Vera was a governess to a little boy named Cyril. Vera met Cyril's uncle Hugo and fell in love with him although he was poor. When Vera learned that Cyril was the only reason Hugo did not inherit his late brother's wealth, she decided to eliminate Cyril for Hugo's sake. Vera killed Cyril by asking him to go swim in the ocean and intentionally delaying going to his rescue when she saw that he was drowning. But Hugo rejected her love when he found out that she had killed Cyril.