62 pages • 2 hours read
In the hallway, Poppins scratches at the locked cupboard under the stairs. Lily bangs on the door and calls out to Trixie, but there is no answer. Rose realizes that the cupboard key is attached to Poppins’ collar. Propped up inside the cupboard are the bodies of Nana and Frank.
Daisy thinks about 1983, when she first lied about “dying.” Frank had a series of girlfriends from his orchestra. All were alike, apart from Rebecca, who was kind to the Darker sisters and encouraged Frank to spend more time with them. One night Frank was due to conduct at the Royal Albert Hall. Before the performance, he and Rebecca announced their engagement. Seeing the devastation on her mother’s face, Daisy became distressed and fainted. Nancy thought her daughter’s heart had stopped and took her to the hospital. Soon afterward, Rebecca broke up with Frank for prioritizing the concert over his sick daughter. Daisy never admitted that her heart had not stopped.
Lily’s scream brings Daisy back to the present. She sees Trixie at the back of the cupboard, pale and inert.
Trixie
A poem describes Trixie as “precocious” and “kind.” Her father’s identity is unknown. She is killed by someone jealous of her inheritance.
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