Chapter 11 - Why Eleanor hid Vivienne
Eleanor had not ordered Vivienne’s disappearance.
At least evidence did not support that.
The original roadside attack was traced to a licensing contractor named Gavin Rourke.
Rourke ran a company that had relied heavily on Cross Meridian’s continuity packets.
Vivienne threatened to report falsified credentials.
Rourke panicked.
He hired two men to scare her and recover copied records.
The confrontation became violent.
Vivienne was injured and left near the river road.
One attacker believed she had fallen into the water.
She had not.
A delivery driver found her hours later farther down the access road.
She had no identification.
Her phone was destroyed.
A local hospital admitted her as unknown.
Then Eleanor learned.
How?
One of the attackers contacted her after realizing Vivienne might have survived.
Eleanor did not arrange the attack.
But she suddenly had a problem.
If Vivienne recovered and spoke:
Rourke would be exposed.
Cross Meridian’s credential system would be exposed.
Eleanor could face:
Civil liability.
Regulatory consequences.
Potential criminal scrutiny if she knowingly facilitated false records.
So she did something morally devastating but more complicated than kidnapping.
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She paid for Vivienne’s care.
Then kept her identity hidden.
