Yeah, in original, Eric was overheard by Max talking on the phone, to his real girl friend, or wife. The plain was to take the house from Ann, kick the family out, and either move in it with her, or sale it and go back to her. Original was never real clear on this plain of his, but soon after Max gets rid of Eric, so it went no further than that. Nothing about killing anyone. From Eric's wallet Max found out that Eric's real name was Victor, and he was wanted by some Mob guys are something to that effect. Seems Eric had done something very similar to the wrong lady, someone connected with these guys. So basically all Max had to do was make that phone call, and Eric swims with the fishes. Aleksey has a humane way of getting rid of Eric, so he rejected my idea of driving a railroad spike through his left eye till it pops out the back of his skull.