“I think so too Leigh. I cared a lot about you.” Bette admitted.

“I was such an idiot. First I get into this business arrangement with her and then I let her seduce me. Next thing I know we’re New York’s newest artsy couple. Would you believe she actually wanted me to carry her baby? Apparently she has some kind of weird obsession for pregnant women.”

Leigh saw the fleeting hurt look in Bette’s eyes. Too late she remembered that Bette’s ex-wife was with Helena while she was pregnant.

“Bette I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. It was insensitive of me. I wasn’t thinking. Pregnant women are beautiful and are to be loved and cherished. I just think Helena’s obsession was unhealthy. Needless to say when I refused she quickly tired of me and just tossed me aside. I couldn’t even imagine subjecting a child to her madness. I honestly thought she was going insane. She was so volatile and totally out of control. From what I hear she wasn’t covering her tracks so well either. It was soon discovered that while at the helm of the Peabody Company Helena misappropriated company funds and was using the company name and reputation to buy her way into or out of whatever her malevolent heart desired.

Her mother finally cut her off financially. She had no way to cope with being broke. She got involved with some high roller named Catherine Rothberg and after incurring thousands in gambling debt became some kind of sex slave to Catherine to pay it off. She ended up becoming an alcoholic and apparently stole some money from Catherine that landed her in jail. Her mother totally disowned her after that. I guess you really do reap what you sow huh?”

Bette wasn’t surprised to hear this. It was obvious that Helena had used her influence at the CAC to get Bette fired, and very likely gave the $100,000 grant to the youth center to get into Tina’s good graces. Bette wasn’t a vengeful person but she wasn’t sorry about Helena’s fate. The woman was a sociopath. Bette was just grateful that Tina, Angie and Leigh had escaped her evil clutches.

She felt like a dull knife was piercing her heart every time she thought how close Helena had come to being Angie’s other mother. She didn’t even want to think about what Angie’s life would have been like if Tina hadn’t recognized Bette as Angie’s intended parent or if they hadn’t reconciled before the baby’s birth. Bette was still amazed that Tina never saw Helena for what she was and to this day she still defended Helena’s actions against Bette.