All Her Fault

Marissa is stunned. She asks Milo to repeat what he said. He insists the man called him “Milo-Mouse.”

Marissa goes downstairs to talk to Peter. She confronts him with what she has learned. She knows that “Milo-Mouse” is Peter’s pet name for Milo. Milo comes downstairs, and Peter tells him to watch PAW Patrol with his headphones on while he talks with Marissa.

Peter tells Marissa that one day, while he was at the playground, Milo was talking about the colors of numbers and the days of the week, a symptom of his synesthesia. A girl came up to talk to Milo about her own synesthesia. She then asked Peter if he was Peter Irvine. Peter then recognized the girl from the car crash: It was Carrie.

Shortly after Milo was born, Marissa was in a serious car crash. Carrie was the other driver and was badly injured as well. Carrie was in a “medically induced coma” for weeks (349).

At the playground, Peter put Milo in the car and told Carrie that if she approached them again, he would have her arrested. Carrie then got a job as Jenny’s nanny to get close to the Irvines “because of what she lost in the accident” (350).

Four years before Milo’s kidnapping, Carrie visits Kyle Byrde in prison. She tells Kyle she is going to London to visit her father, Rob Murphy. She finds it hard to see Kyle because he reminds her of her baby, who died in a car accident four days after its birth.

Peter continues to confess to Marissa. He tells Marissa Carrie wanted to kidnap Milo “to make up for the son she lost” (353). Carrie targeted Colin to get close to the Irvines, but he was uninvolved in the kidnapping plot. When Peter went to the office with Marissa, he found the address for the house in Sandyhurst where Carrie was holding Milo. She must have printed it off when she was there with Colin. That evening, when Marissa took a sleeping pill, he went to the house, killed Carrie, and put Milo in the car to be found by the police. He did not take Milo home himself to avoid police suspicions. Marissa is horrified by these revelations.

Four years before Milo’s kidnapping, Carrie goes to London and reunites with her father. Carrie tells Rob that Peter paid her off to leave town after the car accident, which Peter had insinuated was her fault. However, Rob learns that the authorities ruled no one was at fault in the car accident. He is angry that Peter let Carrie believe she had killed her own child. Carrie grows angry, too.

Peter continues to confess to Marissa. He tells Marissa he felt he had no choice but to kill Carrie to prevent her from continuing to cause problems for them. Carrie and her father had planned to raise Milo as their own. After Milo was found and Rob discovered Carrie was dead, Rob contacted Peter and blackmailed him. He told Peter he would tell the police that Peter murdered Carrie unless Peter paid him. On Sunday night, when he said he was out getting tequila and burritos, Peter went to Colin and convinced him to be the courier by telling Colin he would reveal Colin’s theft from Marissa’s clients. On Wednesday night, Colin went to meet with Rob with the money. Peter followed. Rob ambushed and killed Colin. Then, Peter killed Rob with the gun from Carrie’s house. He put the gun in Colin’s hand. Peter claims he did all this to protect the family.

Marissa is shocked that Peter did not tell her or the police what he knew. She is shocked that he killed Carrie. Marissa begins to cry. Then, she realizes that both Carrie and Milo have synesthesia. She asks Peter, “whose baby died in the crash?” (366).

Seven months earlier, Carrie sees Milo and Peter at the playground. Milo is trying to tell his father that “Tuesday is green” (368), but Peter is too preoccupied with his emails to listen. Carrie approaches and tells Milo that, for her, “Monday was blue” (368). She tells them they both have synesthesia. Milo tells Carrie that his mother does not have the same condition. Carrie confronts Peter. She says, “I know what you did” (370). Peter slams her against the car park ticket machine and threatens her to stay away.

Marissa knows synesthesia is often a heritable trait. Peter does not challenge her interpretation. Marissa sits next to Milo and tells Peter to leave. Peter tells Marissa that, on the day of the accident, he had regained consciousness before either of the women. He saw their infant had died. Before the paramedics arrived, he switched their baby for Carrie’s infant. Marissa realizes that Carrie never challenged the situation through “legal channels” because she did not have the money, privilege, or support system like Marissa has. 

Peter refuses to leave. He tells her that if she reports him to the authorities, they will take Milo away. Nevertheless, Marissa calls Detective McConville.

Seven months before the kidnapping, Carrie shows her father, Rob, pictures of Milo. He cannot deny the family resemblance. He believes Milo is Carrie’s son. 

After Kyle is released from prison, he also agrees to contribute to their plot to kidnap Milo, although he is less enthusiastic about it than Carrie. Kyle tells Carrie to use the address 14 Tudor Grove for the “fake playdate” because his old cellmate’s foster mother, Esther, lives there, and she is very friendly. Kyle feels that “Marissa Irvine should end up somewhere kind when her world falls apart” (377).

When Detective McConville answers the phone, Marissa decides not to report her husband after all. She pretends to be calling to ask for updates on the case.

The next day, McConville goes to the Irvine house. She tells Marissa and Peter that they suspect Rob Murphy killed Kyle Byrde after an altercation. They suspect Kyle had threatened to report Rob for some reason. Marissa wonders if Kyle was trying to return Milo to the Irvine house. She feels dizzy. Peter says they will never again let anyone take Milo from them.

A week later, Marissa and Jenny meet for coffee at the East Pier. They hug. Jenny asks how the family is doing. Marissa says they are fine. She does not reveal that Milo has been fearful of Peter since the kidnapping. She wonders if Milo “subconsciously” is aware that Peter is the “bad man” who took him from Carrie’s house.

Irene’s husband, Frank, has threatened to leave her if she continues to talk to the press. He wants them to move to Bristol to get away from the media attention. She is eager to continue garnering attention, but she thinks that Bristol “might not be so bad” (383).

Adeline Furlong-Kennedy writes another anonymous note to her son, Richie, about her suspicions about his wife, Jenny, having an affair.

A newspaper story reports that Peter Irvine died of anaphylactic shock in Marbella, Spain, after eating a “stock cube containing traces of shellfish,” to which he was allergic (385). The news reports that Marissa was unable to find his EpiPen in time to save him. At the time, Milo was at home in Dublin with his nanny, Ana.