Her Hollywood Matriarch Grandmother Humiliated Her at Christmas, But the 7-Year-Old Had a Key to Secrets That Silenced the Whole Room
The conversation with Eleanor had left Brandon shaken, but more determined than ever. He and Anya spent the next few days brainstorming, trying to identify anyone else who might hold a piece of the Palomino puzzle. Arthur was already digging through his old contacts, but they needed another avenue.
“What about Sarah?” Anya suggested one evening, as Lily slept soundly upstairs. “Lily’s biological mother. She was an actress, wasn’t she? Maybe she saw something, heard something, back when Eleanor was just starting out.”
Brandon hesitated. His relationship with Sarah, Lily’s mother, was cordial but distant. They hadn’t spoken in years, not since her abrupt departure from Hollywood and their divorce. Sarah had always seemed uncomfortable discussing Eleanor.
“She left the industry so suddenly,” Brandon mused, remembering. “Just packed up and moved away from all the glitz and glamour.”
“Maybe that wasn’t a coincidence,” Anya offered, her brow furrowed. “Eleanor has a way of making people disappear, one way or another.”
The thought was chilling, but it made sense. Eleanor had always been ruthless, and Sarah’s retreat had been unusually complete. Brandon sighed, knowing it was a necessary step. He picked up his phone, dialing a number he hadn’t called in years.
Sarah answered on the third ring, her voice wary.
“Brandon? Is everything alright?” she asked, a slight tremble in her tone that immediately put him on edge.
He explained, carefully, about the key, about Eleanor’s reaction, and about Arthur’s revelations regarding Palomino Records. He omitted the more damning details of Silas Thorne for now, not wanting to overwhelm her.
There was a long silence on the other end, punctuated by a soft, ragged breath.
“Eleanor,” Sarah finally said, her voice barely a whisper. “Always Eleanor.”
“Did you ever know anything about Palomino Records, Sarah?” Brandon pressed gently. “Or Eleanor’s work there?”
“Not directly,” she admitted, her voice still trembling. “But I heard things. Whispers, you know? About ‘unusual methods.’ And how Eleanor would get what she wanted, no matter what.”
A familiar, bitter memory surfaced for Sarah, one she had tried to suppress for years. She recalled Eleanor, in the early days, making a snide comment to her about how “some actresses just don’t have the stomach for what it takes,” right after Sarah had expressed discomfort about a shady contract offer that had come through Eleanor’s office. It was a subtle, personal jab, designed to make Sarah feel weak and out of her depth.
“I remember her once saying some actresses just didn’t have the ‘stomach’ for what it took,” Sarah confessed, the memory clearly painful. “Like I was weak for questioning things.”
“Did you ever cross paths with a specific artist who worked with Eleanor or Palomino?” Anya asked, taking the phone from Brandon and putting it on speaker.
Again, a pause. Then, Sarah’s voice grew even quieter, laced with a fear Brandon hadn’t heard in years.
“There was Vivian,” Sarah said, the name barely audible. “Vivian Vance. She was… she was another up-and-coming actress back then. Very talented, very bright.”
“Vivian Vance?” Brandon repeated, the name unfamiliar.
“Yes,” Sarah confirmed. “She was Eleanor’s client, too. For a short time. And then, she wasn’t.”
Sarah paused, gathering her thoughts.
“Vivian was being courted by a big studio for a major role,” Sarah recounted. “Everyone said she was going to be the next big thing. And then, suddenly, she vanished. Poof. Gone.”
“Gone how?” Anya prompted, sensing the unspoken fear.
“From the industry,” Sarah clarified. “Her agent, who was Eleanor, just dropped her. And no other agent would touch her. Her contracts were just… terminated. And it all happened right around the time Eleanor suddenly, miraculously, ‘secured’ your first big break, Brandon.”
The implication hung heavy in the air, a dark cloud settling over their conversation. Eleanor, somehow benefiting from Vivian’s sudden disappearance, right when Brandon’s career took off. Brandon felt a sickening lurch in his stomach. He had always believed his first big break was due to his own talent, and Eleanor’s skillful negotiation. Now, a more sinister possibility emerged.
“I always thought it was strange,” Sarah continued, her voice gaining a fragile strength. “But Eleanor just said Vivian was ‘difficult’ and ‘unprofessional.’ That she’d ‘burned too many bridges.’ But Vivian wasn’t like that. She was kind, always so professional.”
“Did you ever see Vivian with anyone from Palomino Records?” Anya asked.
“No,” Sarah replied immediately. “Not that I know of. But it was just whispers back then. No one really knew what Palomino Records truly was. Only that Eleanor seemed to gain a lot of… influence… from it.”
She let out a shaky breath. “Please, Brandon. Be careful. Eleanor is far more dangerous than anyone realizes. And she protects her secrets fiercely.”
The line went dead, leaving Brandon and Anya in silence, the weight of Sarah’s words settling over them. Vivian Vance. Another name, another potential victim in Eleanor’s climb to power. And the chilling connection to Brandon’s own career.
“Arthur needs to look into Vivian Vance,” Brandon said, his voice grim. “Immediately.”
Anya nodded, her face mirroring his serious expression. The web of Eleanor’s lies was starting to unravel, and each thread revealed something more unsettling than the last. The key on the coffee table seemed to pulse with an ominous light.
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