One Chapter A Day - Re-Read Of Bared and Entwined

[julie54]

Now THERE'S a possibility. What exactly did Angus do that earned him Gideon's absolute trust? Angus was around Gideon since Gideon was a kid, and in a position (driver) to pay attention to the kid (um, hello - Monica?! like you ought to but didn't pay close attention to your daughter?)

As soon as Gideon was old enough (and financially secure enough) to hire Angus full-time, he did it. Stole Angus right away from his (Angus') job working for the Vidals. That was eight years ago. Gideon would have been just 20 years old at the time.

angus believed Gideon unlike his mother. Did Angus catch the abuser in the act or did Gideon confide in him? Angus is a solid guy.

[LN Cronan]

Corrine, I think is trying to get history to repeat itself. Here's how:

 

Then: she chased down young hottie Gideon as relative nobody, his freshman year at Columbia University.

Now: she's chased down still hot but now famous Gideon in high society circles in New York City.

 

Then: the pair of them fell into a pattern of going together to the same places, so he called it "dating."

Now: the pair of them are going out together places for the celebrity watching media, so they (the media) are calling it dating.

 

Then: working patiently with the sexually-repressed Gideon, she seduced him, becoming his first lover. He stayed with her three years.

Now: she's probably working patiently to get the commitment-phobe (but now with a rep as a stud) to becoming her lover again. It's been only around three weeks since they resumed dating. Lots of time yet.

^^^ This is where things currently stand, her working her way toward getting him into bed.

 

Then: she got him to agree to marry her. But she threw in the towel because of the sex problems.

Soon: (she deludes herself) he's gotten over his sexual repressions, so there's nothing stopping them from being able to maintain a marriage. They'll quickly go from lovers to engaged to married,

^^^ Where things currently actually stand: as soon as Gideon is able to do so, he's throwing her out of his life forever. Cannot even be friends with her anymore, because of how she hurt Eva.

[sscrph]

Corrine, I think is trying to get history to repeat itself. Here's how:

 

Then: she chased down young hottie Gideon as relative nobody, his freshman year at Columbia University.

Now: she's chased down still hot but now famous Gideon in high society circles in New York City.

 

Then: the pair of them fell into a pattern of going together to the same places, so he called it "dating."

Now: the pair of them are going out together places for the celebrity watching media, so they (the media) are calling it dating.

 

Then: working patiently with the sexually-repressed Gideon, she seduced him, becoming his first lover. He stayed with her three years.

Now: she's probably working patiently to get the commitment-phobe (but now with a rep as a stud) to becoming her lover again. It's been only around three weeks since they resumed dating. Lots of time yet.

^^^ This is where things currently stand, her working her way toward getting him into bed.

 

Then: she got him to agree to marry her. But she threw in the towel because of the sex problems.

Soon: (she deludes herself) he's gotten over his sexual repressions, so there's nothing stopping them from being able to maintain a marriage. They'll quickly go from lovers to engaged to married,

^^^ Where things currently actually stand: as soon as Gideon is able to do so, he's throwing her out of his life forever. Cannot even be friends with her anymore, because of how she hurt Eva.

Oh if Corinne only knew how hot it is between Gideon and Eva in the bedroom or the car or even the hotel LOL but maybe it's a good thing she doesn't or she would never stop tryin to capture the incredible smokin hotness as Eva describes it...

[julie54]

Oh if Corinne only knew how hot it is between Gideon and Eva in the bedroom or the car or even the hotel LOL but maybe it's a good thing she doesn't or she would never stop tryin to capture the incredible smokin hotness as Eva describes it...

hi all

I wonder what Sylvia thinks when she reads how much we despise Corrine. Does Corrine love Gideon or is it the trappings of his lifestyle, that's attracting her? As Eva said, if she had noticed Gideon was hurting, she should be a friend.

[LN Cronan]

hi all

I wonder what Sylvia thinks when she reads how much we despise Corrine. Does Corrine love Gideon or is it the trappings of his lifestyle, that's attracting her? As Eva said, if she had noticed Gideon was hurting, she should be a friend.

 

Perhaps Sylvia hopes we'll be like Eva, who near the end of Reflected, expresses pity for Corrine as desperate and a little pathetic in her (Corrine's) refusal to accept the fact Gideon doesn't love her and doesn't even desire her. Something that's got to be obvious, because she'd be able to see man behind the mask as someone in terrible pain right now.

 

I hope, though, Sylvia has figured out because so many of us identify with Eva as a character, we'd hate Corrine right from the very start. And we'd get further worked up for Gideon screwing up the situation beyond belief at times.

• Corrine crashed the fundraiser to chase Gideon, and she jumped at a golden opportunity to make Eva miserable (and as an added bonus humiliate Eva with everyone watching.) Gideon had been such an idiot at that dinner table.
• Corrine maliciously jumped at a golden opportunity to make Eva jealous (and as an added bonus make her fear Gideon could be a cheater.) OK, here Gideon tried to do the right thing, but Eva was so triggered she was a little nuts then and there was no getting through. Corrine had scored a knockdown.
• Corrine preened in public once Gideon started taking her out again (instead of being sensitive to the fact he was in a serious relationship with someone else.) Gideon seriously underestimated how shattered Eva would be by his taking Corrine out in a way that made even her believe he'd gone back to Corrine.
• And when Eva finally came to confront her, as was inevitable to happen, Corrine calculatedly did something guaranteed to send Eva running away forever -- not simply running away from a dinner table because Gideon had been ignoring her (Eva), like the first night. She planned to send Eva running out of her (Corrine's) apartment building in agony that Gideon, having just f****** Corrine hard, didn't even care enough to have the decency of telling Eva to her face it truly was over. Some of the earlier stunts were all impulse, but this time Corrine spent 20 minutes pre-mediating how to kill forever any love Eva may have still had for Gideon. Gideon's ultimate rejection, Eva could have believed, and if she had, Corrine would have struck a fatal blow to what Eva and Gideon had been. 

 

And for a instant, Eva tottered on the brink. Had it gone the other way, Eva would have left shattered, probably died a little inside doing a "walk of shame" past an Angus she believed was looking at her in pity. She'd probably refuse to even listen to Gideon again. Perhaps worst of all, with her old wounds opened and raw, she'd run rebound right into Brett's arms, making an even worse mistake, further relapsing into destructive patterns.

 

But then ....

 

"Cut the s***, Corrine." Eva just knew. She knew in her heart Gideon loved her (Eva) and would never love Corrine. Dr. Travis had worked miracles in rebuilding her damaged psyche. The turmoil she'd gone through with Gideon made her stronger instead of breaking her. This was the strong even sassy Eva who'd stood up to even Gideon himself. Loved it when Corrine maliciously said "what do you think I was doing" and Eva shot right back "Not Gideon." Go gurl!

[julie54]

Perhaps Sylvia hopes we'll be like Eva, who near the end of Reflected, expresses pity for Corrine as desperate and a little pathetic in her (Corrine's) refusal to accept the fact Gideon doesn't love her and doesn't even desire her. Something that's got to be obvious, because she'd be able to see man behind the mask as someone in terrible pain right now.

I hope, though, Sylvia has figured out because so many of us identify with Eva as a character, we'd hate Corrine right from the very start. And we'd get further worked up for Gideon screwing up the situation beyond belief at times.

• Corrine crashed the fundraiser to chase Gideon, and she jumped at a golden opportunity to make Eva miserable (and as an added bonus humiliate Eva with everyone watching.) Gideon had been such an idiot at that dinner table.
• Corrine maliciously jumped at a golden opportunity to make Eva jealous (and as an added bonus make her fear Gideon could be a cheater.) OK, here Gideon tried to do the right thing, but Eva was so triggered she was a little nuts then and there was no getting through. Corrine had scored a knockdown.
• Corrine preened in public once Gideon started taking her out again (instead of being sensitive to the fact he was in a serious relationship with someone else.) Gideon seriously underestimated how shattered Eva would be by his taking Corrine out in a way that made even her believe he'd gone back to Corrine.
• And when Eva finally came to confront her, as was inevitable to happen, Corrine calculatedly did something guaranteed to send Eva running away forever -- not simply running away from a dinner table because Gideon had been ignoring her (Eva), like the first night. She planned to send Eva running out of her (Corrine's) apartment building in agony that Gideon, having just f****** Corrine hard, didn't even care enough to have the decency of telling Eva to her face it truly was over. Some of the earlier stunts were all impulse, but this time Corrine spent 20 minutes pre-mediating how to kill forever any love Eva may have still had for Gideon. Gideon's ultimate rejection, Eva could have believed, and if she had, Corrine would have struck a fatal blow to what Eva and Gideon had been.

And for a instant, Eva tottered on the brink. Had it gone the other way, Eva would have left shattered, probably died a little inside doing a "walk of shame" past an Angus she believed was looking at her in pity. She'd probably refuse to even listen to Gideon again. Perhaps worst of all, with her old wounds opened and raw, she'd run rebound right into Brett's arms, making an even worse mistake, further relapsing into destructive patterns.

But then ....

"Cut the s***, Corrine." Eva just knew. She knew in her heart Gideon loved her (Eva) and would never love Corrine. Dr. Travis had worked miracles in rebuilding her damaged psyche. The turmoil she'd gone through with Gideon made her stronger instead of breaking her. This was the strong even sassy Eva who'd stood up to even Gideon himself. Loved it when Corrine maliciously said "what do you think I was doing" and Eva shot right back "Not Gideon." Go gurl!

this girl had come a long way in these two books in such a short time. Go Eva!!

[gabri]

HI EVERYBODY

I just want to thank LN Cronan for her wonderful insights into the plot. They've made my rereading of the books an unforgettable experience. You are really a gift!!!!

[jennpenn926]

What about when Gideon popped into Eva's apartment before the advocacy dinner? I always thought her doorman phoned Gideon to tell him she had returned from the day spa or do you think Gideon was having her followed even then? And Gideon must have access to her credit card information because how would he be able to purchase her brands of cosmetics etc I have always wondered about this what do you all think?

I just went back and re-read that section I believe Gideon was already having her followed and here's why. 1 st off he knew she was home alone because why else would he take her to the couch instead if her room he knew Cary wasn't there. 2 nd he knew she had a spa day without her telling him because he specifically ask had she been waxed that day.

[julie54]

Reading chapter 12 made me cry literally for Eva. Never have I read a book that has reduced me to tears. This chapter was heart breaking for Eva, having to spill all that hurt out to Gideon. For him to find out what had happened to his girlfriend would have made his world fall apart surely. What a shock to realise they both had a terrible secret in common.

[sscrph]

Reading chapter 12 made me cry literally for Eva. Never have I read a book that has reduced me to tears. This chapter was heart breaking for Eva, having to spill all that hurt out to Gideon. For him to find out what had happened to his girlfriend would have made his world fall apart surely. What a shock to realise they both had a terrible secret in common.

And that's why the next day he immediately went to Stanton demanding answers about where the Nathan was ....this too make me think about what exactly brought about the end to Gideon's abuse. In Eva's case she had the miscarriage and thus everything was out in the open but in Gideon's case could it have been when Elizabeth finally had Ireland that the shrink stopped coming to the house? How did his torment end. I hope we get the answer in Book 3...

[julie54]

And that's why the next day he immediately went to Stanton demanding answers about where the ###### Nathan was ....this too make me think about what exactly brought about the end to Gideon's abuse. In Eva's case she had the miscarriage and thus everything was out in the open but in Gideon's case could it have been when Elizabeth finally had Ireland that the shrink stopped coming to the house? How did his torment end. I hope we get the answer in Book 3...

hi

We have one month to go!

Hopefully all our questions will be answered, we need Gideons torment to come to an end, so he can read a fulfilling and loving life with Eva.

[gabri]

OK, I'm a little scared and don't know if I'll post this...

I'm sure this is going to cause a commotion through this forum because I know how you ladies feel about Monica, and I used to agree with you.

Now that I've got the whole picture of Monica's household at the time the abuses occurred, I can't help having mixed feelings about her. Why do I have a naggin sensation I'm being unfair to her? I know, she could have done one million things, all of which would have had more sense, but is she to blame for her being kept unaware of what was going on under her own roof? I've been wondering whether it would have made any difference, if she had pressed questions on her scared-to-death teen daugher, who wouldn't have told her anything anyway. Once Monica did find out, though, she did all she could to protect little Eva from the ogre, and now she is going to whatever lengths she can to keep Eva safe, because lousy Nathan is still at large. Did I overlook anything?

I believe Monica may be said to be a faulty mother in so many ways, but I'm beginning to have second thoughts about her being a bad mother. I do hope Monica gets the chance to state her point of view on the whole matter. LOL!!!!

[Donnad]

OK, I'm a little scared and don't know if I'll post this...

I'm sure this is going to cause a commotion through this forum because I know how you ladies feel about Monica, and I used to agree with you.

Now that I've got the whole picture of Monica's household at the time the abuses occurred, I can't help having mixed feelings about her. Why do I have a naggin sensation I'm being unfair to her? I know, she could have done one million things, all of which would have had more sense, but is she to blame for her being kept unaware of what was going on under her own roof? I've been wondering whether it would have made any difference, if she had pressed questions on her scared-to-death teen daugher, who wouldn't have told her anything anyway. Once Monica did find out, though, she did all she could to protect little Eva from the ogre, and now she is going to whatever lengths she can to keep Eva safe, because lousy Nathan is still at large. Did I overlook anything?

I believe Monica may be said to be a faulty mother in so many ways, but I'm beginning to have second thoughts about her being a bad mother. I do hope Monica gets the chance to state her point of view on the whole matter. LOL!!!!

 

She definitely has her issues and self centered but she does love Eva.

[julie54]

She definitely has her issues and self centered but she does love Eva.

oh Gabri

How very brave of you!

Yes as soon as she found out about Eva's abuse, she left her marriage. But for four years Eva was abused, how could she not see how her daughters personality had changed. Was she taking any notice of her daughter at all?

Eva must have been withdrawn, her bedding would have told a story too! How did Eva react around Nathan?

I'm sorry to disagree with you, but Monica is bad mother.

Even now she wants to be a friend to Eva , not a mother.

She won't win any prizes for mother of the year in my books.

[julie54]

Just to add. Eva said, she lost count how many times she was raped, tortured and tormented. Four years is a long time.

Poor girl lost her childhood.

Sorry Gabri

[sscrph]

Just to add. Eva said, she lost count how many times she was raped, tortured and tormented. Four years is a long time.

Poor girl lost her childhood.

Sorry Gabri

A shiver runs through me every time I reread the passage of Eva telling Gideon her story. When he asks her how many times and she states that she lost count one can only imagine the horror that poor little girl lived through. Did Eva and Monica ever watch movies in bed and fall asleep together or did Monica go to soccer practices and ballet lessons or did she help Eva with home work and school projects--we have no way of knowing but little Eva must have been one heck of an actress to fool Monica for 4 years. She should have majored in theatre arts instead of advertising!! The simple fact is that Monica is/was CLUELESS and neglectful and Sylvia will have a hard time convincing some members of this board otherwise!!!

[gabri]

Hello Julie!

Monica might have noticed something was wrong with Eva, but she completely misinterpreted her (Eva's) unconscious signals. I'd say Monica simply thought that Nathan and Eva had had some big argument between them, or that Eva was in her teens.

How could she possibly think of one of her children sexually abusing the other? Could you? You are right, though: in the long run she should have guessed Eva's issues with Nathan weren't only due to their age or any existing conflict between stepbrothers, and should have looked into what the matter was with them. Didn't I say I overlooked something?

Good night, sweet dreams!!!

[jls1216]

Ah, glad you asked. My theories about Angus that night .... his role in the alibis for Eva and Gideon both.

 

But first, some important thing to note about time of death. The only time there is any medical certainty, right down to the minute, when a person dies (by whatever causes) is when there is an eyewitness that can document the time.

1. A person dies of a heart attack -- when the emergency room doctor determines the resuscitation efforts won't work, he/she declares the patient dead. The time is noted, right down to the minute, on the death certificate.
2. A patient succumbs to cancer in a hospital or hospice setting. Nurses and/or family members will be there when the person breathes his/her final breath. About a minute later, the heart stops beating. The time is noted on the death certification.

When a person dies "unattended" it is impossible to determine right down to the minute when death occurred. At best, a medical examiner can guestimate a window of a couple of hours. And that's under ideal conditions, when the body is still "fresh" -- i.e. the deceased was found around 24 hours or less later. The presence (or lack of presence) of rigor mortis is an important clue, as is the temperature of the body core (determined by inserting a thermometer into the liver.)

 

When Detective Graves showed up at Eva's on Friday night, she didn't ask Eva where she was Thursday evening. How Graves phrased it was exactly this way "Can you just tell us where you were, yesterday, Miss Trammel?" (page 270 and on page 280, Graves' partner, Detective Michna, asked Gideon the same thing while Graves was busy watching Eva like a hawk.)

 

Gideon was careful to manipulate things so that Eva had an unbroken alibi for all of Thursday, starting at work and continuing straight through to the following morning. Every minute of her day, she was around someone else, and if worse came to worse, eyewitnesses could account for her every movement. Gideon must have taken the same care. Angus definitely played a part in Eva's alibi, and I think he was part of Gideon's alibi too. (In fact, I think Angus was an accomplice that helped Gideon commit the killing himself, but for her, I'll stick to the alibi timelines.

 

Eva alibi timeline, all of which is actually laid out in Reflected.

1. Thursday daytime in the office all day, including lunch (and including a meeting at Cross Industries, where Gideon coldly ignored her in front of everyone there.)
2. Thursday after work: Angus was right downstairs to drive Eva from the Crossfire to Dr. Petersen's office, then from Dr. Petersen's office straight home to her apartment.
3. Thursday night: Eva's BFF/roommate, who got out of the hospital the day before, was in home care, including an onsite private nurse. Eva stayed in all night. Even while she and Cary were both asleep, someone was awake (the nurse.)
4. Friday dawn: Eva left her apartment, seen by her doorman and with Raul waiting to pick her up. A ride she blew off. Timeline wraps up there.

 

Gideon's likely alibi timeline:

1. Thursday daytime in the office all day. 
2. Thursday evening: he told Eva (when claiming he's meet her at Dr. Petersen's instead of riding there with her) he had a late meeting. 
3. My guess what happened next: Raul picked Gideon up at the Crossfire and drove him right to Corrine's apartment to pick her up for the "date." Raul took them right to the party, getting them there shortly before 6 p.m. (same time Eva would have been arriving at Dr. Petersen's).
4. The party went on from 6-9 p.m. At some point, an evacuation of the party hotel forced everyone to mill around outside. Gideon slipped off amid the confusion.

My theory about where Angus was the rest of the night, after he dropped Eva off at home sometime around 7-ish:

1. Positioned himself near the party hotel. Gideon met him during the disruption, they rushed to Nathan's hotel, Angus stood lookout, Gideon took care of Nathan forever, Angus rushed Gideon back to the party.
2. After the party: Gideon had to be in someone else's company for most, if not all, the rest of the night. To go home alone would be too dangerous. Here's my theory.
3. To avoid having to go home with Corrine (or worse, have to deal with an "expectation" he'd get a room so they could have sex)  Gideon actually did have a "late business meeting" set up -- really late, after 9 p.m. He told Eva the truth, and could prove to her where he'd gone after the party, if worse came to worse.  
4. Gideon had Raul drive Corrine home while Angus drove Gideon to his meeting.
5. Wherever Gideon was, he didn't go home until the wee hours. Maybe he went out for drinks with people after the meeting. Wherever he was, Angus drove him there and ultimately drove Gideon home.
6. Raul was sent instead of Angus to get Eva the morning after.

I think you may be on to something. It would make sense that Gideon would have a late night meeting. It would extend his alibi. I don't believe for a minute that Gideon was spending any alone time with Corrine. I am thinking all of their time together was in public places.

[Donnad]

I think you may be on to something. It would make sense that Gideon would have a late night meeting. It would extend his alibi. I don't believe for a minute that Gideon was spending any alone time with Corrine. I am thinking all of their time together was in public places.

I don't believe he spent any alone time with Corinne

[Andie]

*finally done with the chapters I missed! yay!!*

 

Chapter 6

 

My Favorites

 

1. line: I got through it by telling myself you're too smart to take chances, thanks to two parents who've drilled safety rules into your DNA (p. 81)

 

2. paragraph: The women stood waiting to get on. Their jaws dropped when they saw Gideon and Cary, and that lightened my mood and made me smile (p. 87)

 

3. scene: Gideon waiting for Eva in her living room

[Andie]

Chapter 12

 

My Favorites

 

1. line: I know love when I see it (p. 175)

 

2. paragraph: "We'll ride home together after work." He backed away, holding my hand until distance pulled our fingers apart (p. 177)

 

3. scene: Gideon rinsed out his mug

 

Peruse away, ladies

[julie54]

Hello Julie!

Monica might have noticed something was wrong with Eva, but she completely misinterpreted her (Eva's) unconscious signals. I'd say Monica simply thought that Nathan and Eva had had some big argument between them, or that Eva was in her teens.

How could she possibly think of one of her children sexually abusing the other? Could you? You are right, though: in the long run she should have guessed Eva's issues with Nathan weren't only due to their age or any existing conflict between stepbrothers, and should have looked into what the matter was with them. Didn't I say I overlooked something?

Good night, sweet dreams!!!

morning Gabri

Hope it's a lovely day in Italy as it is in England .

I gave your posting a lot of thought last night, trying to absolve Monica from her neglect.

I just feel that Monica as a mother didn't have a clue when it came to parenting.

Eva was 10 when the rapes started. Just for arguments sakes she was raped twice a week, that was 400 times in that 4 year period! Eva states to Gideon that she lost count.

Eva must have been traumatised, had nightmares, refusing to sleep in her own bed, her behaviour would have changed dramatically I would have thought. For Monica not to see this, makes me wonder if she was living in the same house! Someone stated that the staff didn't say anything, as Eva said they had to know, because they feared losing their jobs?

Yes, as soon as she found out, she did the right thing, but it was too late for Eva . The damage was done. Gideon became her healer, hopefully the box where she put her ordeal, won't be opened ever again.

[LN Cronan]

Chapter Twelve of Bared To You - The Readers Guide

 

This chapter starts Wednesday morning (day ten) and goes through Wednesday evening.

 

Key plot developments:

• Eva tells Gideon she was raped by her former stepbrother for four years. This is the dark secret that's been hinted in earlier chapters, that something bad had happened to Eva. The full revelation in this chapter is one of the most important plot developments in The Crossfire Series.
• The gossip/tabloid media interest in her, because she's dating a celebrity, made Eva fear an investigative reporter could unearth the legal paper trail the rape case left. She feared a scandal would embarrass Gideon, and that's why she told him.  

 

New Characters

• Nathan Barker - previously mentioned in passing as Monica's stepson, this chapter names him.
• Nathan's father (in passing)

The "dirt" Eva fears some reporter could dig up

Eva was repeatedly raped (so many times she lost count) by her stepbrother, Nathan Barker, when she was a girl.

The abuse started when she was 10 and he was 12. It continued for four years, unnoticed by Eva's mother, and Eva never said anything, because Nathan terrorized her into silence. 

An emergency room trip finally uncovered the abuse when Eva was 14. Vaginal bleeding too heavy for a menstrual period made Monica rush Eva to the ER, and an exam showed Eva had suffered a miscarriage. The same exam revealed vaginal and anal scarring, physical evidence of past rapes.

Child protective services were notified, who in turn would have brought in the police. Sylvia in recent spoiler posts told us more background not included in Bared (or Reflected) -- Nathan was prosecuted as a juvenile offender, and he was sentenced to a psychiatric hospital instead of prison.

Monica, who had been happy in her marriage, promptly divorced Nathan's father, and as part of a settlement, received $5 million in damages for Eva and $2 million for herself.

Years later when Monica married Stanton (her third husband) Stanton paid money to try to increase the secrecy. The court paperwork was under seal, but it existed as a paper trail that could come out, plus there were many people who had been involved and might talk. To lessen the danger someone might talk to an outsider, Stanton got people to sign non-disclosure agreements. He paid them in return for their signatures on legally-binding contracts to keep their mouths shut.

Stanton, a brilliant financier, also invested Eva's millions, growing the fortune even larger (how big, we don't know) in order to further ensure her financial security. However, Eva refuses to touch the money.

But all those proceedings left a paper trail that could be unearthed by investigative reporting. The money trail especially would raise a huge red flag - why would a stepchild get $5 million? Discovery is Monica's biggest fear. Now that Gideon unwittingly has made that danger a possibility, Eva's afraid too.

Eva told Gideon some family history, too, about how it was she came to be Nathan's stepsister in the first place. Monica had been a debutante when she accidentally got pregnant. Her family tried to coerce her to end the pregnancy. She refused, and they disinherited her. But she also refused to marry the working-class Victor, because money was too important to her. She later landed a millionaire husband, Nathan's father, whose previous wife had died and left him with a young son to raise. Monica got the rich lifestyle, and Barker got someone to raise his child.

Gideon's reaction is horror at what happened and deep pity for Eva. And rage toward Nathan. In a prophetic statement, Gideon said "I'm going to find the monster who hurt you, Eva, wherever he is, and I'm going to make him wish he were dead." (Page 182).

 

Why Eva was so scared the old secrets could come out

She feared Gideon would be embarrassed if scandal erupted because some reporter dug deep enough into her past, now that she suddenly was part of the rampant tabloid coverage of Gideon's love life. The gossip media loved portraying him as a billionaire playboy who was the most eligible bachelor in New York since (the real life) John F. Kennedy Jr. Now she was hot news.

Not without reason did Eva fear the spotlight -- only three days into their new relationship, the paparazzi were after her, sensationalizing her and twisting truths into big lies.  

It had all started Tuesday when the gossip sites went wild about her and Gideon. His bad -- he arranged the leak, including a photo of them in a passionate kiss. He did it for the selfish reason of letting other men know Eva was taken. 

By Wednesday, wild false rumors about their supposed tangled love lives were being reported. The "scandal" was Eva was keeping up-and-coming fashion model "lover" Cary Taylor on the side while juggling him with Gideon. But photos "caught" Eva with Cary on a lunch "date." Meanwhile, some other paparazzi caught pictures of Gideon and Magdalene hours later outside a restaurant, the pair of them obviously happy as they talked. The spin on that was Gideon "turned" to her for "solace" because of Eva's "cheating" nature.

These lies and especially these tabloid photos sparked a fight Wednesday lunchtime between them. Gideon was paranoid that maybe there actually was something sexual between Eva and Cary. Meanwhile, Eva was furious Gideon was nice to Magdalene even after Eva had told him how Magdalene had treated Eva like some s*** and was convinced Gideon was going to marry her (Magdalene).

This argument happened out in public, where Gideon had chased Eva down on her way to have lunch with her boss and his longtime lover. From confrontation to make-up kiss, the whole episode also got photographed and published too. The tabloids can't get enough of Gideon Cross.

[LN Cronan]

The Chapter A Day Re-Read of Bared To You - Today is Chapter Thirteen

 

This chapter unfolds Wednesday night (day ten).

 

Key plot developments:

• This chapter continues the talk Eva has with Gideon about Nathan. Emotionally and sexually, he's able to reassure her that the revelations have not made him want to turn away. 
• However, sexual demons of another sort erupt that night in Gideon's bed, where he has another sexually violent nightmare, this one far more brutal that the one he'd had two nights earlier. 
• But he refuses to talk about it, and when pressed, lied about even remembering it. Eva, hurt by his dishonesty mere hours after she'd revealed her darkest secrets, pulls a runner.

[LN Cronan]

All those old court documents are sealed, so why is it Eva's so paranoid the media could find out all about it? She's right to be scared, because there is a serious paper trail that an investigative reporter could follow through interviewing some people with inside knowledge of the case, protecting those people as "unnamed sources." Especially damning would be if a reporter were able to get his/her hands on copies of leaked documents, because Eva's name would be all over them (and Monica's to a lesser extent, most especially though in the monetary damages case.)

 

If you fellow fans can stand a little more about applicable U.S. constitutional law, read on ....

 

The Sixth Amendment that I talked about the other day, the one that protects the right to a lawyer for anyone accused of (or even suspected of being involved with) a crime? That one that Detective Graves violated when she questioned Eva? The Sixth Amendment guarantees additional rights that include a "public" trial. The government isn't allowed to hide prosecutions of citizens behind closed doors.

 

If the government is going to attempt to send someone to prison, the government must handle the whole case in the open where all citizens can see. This is a protection against government abuses of the court system. What this means iis that with only few exceptions, all criminal cases are public proceedings, and nearly all the records are public documents. Any member of the public can watch in court and can read the files. Most especially the press.

 

The major exception to public criminal cases is juvenile cases, which technically are "delinquency" instead of "criminal" proceedings. Juvie cases are handled in closed courtrooms, the files are non-public, and the fact a child was accused of and/or convicted of delinquency is secret. Unless they have an actual reason to, court clerks aren't supposed to root through those files. At best, cops may know someone who goes on to become an adult criminal has a juvie record, but even then cops need good reason to be allowed access to the records.

 

In addition to the criminal case against Nathan, Monica sued his father for damages. There's less secrecy protection there. However in a civil proceeding, the settlement terms can be made a secret if both sides agree and the judge agrees to seal it. This happens quite regularly when someone (here Nathan's father) wants to settle instead of risk going to a civil trial where a jury could possibly award the plaintiff (here Monica) every last cent the defendant has. So it's to someone's advantage to settle -- settle confidentially, lest someone else get ideas about bringing another lawsuit hoping to get big bucks.

 

So if a journalist poked around, he/she would be able to easily determine the existence of a civil suit in which Monica sued her husband. But when a reporter tried to see the court records, nearly all of them would be confidential -- not just because the sides agreed to confidentiality, but the judge signed an order to seal.

 

So how is a journalist supposed to "get the dirt." People who had been involved and know details could talk under circumstances where the journalist would publish the details but keep secret the name of the person who spilled the details. That's an "unnamed source." Too, someone could leak copies of the paperwork they, for whatever reasons, still had copies of. When Stanton paid people money to keep their mouths shut, he was banking on those people being afraid to cooperate with any journalists, lest they (the sources) somehow get caught doing it.

 

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects, among other things, freedom of the press, and it's those rights that journalists fight to protect when someone tries to force a news organization, by bringing them to court, reveal unnamed sources. Judges are reluctant to order media to reveal sources, especially because it usually doesn't work -- journalists almost always will go to jail for contempt of court than reveal a source. The media also relies heavily on the First Amendment any time the government tries to prevent the media from having access to open government proceedings -- including criminal cases.

 

Bottom line in Eva (and Monica's) situation. There's a legal paper trail about everything that happened after the abuse was uncovered, and there were a lot of people involved who would remember. The danger exists any one of them could talk to and/or leak copies of records to a journalist who would keep secret the name(s) of the person(s) who leaked the info. And there are news organizations unscrupulous enough to use the info to create a scandal instead of following the usual media standards the mainstream media abides by - refusing to name sexual assault victims unless the victim specifically wants his/her name revealed.

 

Increasingly, some victims do ask journalists to use their names, wanting the shame assigned to where it belongs -- with the rapists, not the victims -- and wanting everyone to know details of the terrible things the criminals did to them. However, most victims are reluctant to be named. The cases may still get reported, but the widespread voluntary media practice is to leave the victim names out.

 

"Voluntary" is key here. The media is free to report anything about criminal cases, even the names of victims. All cases, including rape. No laws exist forbidding the media to report facts. Even if the media obtains confidential information, still they can report what they want -- as long as what printed is true, journalists commit no crimes by running the stories. When the framework of the U.S. Government was built through our Constitution over 200 years ago, the founding fathers, aware of press censorship under feudal systems in other countries, sought to guarantee the government cannot muzzle the press. Centuries later, the government still finds it hard to impossible to be able to legally try to stop the media from running stories, even stories that contain government secrets.