Chapter 7 - ELEANOR'S VERSION
Eleanor claimed the pool plan was supposed to frighten Christopher.
Emma would fall into the shallow end.
Daniel would rescue her.
Christopher would look negligent.
Juliette would become temporary guardian.
The board vote would proceed.
"Then who moved the marker chair?" Brooks asked.
Victor was gone.
The chair that marked the shallow push point had been moved ten feet toward deep water.
Victor wanted Emma dead.
Eleanor wanted her used.
Three people.
Three levels of intent.
No innocence.
Police searched the lodge.
A fireproof drawer survived.
Inside was Anna's handwritten timeline.
Eleanor is protecting Victor. Victor is directing the money.
Then a file labeled EMMA - CONTINGENCY.
The fake strawberry allergy.
A second route to an "accidental" death.
The pool had only been one option.
"I thought I could keep Victor satisfied without hurting you."
"You watched Emma go underwater."
"I froze."
"No."
"You decided your plan mattered more than her life."
"Did you order Victor to damage her brakes?"
"I told him to stop her from reaching the board."
"What did you think that meant?"
Silence.
His mother had learned to speak in instructions that let other people carry the guilt.
A letter from Thomas Pierce to Victor.
Victor,
I know who you are. I will correct this before my death.
His father had planned to recognize Victor.
Six months later, Thomas died in a boating accident.
Eleanor had handled the investigation.
Again.
"Your father's death needs to be reopened."
"Emma's hospital room is empty."
"What?"
"The nurse was drugged."
Security footage showed a man in maintenance clothes leading Emma away.
The man removed his mask in the parking garage.
May you like
Victor Hale.
He had taken Emma himself.
