Chapter 5 - THE WATER
The filthy water at the baby shower came from the flower station.
Not sewage.
Not chemicals.
Water containing soil, wilted stems, and floral residue.
Disgusting.
Not toxic.
Eudora had watched staff empty arrangements into the bucket.
Then took it herself.
Why?
She said later:
“I wanted Tessa to stop making a spectacle.”
A spectacle of what?
Twenty minutes before the attack, Tessa had confronted Brielle beside the gift table.
She had discovered a second diaper bag.
Prepared for June.
Inside:
Formula.
Bottles.
Clothes.
Diapers.
Pacifiers.
Copies of June’s insurance card.
A photocopy of her birth certificate.
Tessa asked:
“Why do you have this?”
Brielle answered:
“Mom said we might take her tonight.”
Take her where?
The estate east wing.
Tessa said no.
Brielle insisted:
“You need sleep.”
Tessa took the photocopies.
Walked toward Eudora.
The argument began.
By the time I noticed, Eudora had the bucket.
May you like
The water was humiliation.
The baby was the actual objective.
