esme vanderheusen is the best friend of heiress fancy crane. introduced in november 2005 as a minor obstacle to fancy's relationship with noah bennett, esme was later featured as fancy's confidante and a comic relief for the show. in may 2007, she permanently moves to harmony in august with her fifteen-year-old niece and ward, viki. some time between may and august, esme's life undergoes a major upheaval. after losing his entire fortune in a series of bad financial investments, esme's brother-in-law commits suicide after murdering his wife, esme's sister; as a result, esme becomes the legal guardian of viki. esme faces financial troubles of her own, however - esme's parents are furious with her for ruining her engagement with lord sarny, and this, coupled with her detested step-mother brenda's machinations and her guardianship of viki, who painfully reminded them of their dead daughter, led the vanderheusens to cut esme off financially.