Page 56 of One Last Smile

Tears begin to fall from Eliza’s face. “Rupert?”

“That… I…” He looks at me and releases a strained laugh. “What? You texted me, right? That wasn’t Veronica at all.”

“No,” I admit. “I texted you from my phone pretending to be Veronica.”

“You what?” Veronica exclaims, looking at me in shock.

“I told him that you texted from my phone so no one would suspect. I told him you still loved him, and if he came here at two o’clock, the two of you would be alone and you could plan your escape.”

“Why on Earth would you do that?”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. I truly am. I just needed him over here. Sebastian, for what it’s worth, I don’t believe your wife had an affair with him, at least not since before you married.” I don’t know that for sure, but I do know that their dalliances ended a long time ago, and Veronica is regrettably caught in the crossfire with this.

But not too regrettably. She turned a blind eye to Minnie’s disappearance like the rest. I don’t feel too much sympathy for her.

“This is outrageous,” Rupert says. “I won’t stay for—”

“You will stay right where you are, or I’ll tie you to the goddamned stairs,” Sebastian thunders.

Rupert pales and lowers a trembling hand from the door. Sebastian turns to me and says, “Mary, you had better be able to prove what you’re saying. The evidence of my daughter’s foolishness is clear, but you had better be able to show that they’re responsible for Minnie’s death, or I will absolutely ruin your life.”

I know that’s not an idle threat, and I can’t suppress the shiver that runs through me. I hand him the medical report and say, “This is the office visit report where Dr. Chalmers discovered Minnie was pregnant with his child.”

Rupert stiffens, and Veronica lifts her hand to her mouth. “Oh God. Oh God!”

“Is that true, Eliza?” Oliver asks. “Did you know about this?”

Eliza doesn’t answer him. She continues to stare at Rupert, tears streaming down her face. “You came here for my mother?”

“This report is completely whited out,” Sebastian says. “It only has her name on it and a prescription for vitamins. Some advice to avoid alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco.”

“Yes,” Rupert says quickly. “What you have there is a checkup report. I make it a practice to white out personal information.”

“So all of your files will look like that when the police raid your clinic?” I challenge.

He blanches. “You have no right to do that.”

“The call’s already been made,” I say.

Veronica snatches the paper from Sebastian’s hand and reads it. Her hands begin to tremble, and tears stream down her face. She looks at Rupert and says softly, “Oh, you bastard. How could you? She was only a child.”

“It’s a blasted checkup!” he says, trying to sound angry and succeeding in sounding frightened.

“But the date, Rupert. It was the same day she told us she was pregnant.”

“Why did you tell her to pick up vitamins?” Eliza says. “You said you told her to get rid of the baby.”

The whole family gasps at that statement. Rupert’s jaw goes slack. “Eliza… God…”

“You asshole!” Oliver cries.

He rushes down the stairs toward Rupert, murder in his eyes. Lucas cries out and runs after his brother, tackling him at the foot of the stairs. “Oliver!” he cries out. “Stop!”

“I didn’t kill her!” Rupert says, backing to the door. “I saw her leave with your cousin Alistair!”

“Liar!” Oliver shouts.

Eliza blinks and seems to realize where she is. “It’s true,” she says. “I haven’t wanted to believe it, but I lied when I said she left the house alone. She actually left with Alistair. He offered to walk her home. I didn’t think anything of it, but I saw her go with him.”

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