After spending a day recouping after, you know, getting stabbed by a Neo-Nazi, I decide it’s time to talk to Éclair. Just the thought of talking to her about all of this makes me sick to my stomach. I know it has to be done though –it has to if I’m ever going to make things work with Sylvia. I decide it’s something that has to be done in person, so I give her a call to let her know I’m coming by. The phone rings three times before she answers.

“James?” her voice is slightly sing-songy –like she’s relieved to hear my voice. I have been avoiding her for a while, and it makes me feel pretty shitty to hear the relief in her voice that I am calling.

“Hey,” I say, taking a deep breath, “listen, I’m in the area. Do you mind if I come by for a little while?”

There is a pause, “Yeah, sure. Could you give me like a half hour? My sister popped by unannounced, so I have to ditch her. She’s one to over stay her welcome, if you know what I mean.” Éclair rarely speaks about her sister; she has an even more estranged relationship with her younger sister than I had had with Eddie. Both Éclair and I had been the successful siblings, which I have to say for me at least has always put a damper on the sibling relationship. Sibling rivalry in the business world is rough.

“Sure,” I say, “I’ll see you in a half hour.” I hang up the phone and contemplate exactly what I should say to her. I suppose just being straight forward would be best. I didn’t call my driver this time around; I figure this is something that could take a while, so I don’t want to leave my driver sitting around outside of Éclair’s house in the event that it does. I drive myself to Éclair’s home, and I time it pretty well –winding up outside of her home almost exactly half an hour after our phone conversation.

I head up the driveway, and I let myself in. As always, I’m slightly taken back by all the pink and silver that make up her home. You would think that I would be used to it by now –it’s the same way at her company office. I hear her heel clicking against the black and white tile floors as she appears from around the corner. Damn it, she looks gorgeous in her cute black suit with red blouse. Her long blonde hair is braided up on one side of her head –flowing down over her right shoulder. Her face lights up when she sees me. “I’m so glad you called me,” she says, more pep in her step than usual. She comes right up to me and touches my chest. “I was afraid you were never going to talk to me again after what happened last time…” she blushes. “Listen, about what you said-” The big smile on her face suddenly terrifies me. Is she going to say it back?

I cut her off before she has the chance. “So your sister came by?” I say quickly.

Éclair frowns. “Yeah,” she says, “she’s crazy, I swear. I haven’t seen her in over a year, and she just drops by for the heck of it. And she’s so damn nosey. I don’t even know what she’s up to nowadays. She’s always been really competitive towards me, and me owning my own company has always gotten to her.”

“Yeah, well, take it from someone with experience in that department –you don’t want to let any sort of disagreements you have with your sister stop you from knowing her. I wish Eddie and I had been closer towards the end,” I can tell that my words struck a nerve with her.

She nods, but she shakes her head slightly. “I know. Suzette just drives me insane sometimes.”

It’s like time freezes for a second. Suzette? What? I stare at her, and I know she can tell that something is off. “Your sister is named Suzette?”

“Yeah,” Éclair says, “Have I never mentioned her before?”

Suzette is not exactly a common name. My head starts spinning. “Did you know the name of the woman paying for the lawyer that had tried to sue me is Suzette?” I ask, and she appears surprised –but is she pretending? I grit my teeth, “Is it your sister?”

“Why would my sister try to sue you?” Éclair hisses.

“I am so stupid,” I say and take a step back. “You’ve been trying to get me to sell my company to you for years. Are you the one who poisoned my supplements? Did you hurt Eddie –or hire someone to do your dirty work? And you got your sister involved so I wouldn’t connect the lawyer to you, right? All of this to try to ruin my company’s reputation so that you could swoop in and buy it out, right?”

“How dare you?” she snaps and goes to slap at me, but I’m not putting up with her shit right now.

I grab her wrist in mid slap, and I squeeze the shit out of it until I hear her wrist pop. “Fuck off!” I shout, but I don’t let go of her. “And you know what else? You were there! You were alone in the room with Eddie before he died! Oh my God! You poisoned him, didn’t you?”

“James, you’re hurting me!” Éclair shrieks, and she avoids responding to what I had just said.

I don’t let go of her –if anything I squeeze her wrist even tighter. “It makes sense! I don’t know what I kept denying it. You’re a damn bitch, and you’re going to spend the rest of your life in prison for this.”

“Let go!” Éclair yanks back, and I release her wrist and shove her. She falls, landing on her side against the tile floors. I didn’t exactly mean to knock her down onto the ground, but damn it I don’t really give a shit right now.

“I could strangle you!” I shout, but just stand there staring down at her as she struggles back onto her feet.

She grips her wrist as she stands a safe distance from me, staring at me with these hurt eyes. “You’re such an asshole, James. You really think I would do all that to you? To Eddie?”

“Yeah, Éclair, I really do. You’re a conniving, manipulative bitch. You’re always doing everything you can to manipulate me. That’s why I came over here in the first place –to tell you to fuck off. To tell you that I am done with you because I want to be with Sylvia. I was going to try to part on good terms, but fuck it! I don’t care. Not anymore. I’m leaving, Éclair, and you better believe the police are going to hear all about this. I hope you rot in prison,” I go to leave, but she stops me.

“James, I swear, I have nothing to do with any of this! James, don’t go!” she has a hold of my sleeve, but I yank away. “You’re a jackass!” she roars, and I see that there are tears falling down her cheeks. “I was going to tell you I loved you too! I love you. I would never do anything to hurt you.”

I dart out the front door, slamming it behind me and leaving her standing alone in her den. Her sister’s name is Suzette –the same name of the woman who filed the original lawsuit. It makes so much sense. Éclair has always tried to get me to sell the company. Since I wouldn’t sell, she sabotaged me. Eddie must have caught on, so she had him killed. She was alone with him at the hospital –she could have been the one to put the poison into his IV. I think I’m going to be sick. I need someone to help me process all of this before going to the police, so I head towards Sylvia’s apartment in the city.