Adeline sat back down after Liam left. She needed a drink to put her in a better mood.
There was always a headache coming on when she thought about Veronica. Veronica was the puzzle piece which would never fit in the family no matter how Liam tried to force her in.
They had the perfect family in the eyes of the public and their peers but Veronica never made any sense.
Adeline remembered all the questions about how Veronica managed to fit herself into their family. It was a well-calculated move to meet Liam at his college.
The mere fact Veronica ended up in all of Liam's classes when she had been interested in art and Liam was taking business classes had always been suspicious to Adeline. The proof was right there for anyone to see.
Adeline thought it was unfortunate that it had not been Beth to get his attention but seeing the decline in the Harper family business, it was a blessing the arranged date was not successful.
"I need medicine," Adeline rubbed her temples. "I was so close."
The news about Veronica not waking up had given her hope there would be an ending to that marriage but Veronica just had to wake up.
Adeline picked up her cell phone to check if she had any messages from Veronica. "She doesn't know her place."
There wasn't a single response to the messages or emails Adeline had gone out of her way to send to Veronica. Veronica acted as though it was Adeline who had to go to her. The rude response to Adeline pointing this out still lingered in her head.
"Well, her time came," Adeline smiled.
The world had a place for everyone to be and with Veronica pushing herself where she didn't belong, it just so happened she almost died.
Veronica would be much easier to deal with now that she didn't have her memories. The attitude should be gone.
"Are her memories gone or is this another one of her tricks?" Adeline wondered, suspicious.
It wasn't uncommon for Veronica to do tricks to piss off the family.
"I have to," Adeline said, searching her phone for a name.
While Adeline wanted to keep Liam's image perfect for what he needed to do in the future, she had to ruin the marriage. There was someone who would make the perfect wife for him and be an ally should Liam enter the political world.
After three rings, the phone was answered.
"Hello. It's been so long since I last saw you. Would you have dinner with me?" Adeline asked the young woman on the other line of the phone.
Liam left her with no choice but to meddle again. Adeline gave him many chances to end the marriage but now she had to try to get rid of Veronica again and this time, she would succeed.
***
Beth swirled the straw in her drink, distracted by the news reports about Veronica. Why was the accident getting this much attention? It was already out that it was just a suicide attempt for attention.
'Where was this attention when my parents died?' Beth wondered, envious of the spotlight Veronica had on her.
Again, Veronica had stolen what Beth wanted.
The husband and the public's interest in her.
Had she known it would take something as drastic as this, Beth would have tried something similar but she couldn't now for anyone to think there was something wrong with the Harper family.
"I should have hurt myself and blamed it on her. The jealous daughter hurting the girl without parents," Beth did the headlines.
It wasn't farfetched considering Veronica had been jealous that Evelyn cared for Beth.
Beth smiled as she thought of how she stole Veronica's mother. It was never fair that Veronica got to have her mother when Beth's mother was taken from her in a car accident.
The envy grew over the years leading to Beth wanting whatever Veronica had.
"She turned around to steal from me. She got what was coming to her."
Beth laughed, enjoying how many thought Veronica's accident concerned her wanting attention or that she was so clumsy to have fallen from a boat when she didn't know how to swim.
"It reminds me of that time," said Beth.
It was an incident which showed Veronica how much her mother didn't like her.
Beth recalled purposely pushing Veronica from a boat and jumping in the water to act like Veronica had been upset and pushed her. Beth didn't know Veronica couldn't swim so she witnessed Veronica almost drown.
When they were pulled from the water, Evelyn comforted Beth and scolded Veronica for being so careless. There hadn't been anyone by Veronica's side to comfort her though she was the only one who couldn't swim.
"Is that why she doesn't go on boats anymore? She is so stupid. Just learn to swim," Beth said, laughing at Veronica's stupidity.
It wasn't anything new that Veronica was dramatic and craved attention since her mother didn't give it to her and her father wasn't anywhere in sight.
Beth's laughter died down as the thought of the police digging further into the accident concerned her. It should have been written off as an accident since Veronica was on the boat alone.
Beth placed her finger in her mouth, biting down on the nail which was freshly done. Her story was put together well to cover her trail so there shouldn't be any suspicion thrown on her.
"I didn't do anything," Beth muttered, once more convincing herself she was innocent.
"What didn't you do?" A hand touching her shoulder startled Beth.
"Don't- Oh," she relaxed, seeing that it was just her special guest. "Oh, Nora. I didn't see you come in. Forget what you heard. It wasn't important."
"Your expression looked serious," Nora replied, not believing what Beth said. "Do you feel guilty for sitting with me? Your request to meet was surprising considering you have never paid me any mind before."
"That's because I was nervous. You're a successful woman in your field and I haven't figured out what I want. It's not easy to approach you. I finally got around to doing it," Beth said, forcing the lie.
"Beth, I am not stupid. The timing of you getting courage is a little bit too good. Are you here to find something about me on behalf of Veronica?" Nora asked.
'Well," Beth stopped, her act beginning. "I have heard some things but I didn't jump to believe them. It could just be rumours that you are sneaking around with a married man. That doesn't seem like you."
"You don't know me," Nora replied. She had a feeling this was what Beth called her for. "I work close to Liam. It can't be helped if there is a spark between us. You should speak to him instead of me."
"You know how men are, they will deny it until the end. I would like to know if it is just rumours or if you were with him. I wouldn't be opposed to helping you be official with him,' Beth offered.
Nora laughed at the offer but she was still amused. She failed to get Liam to be serious with her. He ignored her advances but it still led to rumours. It made sense for a man like him and a woman like her to be together. "And how would you help me?"
"By planting evidence that you exist," Beth answered.