Chapter 3 - THE SIX NIGHTS
Isolde’s bedroom was not taken in one move.
That was one of the first things the investigator established.
Night One:
Claudia arrived after finalizing the sale of the townhouse she had shared with her ex-husband.
She had nine suitcases.
Two garment racks.
Boxes.
Loretta suggested she use Isolde’s sitting area temporarily because the larger guest suites were being repainted.
False.
They were not.
Night Two:
Claudia moved clothing into Isolde’s closet.
Isolde complained.
Loretta told her:
“Aunt Claudia has lost a home. You can share.”
Reasonable on the surface.
Night Three:
Claudia slept in Isolde’s bed because she claimed the guest-room mattress hurt her back.
Isolde slept on the daybed in the adjoining dressing room.
Night Four:
Loretta told staff to move Isolde’s personal items to the storage room.
Night Five:
The bed was officially “Claudia’s suite.”
Night Six:
My daughter slept beside luggage.
Then the dinner.
The empty chair Isolde approached had been beside me.
Loretta told her she would serve instead.
Why?
“Family roles.”
Then the brace.
Loretta said:
“You don’t need that to carry a tray.”
Isolde refused.
Loretta removed it.
Isolde put it back.
Then at the family table, when Isolde tried to sit:
Loretta tore it away.
That was the moment I entered.
The pattern was not instant.
May you like
It escalated.
That mattered.
