Every Last Secret

Neena is watching with horror as the detectives open the safe in the Ryders’ home. When they open it, Neena faints. Afterward, the detective questions Neena and summarizes the evidence against her: Neena’s obsession with William (as evidenced by the photos and their affair) and Matt’s a $5 million life insurance policy. The detective tells Neena they will take her to the station for questioning; Neena is being accused of hiring a hitman to kill Matt. Confused, Neena wonders why the detectives aren’t questioning her about what they found in the safe; Neena’s will should have been in the safe, and it holds a dangerous secret.

This chapter is where the present-day portions of Neena’s interrogation (in the prologue and the unnumbered chapters) intersect with the book’s main narrative. Later, Neena will learn that Cat stole Neena’s will, which reveals the truth about Neena’s father’s murder.

Cat is in a meeting with William and the Winthorpe Technologies head of human resources; William is drafting the paperwork needed to fire Neena. Cat and William then meet with the chief of police, who questions them about Neena and Matt. William admits to the affair with Neena; however, he insists that it meant nothing. The police tell William and Cat about the photos found hidden in the Ryders’ home. Cat confirms that the photos are from her own Instagram profile and suggests that Neena must have printed them. William is horrified and suggests both Cat and Matt need paid security “until Neena is locked up permanently” (241). He then apologizes to Cat for not listening to her warnings about Neena. After their meeting with the police, Cat goes to meet Matt at a bar.

Matt is drinking at a bar; Cat joins him to commiserate. Matt reveals that Neena cheated on him before, but Matt didn’t confront Neena. Cat, already aware of Neena’s adulterous past, pretends to be shocked. Matt tells Cat that he has a meeting with the district attorney to discuss whether he will press charges against Neena. Matt asks Cat to accompany him to the meeting. She agrees.

Neena returns home after her interrogation at the police station. Matt tells her to pack a bag and get out. Neena asks Matt about her will, which should have been in the safe. Matt accuses Neena of previously removing it to protect herself. Neena denies moving it. Matt tells Neena that he is filing for divorce and plans to give her nothing in their settlement. Matt hits her and threatens that she must sign the agreement and “leave me alone, because if you don’t, […] I’ll tell them about your father. […] And they’ll believe it, especially if I have Cat beside me, sharing everything about the liqueur you gave her and the details of my fall” (255). Upset, Neena flees.

Cat is sitting on the roof of the Winthorpe house alone and reflecting on what has happened. Cat reveals that she framed Neena and explains how she did it. Cat has had a key to the Ryder house because the Ryders never changed the locks after moving in. Cat admits to creating the manipulated pictures and planting them in the house. The box she put them in was the same box that had held the sex toy Cat had given Neena for her birthday. Cat had taken the box, knowing it would have Neena’s fingerprints on it. Cat planted the bundles of money (also stolen from the neighbor’s deserted house) and stole Neena’s will from the safe. She placed the manipulated, incriminating evidence for the police to find. Cat also planted a camera in the Winthorpe Technologies boardroom; she has known all along that William and Neena had sex.

William is driving Cat to the police station for Cat and Matt’s meeting with the district attorney. Cat, determined to destroy Neena’s reputation, tells William to have the Winthorpe Technologies PR person leak the news of Neena’s termination and her attempted murder of Matt to the press. Cat and Matt catch up before the meeting; Cat’s stomach growls, and she reveals (internally) that she didn’t eat because she wanted Matt to hear her upset stomach as a reminder of Neena’s supposed attempt to poison Cat. At this point, Cat admits that she poisoned herself: “Drinking a shot of antifreeze had been risky but well worth it” (267).

The district attorney will not move forward with a trial against Neena due to lack of evidence. A hitman was never found, and Neena can’t be tied to a hitman. Cat reveals this is exactly the outcome she had hoped for. She didn’t want Neena to go to jail—she simply wanted to ruin her life: “Goodbye, reputation. Goodbye, career. Goodbye, husband” (269).

Neena finally realizes Cat was behind the antifreeze, the railing, and the hitman “all so she could hold on to her shaky marriage” (276). Neena doesn’t know what Cat did with Neena’s will.

The narrative picks up two weeks later. Neena’s life is in shambles. Ostracized, unemployed, and bankrupt, she is living in a poor section of San Francisco and must find a new job. Depressed, Neena drinks. She calls William, who doesn’t answer.

The epilogue takes place one year later. William’s point of view is introduced as he describes the demolition of the Ryders’ home. After Matt and Neena left, William bought the property. He reflects, “My mother once said I had a weakness for crazy women. […] While I thought it had taken a hiatus with Cat, I was wrong” (282). Cat never confessed to him that she set up Neena, but William figured it out. He is grateful Cat didn’t try to destroy him as well: “I’d met Cat’s eyes across the conference table […] and realized […] that she was behind all of it. […] Thank God she scooped me out of the fray. Had she wanted to, she could have burned me at the stake right alongside Neena” (283). The chapter ends with William and Cat kissing and proclaiming their love for one another.

Cat concludes the book with an epilogue of her own. She describes visiting Neena at Neena’s new job at a grocery store. Cat returns Neena’s will to her. Cat also gives Neena the deed to Neena’s childhood home; Cat bought the home and is now giving it to Neena. Neena says she doesn’t want the house, explaining that the house is full of bad memories. Cat replies, “It’s too risky, having someone else own it. All it takes is them deciding to put in a pool, and they might dig up his body” (286).

Cat reveals the confession that Neena gave in her will. Matt was Neena’s next-door neighbor when she was growing up, and he used to hear Neena’s father abusing her. One night, Neena’s screams became so loud, Matt went over—and found Neena’s father on top of Neena, naked. Matt beat and strangled her father, and they buried him in the yard of Neena’s childhood home. In the will, though, Neena takes full responsibility for the murder and exonerates Matt. After talking to Neena, Cat talks to Matt. Matt still loves Neena; Cat encourages Matt to make go to Neena and “let her win you back” (288). The book ends with Cat in bed next to William, wondering if she’ll ever be genuinely happy. She has only fleeting moments of happiness now and admits, “To be honest, I’m not sure I deserve anything more” (289).