The Only One Left
by Riley Sager
Contents
Chapter Forty-Two
Overview
Kit rushes back to Hope’s End to stop her father from killing Virginia, and in Ricky’s confrontation with Virginia the hidden crimes of both 1929 and the present are finally spoken aloud. Ricky confesses to Evangeline Hope’s murder and to luring Mary to Hope’s End to kill her, proving Kit’s worst suspicions about him are true.
When Ricky tries to silence Virginia for good, Virginia and Kit fight back together, injuring him and interrupting the attack. The chapter ends with an even more devastating revelation for Kit: Ricky admits that he, not Kit, was responsible for the pills that led to her mother’s death.
Summary
Shaken by what Mary’s suitcase revealed, Kit drives back to Hope’s End convinced that her father, Patrick “Ricky” McDeere, killed Mary and may now be going after Virginia. She finds Ricky’s truck at the open gate, realizes he came on foot to avoid detection, and meets Archie outside the house. After telling Archie that Ricky is both the intruder and her father, Kit sends Archie to town for Detective Vick while she goes inside to protect Virginia.
Kit moves through the silent, tilting house and takes the service stairs to Virginia’s room, armed only with a corkscrew. She warns Virginia that Ricky is coming and tries to move Virginia into the wheelchair, but Ricky’s footsteps on the stairs force them to hide instead. Kit conceals herself in her bedroom while Virginia is left in a dark corner of her room, hoping Ricky will not notice her.
Ricky finds Virginia immediately, lifts her back into bed, and begins talking to her with unsettling calm. From hiding, Kit hears Ricky confirm the history Mary uncovered: he loved Virginia, got her pregnant, accepted money from Winston Hope to disappear after being told the baby was gone, and stabbed Evangeline Hope when something in him “snapped.” Ricky also explains that Mary came to his house asking for a blood test, revealing that Virginia was alive and that their lost child might have descendants, so he lured Mary to Hope’s End and killed her because she had become dangerous.
Kit steps out and confronts Ricky. Ricky warns Kit to stay back by gripping Virginia’s throat and says he cannot risk Virginia telling anyone else. When Kit pleads with him to stop, Ricky begins strangling Virginia anyway. Kit attacks him, but Ricky easily throws her aside, and it appears Virginia is about to die.
Virginia then grabs the corkscrew with her working left hand and stabs Ricky in the stomach. Kit pulls the corkscrew free and turns it on Ricky, forcing him away from Virginia. In the emotional aftermath, Kit accuses herself over her mother’s death by pills, but Ricky stops her and admits the truth: Kit was right to doubt the story because he, not Kit, left the pills for her mother and caused that death.
Who Appears
- Kit McDeereRushes back to Hope’s End, confronts her father, protects Virginia, and learns the truth about her mother’s death.
- Patrick “Ricky” McDeereKit’s father; confronts Virginia, confesses past and recent murders, and admits responsibility for Kit’s mother’s pills.
- Virginia HopeTargeted by Ricky, survives his attack, and stabs him with the corkscrew to stop him.
- ArchieWarns Kit that someone has arrived at Hope’s End and goes to fetch Detective Vick.
- MaryHer visit to Ricky and murder at Hope’s End are fully explained through Ricky’s confession.