learned how to love or be loved. I think that's why he gives off slight moments of being a narcissist, sociopath, psychopath, loving, child like, and powerful because nothing is truly fully developed.

 

And, I think that's why readers see him in different views so much because he's a complicated mix of a little bit of everything. Being abuse at an age when children are discovering who they are must have affected his ability to become his own man and thus he has become whatever he needs to be to survive. Gideon points this out himself on a regular basis every time Eva mentions that someone's got a crush or something on him. His first words are always "what does she know about me?" A better question is, what does he know about himself. I think his deep love for Eva is he wants to be the man he sees in her eyes but he doesn't know how to get there yet and is afraid he'll never get the chance because of his past possibily scarring her off. What say ye Ladies?

 

Hi Mrsmajessick,

I sat and thought about everything you said and then I thought about the way in which people are labeled with psychiatric disorders and I have to say that it stinks! From the very beginning Gideon was labeled with one severe psychiatric illness or other. Bullcrap!!

I quickly want to add that the process of diagnosing someone with a severe mental illness is a very involved process which includes; diagnostic testing, talk therapy and consultations with several other healthcare professionals over a long period of time. Psychiatry isn’t an exact science and a diagnosis like this should NEVER be made lightly!! That is why I worry about general physicians diagnosing so many patients with psychiatric illnesses that they really have no business doing so. A fifteen minute consultation isn’t nearly enough time for someone to make that kind of assessment (depression/manic depression/bi-polar disorder, etc.). I could begin to discuss the many reasons why doctors profits from these diagnoses; drug company kick backs, etc. (physicians get bonuses every time they prescribe psychiatric drugs etc.) but I suspect that I might get lynched.

• Gideon was misdiagnosed unjustly! In the beginning his life was very happy and then his father killed himself. As a result of his father’s actions; Gideon was ridiculed, tormented, ostracized and bullied. What’s worse, his mother didn’t do anything to help him with that. Just think about that for a second, here we have a small child whose world has literally turned upside down and everyone has turned against him.

• Instead of helping her son deal with all the scrutiny, Elizabeth Vidal decided to find herself another little “nest egg†and married Christopher Vidal. So for Gideon, not only had his father died in a horrific and tragic way (a man that Gideon loved, adored and wanted to be just like-as all little children do when they are that young), but his father was being replaced and in Gideon’s mind that could have meant that in some way Gideon was being replaced as well. Gideon looked just like his father-everyone kept saying so and then all of a sudden everyone hated Gideon’s father. How could that not affect Gideon?

• The drama in Gideon’s life began when he was five, which is Kindergarten age. I suspect that Gideon went from having friends in school to all the children and their parents ostracizing Gideon. I can just see Gideon going up to one of his friends one day after all of this happened and his friends’ moms are there yanking their sons/daughters back saying in a very stern voice to the child “stay away from that boy-meaning Gideon and his family!†In that instance, Gideon’s world would have been destroyed-so he no longer would have felt safe at school. He had no friends to play with, no outlet to vent his frustrations at home to and was left to deal with things on his own.

• What is worse, the parents of the children Gideon once played with modeled and demonstrated that Gideon was someone to be ridiculed, avoided and removed at any cost. The parents gave their children permission, by their actions, to pick on Gideon.

• Elizabeth Vidal was now married and had born Vidal Sr. a son, so not only was Gideon’s father replaced, but the birth of another son meant that in some way Gideon was being replaced too.

• Children often feel that they are the cause of their parent’s problems; if only I was better behaved then maybe daddy wouldn’t have killed himself or went away (…fill in the blank..). Maybe Gideon somehow shouldered that burden and Elizabeth Vidal’s actions/or lack thereof, solidified the belief in Gideon that he was the cause for his father’s suicide, his mother’s remarriage, his step-father’s disdain and for the fact that his mother replaced him (i.e. the birth of Christopher Jr.).

• It takes an exceptional human being to raise another man’s child and love them unconditionally-I don’t that Christopher Vidal Sr. was that type of man.

• Instead of spending her time helping Gideon to adjust to all of the changes going on his life, Elizabeth Vidal dedicated that energy building a life with Christopher Vidal Sr. and having yet another child. Instead of paying attention to her first child and helping him through his difficulties, she may have secretly blamed him for his circumstances and thrown him to the wolves.

• As the years progressed Gideon got angrier and angrier and justifiably so. Each and every safe place that a child could take refuge in was systematically destroyed. So what is the only thing that Gideon can do? Get angry! I don’t even think that was his first response though. I think that as a child, Gideon cried, tried to be friends with the kids who picked on him, tried to be accommodating wit the adults who hated him and tried to be whatever he thought would get him the love and acceptance that was viciously taken away from him and that he was desperate to have.

• When all else failed, I think that’s when he emotionally shut down and became VERY, VERY ANGRY!!

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Hi Mrsmajessick,

This is Part Two:

The Canadian Pediatric Psychiatric Association states that a child will never have as many brain cells as they do in their first two and a half years of life. They also state that a child will have learned everything about right and wrong within that time and that their personality will have solidified by the age of five. So if Gideon’s life was good for those first five years then there is no way that he could be a sociopath or psychopath. Sociopathy or psychopathy isn’t an acquired mental illness. You are either born with it or not. By Gideon’s own admission (cue beach scene where Gideon describes his formative years in RIY); he was raised in a happy and loving home during those years.

I assert that Gideon is capable of feeling compassion for another human being and that was demonstrated to me with his interactions with Eva. Gideon is a highly organized individual who is capable of being successful in his daily life (sustaining an income, maintaining work/friend relationships etc.). As a matter of psychological protection, I think that Gideon just closed himself off from the world. Gideon learned at a very early age, that no one was to be trusted, not even your friends, they could turn against you in a heartbeat. He most likely learned that lesson in Kindergarten and then subsequently during the years he was bullied and beaten up by the children he once played with.

I don’t believe that Gideon is a psychopath either for the same reasons. Gideon is capable of love, can complete daily and life tasks, is organized and can maintain relationships. I think that the abuse that Gideon suffered, in conjunction with every other thing that this kid had to endure, was enough to get him to shut down completely emotionally. I am actually surprised that Gideon didn’t suffer a complete mental breakdown. If anything, Gideon’s ability to continue on is a real testament to just how strong he was and continues to be.

• I don’t think that it is possible for a person to be diagnosed as being both a sociopath and a psychopath for some of the many reason I listed above.

• I don’t think that Gideon has a split personality either. Again I state that this man was so severely abused; physically, emotionally, verbally and sexually, that he had no other choice but to shut down. His brain/psyche went directly into protection mode instead of splintering or fragmenting into other personalities.

• When a person is constantly being abused in some form or other and can’t find a place of reprieve, the mind can do many things in order to protect itself and shutting down emotionally can be one of those things. That’s why I think that Gideon reacted the way he did.

• I find it extremely suspect that someone would diagnose a child with such severe psychiatric illnesses without the benefit of consultations from other specialists, without P.E.T. Scans (specific scans of the brain to map out injuries, deficiencies, etc.) or other tangible diagnostic tests, and without taking into account the amount of abuse this child suffered.

• A person also needs to remember that Gideon was still a child when Dr. Lucas was dishing out his diagnoses. That would have been the only time that he could credibly have made this assertion. That in itself is INSANE!!!

• Either Dr. Lucas is responsible for abusing Gideon: In which case the abuser has finished having his fill of his victim and then seeks to destroy the child by labeling the child with such a horrific mental illness that no other healthcare professional would credibly believe this child’s story or Dr. Lucas is responsible for covering up the abuse and is thereby trying to silence the child’s voice and therefore trying to destroy Gideon’s ability to speak about what happened to him.

• Dr. Lucas’s diagnosis of Gideon was completely self-serving! He either covered up or committed a crime and tried to destroy his victim in the process. How are those actions not self serving?

• If Gideon had any of those “supposed†mental illnesses then he would have self destructed long before he built an entire empire, made lots of money, had relationships, etc. If Gideon was that ill, he most likely wouldn’t have even been able to finish school (meaning University…huge majority of people with these types of mental illnesses crack under the academic pressure). Gideon not only survived but thrived in all aspects of his life!

• Everyone expects that when a child is abused and is beginning to speak about these things as an adult that they should just get over it. It doesn’t work that way. Gideon has an incredible number of issues to work through! All of the learning that he should have done as a child, he now has to do as an adult with absolutely no support from his family.

• Children are supposed to learn from their mistakes in an unconditionally loving supportive environment. Gideon got none of those opportunities.

• Gideon is now trying to learn and Eva is doing her best to support him and love him unconditionally but it is difficult because that is putting a huge amount of stress on her which really she shouldn’t have to bear.

• Eva is not just Gideon’s girlfriend/lover, she has now had to take on the mother role, and that also must be very taxing on her and on her relationship with Gideon.

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