Ransom Drysdale could count all the things he loved on one hand-his money, his pride, himself, and Juliette Reyes. So when one thing is threatened, you can damn well bet that there's nothing he wouldn't do to protect it.
How far would you go for lo...
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THE FAMILY WAS GATHERED IN THE LIVING ROOM. They were impatient and irritable. No one knew the exact reason why they were there. All they knew was that something happened with Harlan's housekeeper and that Marta was on her way. They assumed she was giving up the will and they were getting restless.
Walt, Richard, and Meg were standing in the foyer waiting for Marta and Detective Blanc to arrive. Jacob was on his phone, wishing he were anywhere but there. His mother and Meg's mother were engaged in a conversation about the latest political scandal. Linda was standing off to the side with her arms crossed over her chest. And Ransom was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room with Juliette placed on his lap.
Despite being mad at him, Juliette could never really stay away. "What do you think this is about?"
Ransom shrugged. "I don't know."
That was the truth—Ransom genuinely did not know what was about to happen. He thought he knew, but after his mother informed them that Fran was taken to the hospital instead of lying dead at Marta's feet like he planned, he wasn't so sure. He never anticipated Marta trying to save her and he certainly didn't anticipate his plan getting this messy. It sounded horrible, but he wanted Fran to die. Because if she lived, she'd be able to point her finger at him and yell 'guilty'.
Juliette, on the other hand, had a nagging feeling bothering her all day. It started as a small seed, but it quickly grew and took over her whole body. It felt like something big was going to happen. The only problem is that she didn't know what. She kept replaying the last couple of days in her mind, trying to pinpoint what seemed odd. But every time she would find something, Ransom would be at the centre of it. Like why did they go to the will reading when he knew he wasn't in it? Why did he want to help Marta when he could've just turned her in? Why was he acting so suspicious?
For a moment, she almost entertained the possibility that Ransom knew more than he was leading her on to believe. She immediately felt bad and expelled the thought from her mind. Ransom was a lot of things, but when it came to something as serious as murder, he wasn't a lair. Not to her at least. She liked to believe that she knew him like the back of her hand.
The door to the living room opened and Walt and Richard walked in. A few moments later, Meg entered. Her face was flushed and her eyes were red. She had been crying.
The door closed and opened again a second later. Detective Blanc entered the room with Marta slowly following after him. Her sleeves were pulled over her hands and her shoulders were curled inwards. She was nervous and it was clear to see.
She stood in front of the family, not saying anything in hopes of stalling. But she knew that she needed to come clean. "Um. You guys have always been good to me." Marta's voice was shaky as she spoke. She fidgeted with the end of her sweater's sleeve and tried her best to avoid everyone's stare the best that she could. "And what I'm about to say isn't going to be easy, and you're going to be upset, but especially after everything you've gone through the past few days, I thought you deserved to hear it from me."
Juliette's eyebrows furrowed. "What is she doing?" she wondered quietly, leaning down so that Ransom could hear her.
Blanc, who was off to the side, finished reading the paper in his hands. He rushed forward and stood between Marta and the rest of the family. "Excuse me. You have not been good to her. You have all treated her like shit to steal back a fortune that you lost and she deserves. You're a pack of bloody vultures at the feast, but you're not getting bailed out, not this time." His words came out in a rush and left a dull sting in the skin of the Thrombeys. "Ms. Cabrera has decided definitively not to renounce the inheritance."
Marta looked at him in confusion. "What?"
"Furthermore it will be my professional recommendation to the local authorities that the manner of death in the case of Harlan Thrombey is ruled as suicide, and the case is closed."
Ransom stood abruptly, almost causing Juliette to fall over. "What?"
Blanc grabbed Marta by the elbow and on their way out of the room, he shouted: "Thank you all for coming, goodbye!"
The Thrombeys looked at each other with confusion etched upon their faces. After a beat of silence, Richard lifted his head. "Is anybody else confused?"
"Very," Juliette said as she let out a sigh. She placed a hand on her stomach. She felt a bit nauseous. She was bout to leave the room to get water from the kitchen, but the door opened as she reached for the handle.
Trooper Wagner walked in with another officer she didn't recognize. "Folks," the unnamed officer said, "I'm going to need all of you to follow me."
Walt stood and faced them. "Where?"
"Why?" Linda added.
Wagner didn't answer their questions. Instead, he made his way to the back of the room where Ransom was. He took him by the arm. "I need you to come with me," Wagner said. Juliette watched as they left the room. The nagging feeling in her stomach persisted.
The rest of the family followed the other officer outside. They didn't go lightly, always having to put up a fight. Juliette stood by Meg and watched as her in-laws argued with each other.
"Are you okay?" Juliette asked softly, placing a hand on Meg's arm in an act of comforting her.
Meg weakly nodded. "Yeah," she said, hugging herself, "I just—I did something to Marta and I feel really bad about it."
A small smile grew on Juliette's lips as she pulled the girl into her arms. "It's okay, Meg. Marta's really understanding and I'm sure you only did what you did for a reason."
Their brief conversation made Meg feel so much better. Juliette's warm presence was a stark contrast from her family's. She wondered what Ransom did to deserve her.
"Thanks, Julie." Meg pulled away from their embrace. "You're going to be an amazing mom."
"It'll be okay, Meg."
Juliette stepped away and headed towards the house. She walked into the kitchen, in search of a glass of water, hopeful that it would make the feeling in her stomach go away.
