Chapter 23

Contains spoilers

Overview

Olivia informs her publisher that a key chapter must be rewritten after discovering film evidence contradicting Vincent Taylor’s account of who killed a neighbor’s cat. She then meets Mark Randall, Danny Taylor’s best friend, who describes a violent argument he witnessed between Vincent and Poppy on carnival night and asserts Vincent intended to meet Poppy at the house soon after. Mark’s memories challenge the official timeline and strengthen suspicion that Vincent targeted Poppy and Danny died intervening.

Summary

Three days after speaking with Margot Gibson, Olivia joins a Zoom call with Nicole and the Monarch team. Although they praise her latest chapter, Olivia announces she will pull and revise it because she has evidence that contradicts Vincent Taylor’s version of events. She explains that silent Super 8 reels from Poppy show young Vincent burying a dead cat, not Danny as Vincent had claimed. Neil is eager for the footage and asks for the films, but Olivia defers, saying she needs Vincent’s permission and citing sensitivity to the family materials, while privately hesitating to share until she understands the reels’ full implications.

After the call, Nicole asks how Olivia found the reels, and Olivia lies that they were discovered among old boxes Vincent gave her, swapping in Poppy’s papers as cover. Olivia reflects that her own omissions mirror her father’s, recognizing how lies about the past wall her off from people who care about her, like Tom, whose silence she now feels acutely.

Olivia then meets Mark Randall at the country club. She tells him Vincent has Lewy body dementia; Mark admits he is not sorry. When Olivia asks about Danny, Mark says Danny was widely admired and had casual girlfriends, but no serious relationships. Olivia presses why Mark believes Vincent killed Danny and Poppy.

Mark recounts that on carnival night he saw Vincent and Poppy arguing in the haunted house; Vincent had Poppy shoved against a wall and she looked terrified. He says he heard them agree to meet at the Taylor house in ten minutes, which conflicts with the official story placing Vincent in the oak grove with his wife and Mr. Stewart. Mark suggests the coroner’s time-of-death findings were wrong and notes a grand jury can err.

Mark adds that Danny told him Vincent had come after Danny with a knife days earlier. After Mark told Danny about the haunted-house fight, Danny went quiet, said he had something to do, and left—implying Danny returned to the house and was killed trying to protect Poppy. Olivia shares a closet graffiti photo reading “Someday soon, you’ll be dead,” and says she believes Vincent wrote it; Mark readily agrees it fits Vincent.

Olivia probes about Mr. Stewart. Mark downplays any affair, saying Stewart pushed boundaries by supplying beer, occasional weed, and hosting parties, but he had a girlfriend and, in Mark’s view, was not predatory. He ends the meeting by advising Olivia that digging into the past rarely yields outcomes people like, then leaves for his tee time.

Who Appears

  • Olivia Taylor Dumont
    narrator and ghostwriter; pulls a chapter after discovering film proof Vincent buried the cat; lies to Nicole about how she found the reels; interviews Mark Randall.
  • Nicole
    Olivia’s contact at Monarch; supports the project and asks about the film reels.
  • Neil
    Monarch executive; reacts with excitement to the film reels and requests access; approves a chapter rewrite.
  • Mark Randall
    Danny Taylor’s best friend; describes seeing Vincent assaulting Poppy at the carnival and hearing plans to meet at the house; says Vincent previously pulled a knife on Danny; urges Olivia to stop digging.
  • Vincent Taylor
    Olivia’s father; not present but central; his account is undermined by Poppy’s film showing him burying the cat; accused by Mark of intending to meet Poppy and being violent toward both siblings.
  • Poppy Taylor
    Olivia’s aunt; appears via films and Mark’s recollection; argued with Vincent at the carnival and planned to meet him at the house.
  • Danny Taylor
    Olivia’s uncle; remembered by Mark as popular; allegedly attacked by Vincent with a knife days earlier; believed to have died defending Poppy.
  • Mr. Stewart
    teacher; discussed; Mark minimizes rumors of misconduct, noting boundary-pushing behavior and a girlfriend.
  • Tom
    Olivia’s partner; absent but noted for his silence and emotional distance.
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