One evening, Paul and Elizabeth got into a fight and Elizabeth attacked him. Paul was severely injured, but Jason and he embarked upon a plan to make Elizabeth believe that she had, in fact, killed him. Jason helped Paul fake his own death and told Elizabeth that he buried Paul’s body in the basement of Collinwood. The experience was so traumatic for Elizabeth that she became a recluse and refused to leave the estate. Paul and Jason left town to seek their fortunes elsewhere (201). Publicly, Elizabeth announced that Paul Stoddard had abandoned her and disappeared from Collinsport (which was, in fact, the truth).