Murder at a Funeral

Seven Hours Earlier

It was only eight in the morning, but Adeline felt as though she'd been up for hours. She hadn't slept at all last night and was exhausted. Spending the majority of the night tossing and turning, she didn't fall asleep until a little after three. When the sun began peeking through her curtains at six, she tossed the covers aside and decided to just get on with the day.

She wasn't looking forward to her mother's funeral. She had spent the past six days meticulously planning, ensuring every single detail was perfect. It was her fatal flaw, being a perfectionist, but it was both a blessing and a curse. She inherited it from her mother, who had the dire need to practice perfectionism in every aspect of her life.

There were times in Adeline's life when she believed her mother would drive herself insane due to how obsessive she could be about certain things. Although the children grew up always having a maid around the house, Adeline remembered her mother always scrubbing away at something, sweeping the already-clean floors, or polishing dishes. It was something Olenna prided herself in, but Adeline knew it was borderline perilous.

Adeline made her way down to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. Her cat, Naxos, entered the room, stretching his legs. She smiled upon his entrance and bent down to pet him, stroking his back and scratching behind his ears. She sprinkled some food in his dish, then made her way over to the kitchen doors that led to the backyard. She opened the curtains, taking in the view of her lavish yard. The sun was shining brightly, illuminating everything in its wake. The forecast was calling for a humid day. Adeline hoped it wouldn't be too hot for the funeral. She wanted people to be comfortable. Although that would be quite difficult, given the circumstances.

Grabbing her coffee mug and the newspaper off the counter, Adeline opened the back doors and headed outside to sit on the patio. Naxos came out after her, circling her legs. She perched herself on a lawn chair and opened the newspaper, scanning for anything important on the front page. She flipped a few pages in, searching for the obituaries. Sure enough, she found her mother's face in the sea of deceased.

Olenna Prescott, 58

Funeral today from 11:30-4:00, including viewing and service. Olenna was a wonderful mother, sister, and daughter. She will be greatly missed by her children, Adeline, Briar and Gabriel Yates, her sister, Florence Clark, and the beloved father of her children, Richard Yates.

Adeline was sure not to include Ivan, Arielle, or Charles in the column. Technically they were Olenna's family, considering they shared the same last name. But Adeline sure as hell didn't view them as family to her mother.

Thinking about Ivan always got Adeline frustrated. She truly tried to like the man. She tried so hard. But it's quite difficult to develop a relationship with – let alone like – the man that tore your family apart. Adeline could appreciate who he was as a person and how much he adored her mother, but she would never be able to see him as anything other than a homewrecker; the man who ruined everything.

Adeline was eight-years-old when she first laid eyes on Ivan Prescott. She remembered it like it was yesterday. Olenna had left for work early in the morning, as usual, and Richard was gone as well. Everything was content and perfect in their family at that time. Her parents were still married and in love, Briar wasn't suicidal, and Gabriel didn't need to be protected. It wasn't until Ivan came along that all of that changed. Adeline wasn't usually one to blame or point fingers, or even hold grudges for that matter, but she couldn't help but wonder how different all of her family's lives would have been if Ivan had never come along.

It was a Tuesday, Adeline remembered. Their nanny, Rosita, had let Adeline stay home from school because she wasn't feeling well. It must have been around lunch time that it happened. Rosita was out back watering the garden when Adeline heard the front door open and two voices began conversing. Adeline wandered out of her bedroom and towards the top of the stairs, leaning over the banister and peering down into the foyer to see who was there. And that's when she saw him: Ivan Prescott with her mother.

She didn't think anything of it at first. She only wondered why her mother was home so early. Adeline decided to go down and see for herself, too naïve to think that anything bad could come from that encounter. So she began walking down the steps, slowly holding the railing as she kept her gaze fixed on her mother and this strange man.

And then it happened. One minute they were laughing and she was hitting his arm playfully. And then his arms were around her waist and he was kissing her. Adeline's eyes widened and she gasped, nearly tripping backwards on the steps. Olenna heard her and quickly pulled away from Ivan to find the source of the noise. She saw Adeline standing at the steps, gaping at the scene in front of her. "Adeline!" she had called out after her daughter, but Adeline had turned back around and ran straight for her bedroom.

Nothing was the same after that. Olenna came to talk with Adeline. She made the whole conversation seem so normal and innocuous. But before she left, she made Adeline promise that she would never speak a word about what she saw that day, not even to Briar, Gabriel, and especially not Daddy. Adeline nodded, hesitantly agreeing to whatever her mother asked, not quite knowing the extent to the damage she could potentially cause. As promised, Adeline never said a word. But she didn't have to. Within a year, Olenna had moved out and was living with Ivan for good.

It was a difficult thing for a child to go through, especially for Adeline, since she was the eldest and therefore was very much aware of what infidelity and divorce was. Still, nine-years-old is young for a child to experience such calamity in their life. Adeline couldn't help but wonder how Briar must have felt at the time, being only five. To this day, Briar claims to not remember any of it. It wasn't until Briar was twelve when her mother finally came back into her life and developed a relationship with her that she began to form memories of her own mother. It's almost as though there's a gap in Briar's childhood, a crucial stage of growing-up missing without the presence of her mother. Adeline often wondered how different Briar's life would have turned out if Olenna hadn't made that selfish decision all those years ago.

But it wasn't like anything could be changed now. Briar was finally doing well again, and Adeline was happy for her, hoping that she could finally grow into the wonderful woman she was destined to become. Adeline just prayed that the sudden death of their mother wouldn't take too much of a toll on Briar, especially after all the progress she had made.

Adeline set down the newspaper and headed back into the kitchen, placing her half-empty mug on the counter. The funeral started in a few hours and she had to get ready. Adeline knew that that meant more mentally than physically. Getting showered and dressed for a funeral didn't take that much effort. It was the mental preparation that she needed the most.

If Adeline was certain of one thing, it was that today would be one of the greatest challenges she would ever have to endure.