ATTEMPTED MURDER OF DAVID ELLIOT from Power and Deception
Summary provided by author:
A ruthless and unscrupulous lawyer, David has always used his charm to cover up his schemes but events came to a head when he was run down by an unseen assailant and left for dead leaving a whole list of suspects.
Throughout his unhappy marriage to wife Stephanie, David had numerous affairs, most noticeably with wealthy widow Julia Wheeler. This dalliance pushed Stephanie over the edge and she attempted to murder Julia to get her revenge. When her plan turned awry, David offered to represent her at her hearing if she granted him a quickie divorce. Stephanie kept up her part of the bargain but David did not and actually testified against her. She was horrified at his betrayal and his damning testimony contributed to her being deemed unfit for trial. She was sent to a secure mental instution where David warned her he was going to let her rot.
However, after ending his relationship with Julia, David became involved with bored and spoilt Adrienne Wilder, the wife of his law partner Travis. Whilst quickly becoming Travis's best friend, David was unable to control his lust for Adrienne's fortune and seduced her. For months, he encouraged Adrienne to fall in love with him and counselled Travis who realized that his marriage was falling apart. When Adrienne became suspicious of David's past relationship with Julia, she went to visit Stephanie at the institution who filled her in on all the details.
Horrified that a now sane Stephanie could scupper his chances of taking a slice of Adrienne's fortune, David decided to take drastic action. He bribed Lucinda Bauer, a nurse at the sanitarium, into planting a kitchen knife in Stephanie's cell. It was hoped that this would ruin Stephanie's chances of parole but she got the upper hand and blackmailed Dr Bryce into ignoring the incident. However, she knew who was responsible and vowed revenge. Later, she was released and moved back into the Elliott home much to David's chagrin.
Meanwhile, Travis finally discovered the depths of Adrienne's treachery and confronted her with the knowledge that she was having an affair with his best friend. She knew this meant the end of their marriage and packed her bags to leave him. Confidently, she went to David's house expecting to move in, but influenced by Stephanie's presence and the trouble that the relationship could cause, David brutally rejected her. She went home to Travis and drowned her sorrows, even considering suicide. Her father Greg found out everything and went to David's office where he threatened the philanderer. Travis and Adrienne were also both consumed with hatred for the man who had ruined their lives and their daughter Danielle was deeply affected by the breakup of her parents' marriage.
Upon her release from the sanitarium, Stephanie set about rebuilding her life but that was not to be as a bitter David thwarted her at every turn. This culminated in a crushing scene at a San Francisco spa which had been orchestrated by David and designed to push Stephanie over the edge again. She stormed back home where she encountered her son Tommy and vowed revenge on David for his trickery. When she left the house, Tommy worried that she had returned to her old ways.
With the list of enemies mounting, David was run down by an unseen assailant in the parking lot of his law firm Elliott and Wilder. He was left for dead and there is an abundane of suspects. Stephanie, who had been released from the sanitarium only days before. Danielle who resented the breakup of her parents' marriage. Greg who wanted to avenge his daughter's suicide attempt. Along with Travis and Adrienne whose lives were in tatters thanks to David's machinations. So the question remains, "Who tried to murder David Elliott?"