It's so interesting reading everyone's speculations as to what happened to Mrs. Villareal. I love the backstories you've come up with, @citysimmer and @HopeyStarr! So in-depth! :smile: Personally, I've given a lot of thought to the Villareals' backstory, which will probably be apparent by my lengthy post. :grimace:
In my mind, Jacques either killed his wife, knows who did, or orchestrated it. Jacques has always given me a bad vibe, to be honest. Those beady, red eyes...that angry scowl on his face... :scream: Once you factor in that he's a very successful criminal and suffers from bouts of insanity, it only seems logical who's behind his wife's disappearance. If he was truly innocent and heartbroken, why would he seemingly remodel his house to appear so dreary and void of any indication of a woman ever having lived there? Why does the basement have urns on the shelves on the wall? Why isn't there even a fifth dining chair for Mrs. Villareal? Why would there be no trace of her unless someone was trying to hide something? On top of this, why is Max's room so barren compared to his siblings? Maybe that's just Max's sense of style, but I have a hard time imagining a young child not even having toys in his room. That is, however, unless his father holds a grudge against him.
I believe there are many possible reasons why Jacques could have wanted his wife out of the picture. It's possible she knew too many of Jacques' secrets, so either he or someone he worked with had to get rid of her. Perhaps she learned about his job and had threatened to leave, tarnish his good name, then take the children and fortune with her. He couldn't have that, so he had no choice but to make sure she could never enact her plan. It's also possible one of his bouts of insanity caused him to take his aggression too far one night, which he may not even fully remember. What if she was the one with the fortune and Jacques was tired of sharing it? Maybe he wanted it all to himself...his name does mean "usurper", after all. As for Max, he's never come across as truly "evil" in my game. I know that's not the case in everyone's games, but he's truly been one of the most interesting and surprisingly sweet characters in my saves. I believe he was home the night his mother disappeared, heard the commotion, and from that point on, changed. He developed the Renegades and started rebelling to anger his father, whom he hates because he knows Jacques is the reason she's gone. Unfortunately, he can't tell anyone because no one would believe a little child. As for his "bad boy" persona, a.k.a Evil trait, I believe he took that on to push people away from him. He's a young boy who understands heartbreak at far too young an age, so he does whatever he can to keep from getting too attached to anyone out of fear of losing them, just as he lost his mom. That changes in my game, however. He meets his childhood sweetheart; a girl who also understands heartbreak, and their love story grows from there. Anyway, I have massive posts about the Villareals on other threads around here, so I'll stop jabbering now. :lol:
One last tid-bit... I've speculated that her name was Emily. I imagine Windenburg to be a town full of all sorts of folklore and gossip, so I think it's generally rumored Jacques killed his wife, the circumstances unknown and no one able to prove his guilt. One of the most well-known legends of Windenburg is of Emily Villareal; the woman who was either thrown or fell from the cliffs near the Villareal estate. She's now forever immortalized as the sea monster that's occasionally seen near the bluffs.
If you've read this far, you're a champ. :joy: Thanks! I wrote a lot.
