I SEE YOU an unputdownable psychological thriller with a breathtaking twist by PATRICIA MACDONALD (fb2 epub reader .TXT) 📕

Dial it back, Hannah reminded herself. She looked at her husband, and wondered how much longer he was going to be able to stand the strain of this hidden life. He had been a tower of strength from the beginning, but every so often Hannah saw signs of how this whole experience was wearing on him. Sometimes he looked as if he had had all of this runaway existence that he could stand.

‘I didn’t know what had happened to Sydney at that point,’ Hannah said, trying to keep her tone measured. ‘I couldn’t walk away. I’m sorry I didn’t realize why you were saying that until it was too late.’

‘I saw the news van arriving,’ he said.

‘I didn’t think they’d make anything of it,’ she said. ‘An old woman having a stroke. Not exactly newsworthy.’

‘Her son is a politician. This was red meat to him,’ said Adam.

Hannah sighed. ‘Yes, I know. I know that now. I just wasn’t thinking. All I was thinking about was Sydney. I thought the ambulance might be there for her. I was so relieved that she was all right.’

‘I know you were.’

‘I thought that distrusting everybody and being careful had become second nature. But when I saw that ambulance in front of the house I just lost it. I felt like here we’d sacrificed everything to try and keep her safe and now, we leave her side for a few hours — just a couple of hours — and all hell breaks loose . . .’

‘Hannah, I understood. I do. Really. But, I’m trying to be realistic. Like it or not, once you’re on the internet like this, there’s no escape. Someone is bound to see it. If not Lisa, then someone else. If we stay here, she can find us. Even if Lisa doesn’t see it herself, someone else might see it and mention it to her. And before you know it . . .’

‘She’ll bring the law down on us.’

‘We did kidnap her child,’ said Adam. ‘We committed a crime.’

‘I am aware,’ said Hannah in a brittle tone.

‘I’m sorry, but that’s not some small thing.’

‘I can’t move again,’ said Hannah wearily. ‘Not now. I can’t.’

Adam sat back in the rolling chair, his feet planted on the floor, and rubbed his hand over his face. ‘We have no choice,’ he said.

‘It’s just one little clip.’

Adam gave her a wry smile. ‘So was Gangnam style.’

Hannah laughed in spite of herself. ‘I don’t think we’re quite that fascinating.’

Adam gazed at his wife tenderly. ‘Look, I know you don’t want to move again. God knows, neither do I. It seems like we just got settled here. But I don’t see how we can stay.’

Hannah rested her chin in her hand. ‘Can’t we just sit tight a little while? Maybe it will all blow over.’

‘And if Lisa, or the police, turn up? We’ll have to run with the clothes on our back. Wouldn’t you rather have a little warning? Like we did the last time? At least we could make some arrangements.’

The last time. A little more than one year ago. Once they made up their minds, they had proceeded quickly but with extreme caution. They’d arranged their finances so that when Lisa was released from jail she would have money available. They’d arranged for their lawyer to have power of attorney over their funds. They’d taken very little with them. They’d amassed their paperwork. Sorted through their belongings. Kept only what they couldn’t live without.

They’d said goodbye to no one. Not to Rayanne and Chet. Not even to Pamela.

Surprisingly, for Hannah, leaving her mother had been the hardest thing. They were not close, as mothers and daughters went, but the prospect of never seeing her again had nearly undermined Hannah’s resolve. She felt responsible for her mother, even though Hannah knew that her mother would function just fine without her around. It seemed so cold and unfeeling to walk out the door without even a goodbye. That last visit had been torture. Hannah had tried to warn her without giving away their intentions. She’d wanted Pamela to be able to look back on their last conversation and understand why they had chosen this drastic course of action. Hannah had told her mother that she and Adam had begun to have doubts about Lisa’s fitness as a mother. She hadn’t breathed a word of what they intended to do.

Pamela had looked at her with that piercing, no-nonsense stare. ‘Why?’

‘Mother, I’d rather not say. Let’s just say that it’s . . . very disturbing, knowing what I now know about my daughter.’

‘Well, then you have to do something about it,’ Pamela had said.

Hannah had looked her mother directly in the eye, knowing it might be for the last time. ‘That’s exactly how we see it. We’re going to,’ she said.

They’d said no more about it, but Hannah had the definite sensation that her mother was bestowing her blessing. Or maybe she just needed to see it that way. Now she didn’t even know if her mother was still alive. They had cut themselves off completely. It had had to be that way. But it had not been easy.

‘What are you thinking about?’ Adam asked.

‘Just then, I was thinking about my mother.’

‘This will be less wrenching. We’ve made sure not to get to know anyone too well.’

‘Adam,’ she pleaded. ‘How can we . . . ?’

‘We said we’d do anything to protect Sydney. We knew this could happen.’

‘But nothing has happened yet,’ she protested. ‘Maybe nothing will.’

‘Are you willing to take that chance?’

Hannah stared back at him. ‘You know I would do anything for that child. But can’t we wait and see? Sydney’s been through so much already. She’s making a few little friends. She loves Mamie, and