The Only One Left
by Riley Sager
Contents
Chapter Twenty-Four
Overview
Kit pushes Lenora about the baby and gets a crucial partial confession: Lenora was pregnant, Mary knew, and the child is now "gone." That revelation strengthens Kit's belief that Lenora's hidden past is tied to both the 1929 murders and Mary's death.
Archie then becomes more suspicious when he denies the pregnancy and warns Kit to stop investigating, only for Lenora's own account to show that Archie knew about her pregnancy all along. The chapter shifts the mystery toward Archie, Ricky, and the fate of Lenora's child.
Summary
After the cliff collapse forces Carter to move from his cottage into Hope's End, Kit grows even more uneasy about the house and about everyone in it. The next morning, Kit skips Lenora's exercises and takes Lenora straight to the typewriter because Kit wants answers about the 1929 pregnancy Carter revealed. When Kit asks directly, Lenora silently confirms that she was pregnant and that Mary knew about it, then types only that the baby is gone and refuses to say more.
Lenora's silence leaves Kit with several possibilities about what happened to the child, but no certainty. Kit also realizes that Mary may have died because she learned too much about Lenora's past, which makes Kit fear that the same danger now applies to her. Even so, Kit decides not to flee Hope's End, believing that Lenora's pregnancy, the old Hope family murders, and Mary's recent death are all connected and that understanding Lenora is the key to untangling them.
The rest of the day passes in heavy silence. Lenora withdraws completely, neither tapping nor typing, and Kit is left with little to do except care for her and think. That night Archie brings dinner and a chocolate milkshake for Lenora, saying he wanted to cheer her up. Seeing a chance to learn more, Kit asks Archie whether Lenora ever had a baby. Archie flatly denies that Lenora was ever pregnant, claims Lenora never mentioned Ricardo Mayhew, and then warns Kit not to keep digging into the past.
The narrative then shifts to Lenora's 1929 account. On a Tuesday night in September, a visibly pregnant Lenora tells Archie about her plans for the future with Ricky. Archie is worried because Ricky's status and the social divide make the relationship dangerous, and Archie even suggests a doctor who could end the pregnancy if Lenora wants that. Lenora refuses, says she loves Ricky, and admits that if circumstances were different she would have chosen Archie. Archie promises to stand by her no matter what and says he would kill anyone who hurt her, then takes a photograph of Lenora cradling her swollen stomach, confirming that he knew the truth he later denied to Kit.
Who Appears
- Kit McDeerequestions Lenora about the baby, fears for her safety, and decides to keep investigating.
- Lenora Hopeconfirms she was pregnant and that Mary knew, then retreats into silence; her past account continues.
- Archiebrings dinner, denies Lenora's pregnancy to Kit, but in Lenora's past secretly knows and vows protection.
- Ricardo "Ricky" MayhewLenora's lover and the implied father of her child; his relationship with Lenora worries Archie.
- Cartermoves into the main house after the cliff collapse; his revelation about Lenora's pregnancy drives Kit's questions.
- Mary Miltondead former nurse whose knowledge of Lenora's pregnancy deepens Kit's suspicion about her murder.
- Jessiebriefly questions Kit about Carter and later provides Lenora with a new book-on-cassette.