34. Harrison

Harrison locks down the house after police depart, irritated by their intrusive search and suspecting they thought Eden might be hidden there. Remembering the bin, he retrieves Eden’s black velvet dress and burns it in the fireplace, reinforcing his effort to purge her presence and remove all images of her from the home.

Surveying photographs of Gabriella, Harrison laments agreeing to place his daughter at The Manor, which he views as a luxurious prison. He blames Eden for that decision and acknowledges the rift it created, deepening his resolve to control what remains of his family life.

Harrison’s thoughts drift to his abusive, neglectful mother and a childhood marked by poverty and contempt. Her final taunt—“You’ll never amount to anything”—fueled his ambition. Feeling excluded among the privileged despite academic success, he channeled resentment and fear into creating Thanatos to predict death dates.

He recalls correctly predicting his mother’s death and wishing his daughter’s forecast could be wrong. Obsession with saving time with Gabriella paradoxically cost him time with her, a guilt that still drives him.

Triggered by the old library bookcases that remind him of his mother, Harrison decides to demolish them despite house covenants. Removing books, he finds a fake panel with a lever; pulling it causes the bookcases to part, revealing a hidden door set into the cliff—an unexpected passage he hadn’t believed could exist.