Contents
66. Birdy
Overview
Birdy reveals she has cancer and confesses the conspiracy with Harrison and Mary to erase Eden’s identity and lure her to a suicide site. She recounts Gabriella’s memory of Eden’s affair and alleged push down the banister, which Eden staged as a hit-and-run. Birdy says she intended to confront and kill Eden but found the cliff empty, leaving Eden’s fate uncertain. Doubt grows over whether the body recovered was Eden’s.
Summary
In the tunnels, Birdy resists opening the door to Sgt Carter and questions fate, then reveals she has cancer. Carter admits he saw her medication and presses about Eden. Birdy rages that Eden stole her family and life, explaining she meant to steal Eden’s in return.
Birdy recounts visiting Gabriella at The Manor and, with Mary’s help, learning that Gabriella recognized her and slowly revealed the past. According to Gabriella, as an eight-year-old she hid in a wardrobe, saw Eden in bed with Harrison, threatened to tell Birdy, and was pushed by Eden over the banister. Eden allegedly left Gabriella for hours, then staged a roadside hit-and-run. Birdy says Eden distracted her with a call as Birdy drove home in the rain, causing Birdy to hit Gabriella’s bike and wrongly believe she caused the injuries.
Fueled by this, Birdy, Harrison, and Mary plotted to gaslight Eden: erase her from Spyglass, monitor her via a phone planted in her car, and lure her to the cliff, where Birdy planned to kill her. Birdy says she reached the cliff to find Eden already gone and insists she did not push her.
Carter challenges Birdy’s certainty that Eden is dead, citing the unidentifiable body and inconclusive coroner’s report. Birdy reveals the hairbrush she supplied belonged to Mary to obstruct DNA confirmation, admitting the plan was to kill Eden without anyone noticing. A dog walker and Carter’s questions forced changes to their plan.
When Carter asks whether memory or lying could explain Gabriella’s account, Birdy replies that Harrison admitted the affair and argues an eight-year-old could not invent such an elaborate lie. Despite her insistence, Birdy shows flashes of doubt about whether the body was truly Eden’s.
Who Appears
- BirdyConfesses cancer and a plot with Harrison and Mary to gaslight Eden; recounts Gabriella’s memory of Eden’s betrayal; intended to kill Eden but arrived too late.
- Sgt CarterConfronts Birdy in the tunnels, reveals he knows about her cancer, and challenges her certainty that Eden is dead.
- EdenAlleged by Birdy to have slept with Harrison, pushed Gabriella, and staged a hit-and-run; target of the conspiracy; fate remains uncertain.
- GabriellaReconnected with Birdy; provides memories identifying Eden’s affair and alleged push; her account fuels the conspiracy.
- HarrisonAdmitted the affair; co-conspired with Birdy and Mary to erase and lure Eden; planted the phone in Eden’s car.
- MaryAided Birdy with Gabriella; co-conspired against Eden; supplied hairbrush to mislead DNA identification.
- Old StuReferenced witness whose transcript panicked Birdy; denied seeing a second woman at the cliffs.