Page 65 of Perfect Liar
He handed my phone to Thomas.
“Get rid of it all. Scrape everything online and dump it.”
Thomas was a genius with the internet and computer systems. Will had mentioned before that his brother could hack anything, so Thomas would breach the phone company’s firewalls, other accounts linked to me, and the social media sites to remove the traces of my digital history.
Vanished. Just like that. Gone.
Like the rest of my family.
CHAPTER 20
At first, the way Lissie talked to Mary Hastings with such ease, even calling her Grannie, totally shocked me.
I inhaled deeply, and then a wave of gratitude moved through me, easing my worry.
A family was exactly what I wanted for Lissie.
We sat at the kitchen table with Ben’s three-year-old daughter, Chelsea, finishing an art project, when Lissie and Mary exchanged a familiar little smile. It made me wonder if they shared a secret in that smile, something special they remembered from their morning walk.
Will’s mother already cared deeply for my niece.
Mary had a gentle, loving soul, and I couldn’t imagine any child rejecting her love. It must have been difficult for her to hold back with her sons, as I suspected she had at her husband’s direction.
But no doubt existed in my mind about Mary having found ways to impart pieces of herself onto her boys. As fierce as Will was, his ability to dig deep to find tenderness was proof of his mother’s influence.
I thanked God for her…because I was so unprepared, and that weighed heavily on my heart. On my own, I’d ruin Lissie.
Her blossoming relationship with Mary was a gift that provided me more time to figure out the best path forward for Lissie and me, if one existed—my role in her life would change with Ethan in the picture.
As her father, if that was true, then he would become her legal guardian.
Lissie giggled and wiped at the paint on her dress.
“We’ll let these dry now. Let’s get cleaned up, girls,” I said.
Mary nodded and tidied up the art supplies while I took the girls to the sink.
Lissie scrubbed her hands and held them up for me.
“Good job, sweet girl. The purple’s all gone.”
And then she smiled up at me with Ethan’s eyes.
My heart broke just a little. What had my sister done?
Lissie skipped around the kitchen island while I washed Chelsea’s hands.
“There we go, Chelsea. All good?” I asked.
She squealed, clapping her hands under the running water.
“Good!”
“Girl, you’re getting Auntie all wet.”
I shifted Chelsea to one hip and reached for the faucet.
Will abruptly caught my hand. He kissed my fingers and then shut off the water himself. He moved in closer.