Page 172 of Perfect Liar

“When shall we tell her?” Mary asked.

“I think Will should be here when she finds out.”

Lissie would need him. He could ease her broken heart better than anyone.

“How long have you and Will known about this?”

“Will thought so right away. I realized the possibility when I compared the innocence in her eyes to John’s. She’s never had a father, and?—”

“—and now she has us, Ellie.”

I nodded.

“I’ve already made mistakes, Mary.”

With a warm smile, she rubbed my arm.

“As I have with my children. We do the best we can, and we ask for help when we need it. Ellie, nothing would make me happier than to help you raise my granddaughter.”

I nodded again, not knowing what else to say.

“There’s one more thing I wanted to see you about,” she said.

She fetched a wooden box from her closet and then popped open the lid to show me a delicate tiara covered in diamonds and sapphires.

“Maybe this isn’t quite the right time, but I do want you to have it.”

I ran my fingertips along the top, following the curves.

“You can wear it when you marry my son,” she added.

And then, as only a mother could do, she threw my own words back at me.

“See? He’ll come back home soon.”

A giggle slipped away from me.

“Thank you. For everything, really,” I said.

She put her arm around my shoulders and walked me to the door. Just before she dismissed me to the corridor, she whispered something close to my ear.

“Don’t thank me, Ellie…just save my son.”

CHAPTER 48

Mary’s whispered words stuck with me, creeping into my mind over and over, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she had given me some kind of hidden message.

“Eyes up,” John shouted.

We had started practicing my take-down skills that morning. He would charge, and I had to defend myself by taking him down. My fourteenth attempt finally worked.

John tucked his chin and ran at me, and this time, I put him on his back. He quickly jumped up from the mat.

“Well done, Ellie. That’s it then…the spin. You’re too delicate for other methods.”

I threw him back down, then with a grin, I offered to help him up.

“Don’t call me delicate,” I said.