Chapter 4 - Daphne Had Been Warning Me Longer Than I Wanted to Admit
Daphne came into our lives eight months after Elena disappeared.
She was young, kind, steady under pressure, and unlike everyone else around the estate, she did not treat Sadie like a burden or a symbol of tragedy. Sadie trusted her almost immediately.
So did Elena’s mother, who had never trusted Corinne.
That should have told me something.
Over the last year, Daphne had tried—carefully, respectfully—to tell me that Corinne’s behavior around Sadie was not normal.
Not always violent.
Not always visible.
But cruel.
Calculated.
Humiliating.
Small punishments disguised as discipline. Sharp words when no one else was around. Sudden outbursts, followed by fake tears when confronted.
Every time Daphne raised concern, Corinne had an answer ready.
Sadie was “confused.”
Daphne was “too emotionally attached.”
The house was “under stress.”
And because none of it had yet exploded in front of me the way it did at the reception, I let too much slide.
That failure would sit in my chest for a long time.
That night, after the reception ended, Daphne stood in my office holding an ice pack to her cheek and told me something she had never said out loud before.
“Two weeks before Elena disappeared,” she said, “I heard them arguing in the breakfast room.”
“Who?”
“Elena and Corinne.”
My pulse kicked harder.
“What about?”
Daphne swallowed.
“Elena accused her of drugging her orange juice.”
I went completely still.
Orange juice.
The same thing Corinne had just poured over Sadie’s head.
The same pitcher style Elena used to drink from in the mornings.
“What did Elena say exactly?”
Daphne closed her eyes, searching her memory.
“She said, ‘If anything happens to me, start with the drinks.’”
I sat back slowly.
For three years, I had been searching for a disappearing woman.
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Now I was starting to see a method.
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