SPOILERS!!!
Oh my!!! So Layla is actually alive. I would never have expected this, and my bet was that Ellen was the one leaving the Russian dolls and sending the emails.
In Finn’s accounts of the past, which turn out to be a letter, we learn that when Layla told him that she had slept with someone else, she saw red, dragged her out of the car and shook her. After that, he only remembers entering the toilets and after that, all he told the police is true.
So all this is written in a letter which Finn left in the cottage, hoping that Layla would return and find it. He even put the engagement ring he had bought and hoped to give her on her birthday in the envelope.
Wanting to stop this harassing he is suffering, he writes an email to Rudolph Hill, telling him they should meet, and he agrees that they should. So Rudolph says that they will meet tomorrow at 4 o’clock in the place he knows. So thinking that this person means the cottage, he drives there the following day. As soon as he gets inside, he knows that someone has been there because the pile of mail is pushed against the wall, clearly showing that the door has been opened, and then he notices that the letter he left for Layla is gone.
There is no one in the cottage, so he writes a new email to Rudolph, and the person replies straightaway, telling him that they thought that the email address would have given him the clue to find her. Then the person, sounding like Layla, tells him that she is disappointed because she thought he would remember, and then she simply says goodbye. After that, Finn starts thinking, and he realises that Rudolph Hill refers to Pharos Hill, where there is a tree which reminded Layla of a Russian doll. This is something only he knew, so he realises that this is Layla and she is alive. So he drives to the place, but there is nobody there, and on the tree there is a Russian doll hanging from its stumps.
So in the second part we get confirmation that Layla is well and alive. The chapters now alternate between Layla and Finn. It seems that Layla returned when she read about Finn and Ellen getting married. So he was in the cottage, took Finn’s letter, and then he wanted to know if what he said at the end of the letter about waiting for her. She didn’t dare to make her presence known, so she has been keeping tabs on him. What I don’t understand is what she intends to do. Layla mentions that she looks very different now, so I imagine that she now dyes her red hair, and she also says that she is happy. I am curious to know more about her present life. Is she married or in some kind of relationship? Has she changed her identity?
The part about Finn shows that he is trying to understand why Layla has returned now. Since Ruby knows about the emails and the Russian doll left on the plate with the bill, Finn finds himself trusting her, so he tells her everything, even what happened that terrible night. Ruby thinks that what Layla is doing is creepy, and she must be disturbed because it is clear that her leaving the Russian dolls is not something that a sane person would do. Ruby also tells him that in all probability the reason why Layla is now back is because she must have read about the wedding and she must be concerned that Finn might be wanting to replace Layla with Ellen. What Ruby thinks is that he should tell Ellen about Layla, and I think she is right.
I have to say that I didn’t expect Layla to be alive or some of the mystery to be uncovered yet. I think it is good because I hate it when authors drag the story for too many pages and in the end the surprise is not such. I am curious to know more about Layla and her life, and also what she intends to do.
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