The Last Thing He Told Me

Charlie drives Hannah to the sprawling home of Nicholas Bell in the Texas Hill Country. Bell, accompanied by two bodyguards, greets Hannah who is surprised by his appearance: “He looks like someone’s loving grandfather. The way he talks so softly—with the slow cadence, the dry humor—he reminds me of my own loving grandfather” (255).

Bell is tender with Charlie and seeing this, Hannah agrees to go into his office to talk. Bell tells Charlie to head home, that his driver will take Hannah home afterward and Hannah realizes she may be in grave danger. She knows, however, what she decides will not only determine her fate, but Bailey’s: “These are my choices—stay with Nicholas and help my family or leave my family and help myself” (259). As the chapter ends, Bell motions Hannah into his office.

In this flashback chapter, Bailey, Owen, and Hannah were having dinner in a restaurant. When Bailey excused herself from the table, Owen told Hannah he was not taking her to visit cousins in Carmel the following weekend as he had told her because he does not actually have any cousins. He was taking her to Big Sur, where he intended to propose.