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Ernie Magdalen is Mr. Dinsmead's daughter and that's why he's taking her to collect the £60,000 inheritance. Charlotte is the foster daughter and rightful heiress who resembles the miniature painting of her mother, not Mrs. Dinsmead. if she dies, no one will see she's the image of her dead mother. it's all explained in Mortimer's last big speech.

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Tamlynn

This answer contains spoilers… (view spoiler)[I’m confused too. First, Mortimer just happens to be carrying empty vials in his car? Convenient. So Mortimer stumbles into the Dinsmeads home right as they are getting ready to poison their adopted daughter Charlotte. Charlotte doesn’t know she was adopted, but her bio mother knew the Dinsmeads, and used the baby Charlotte as payment for construction work?! Grown up Charlotte looks just like her bio mom, whose portrait is in the possession of the Dinsmeads.

A rich, recently deceased Jewish man has been looking for his long lost daughter and the Dinsmeads decide that one of their daughters should try to claim the inheritance. The bio Dinsmead daughter, Magdalen, has more Jewish-looking features so her parents decide she should try to claim the inheritance.

It is not clear whether Magdalen was going to be let in on the plan or just simply told she was adopted.

It is not clear that Charlotte is the rightful heiress, just that she was adopted.

If Charlotte was the rightful heiress, having a portrait of her mother would be a perfect evidence to make the claim. Were the Dinsmeads worried that she would not share the inheritance with them?

If they told Magdalen she was adopted, what guarantee would they have that she would share the inheritance with them if she received it? If they wanted her to knowingly deceive the estate, what makes them think she would go along with it, and isn’t murder fairly extreme before they know if Magdalen will participate in their plan, much less be successful?

The whole motive for killing Charlotte seems to be that If their plan to falsely claim the inheritance succeeded and the public became aware that Magdalen had been “adopted” but then someone recognized Charlotte as looking like her bio mom, then that would spoil everything because it’s suspicious that the Dinsmeads would have two adopted daughters?!

Then at the very end Magdalen apparently wants her father to be unpunished. Mortimer says he won’t do anything against the hand that wrote SOS. As if letting Magdalen live with her attempted murdering parents is a favor. After all, the house made them do it. (hide spoiler)]

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Thomas Foster

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Greg Ant, I had the same problem. Last page, "You told me today, Mr. Dinsmead. that Magdalen was your daughter. Charlotte was the child you adopted.." But earlier, Dinsmead says he took Magdalen in and was going to return her to London. I'm with you, confused.

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The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories

by Agatha Christie

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