There was child after child who said on camera, “I was saved by one of Caroline’s Ladders.” It seemed like the video was going on forever.
A woman at the bar got up in Emily’s face and asked, “Is that good enough for you, bitch?”
“That’s just TV. Just because he said they had checked it out, doesn’t mean it’s true. Do you know anyone personally who has been saved by one of the ladders? I didn’t think so.” Just then another woman approached her and slapped Emily in the face.
“My niece was saved by one of Caroline’s Ladders. She couldn’t be more precious to me than if I had her myself. Now, bitch, are you going to call me a liar? If so, you and I are stepping outside for an old-fashioned cat fight.”
*****
Emily was lying in the Emergency Room when a person from Admissions came in and announced to the nurse. “That’s the woman who says Caroline’s Ladders program is bogus. By the way, her insurance doesn’t check out. Let her know she’ll have to pay herself.”
Emily shouted out, “I heard that. I’ll have you know that I am covered under my husband’s health insurance.”
The Admissions staff person spoke up again. “According to the insurance company, he took you off the plan recently when he filed for divorce. Do you have some other insurance we don’t know about?” Emily didn’t have a response for that fact.
The staff person said to the nurse, “I wish that meant we didn’t have to treat her.”
The nurse responded, “No, we still have to treat her, but we don’t have to spend more than the minimum amount of time and treatment on her.”
“The nurse turned to Emily. Here, Ms. Granger. These are band-aids and Neosporin. You are ready to go now as soon as they calculate the bill. It should only be about $2800 for Emergency Room care, not counting the ambulance ride.”
“What? You can’t just give me simple first aid? What about x-rays? Band-aids and Neosporin I could have done at home.”
“Guess what? You can still do it at home.”
*****
From that day on, Emily had to be content to stay home most days for her own safety. She used the internet and social media to keep up her campaign against her deceased ex-husband and Caroline’s Ladders. She wasn’t too surprised to receive a letter from Kyle’s lawyer. Her first guess was that she was being sued for slander or libel. She had one wild thought that Kyle might have left her money in his will. She was anxious as she read the letter enclosed. It was a letter from Kyle written so as to be sent upon his death.
“Emily,
“For many years, I was willing to take this knowledge to the grave and was not ever going to tell you. Given how your hate has hurt Caroline’s Ladders, I now share this with you. It was hard not to make this public, but I couldn’t do that to you because of what I have caused you to suffer. Emily, I know that Caroline was not my biological daughter.”
Emily put the letter down in shock. She thought, “How could he have known? If he had known, he would have said something earlier. I never told anyone, and her real father didn’t even know.” She continued reading.