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

‘No, we can’t. But we can be sure that Sydney doesn’t pay the price. For Lisa’s . . . insanity. For our blindness to it. No matter what it costs. So you have to take her far from here, now, when Lisa’s not expecting you to leave.’

‘And leave you at her mercy?’

‘I’m ready for that,’ said Hannah. ‘This is my fate. I will face it.’

‘Don’t talk like that. It’s crazy,’ he insisted.

‘I mean it,’ she said. ‘You know I do.’

He met her gaze apprehensively.

‘Adam, I can’t make up for what Lisa has done. I think she killed Troy Petty and then slandered him in court. And I actually approved of that. It makes me sick to think about it. I can’t right that wrong, though I feel it so keenly. His poor family.’ Hannah shook her head. ‘I’m her mother. I have a lot to answer for.’

‘She’s the one who has to answer for it,’ Adam insisted. ‘We did what any parents would do.’

‘Maybe. I’ll never know. The only good thing that I can still do is to guard Sydney. Make sure she’s all right. And you are the only one I trust to protect her. You have to do this. For me. Take her and go. Don’t look back.’

‘And what are you going to do?’ he cried.

‘I’ll . . . recuperate,’ she said. ‘And when I’m ready, I’ll go home.’

‘Are you kidding? Home? You’ll be a sitting duck. You think I’m just going to leave you there, for her to come after? To finish the job?’

‘I’ll figure out a way to protect myself. Or I won’t. In a way, it doesn’t even matter anymore. My only child tried to kill me. I don’t even want to get up each day and think about that. But you have to keep Sydney away from her. No matter what. You just have to go.’

‘I won’t,’ he said. Tears stood in his eyes. ‘I won’t leave you.’

‘You haven’t got any choice,’ she said sadly. She entwined her fingers with his. ‘We haven’t got any choice.’

THIRTY

‘Time to go back to your room,’ said the nurse, releasing the brake on Hannah’s wheelchair and interrupting her urgent tête-à-tête with Adam. ‘They’re bringing your dinner.’

Hannah looked up guiltily. ‘Just give me two minutes,’ she said.

The nurse frowned but nodded. ‘I’ll be back in exactly two minutes.’

Hannah gave her the OK sign, and the nurse went back out into the corridor.

‘Two minutes?’ Adam cried. ‘Are you kidding? We can’t. I’m not ready.’

Hannah looked over at Sydney, and her lip trembled. But she did not allow herself to weep. ‘Sweetheart,’ she called out, ‘you have to go with Pop now. Pop will get you some dinner.’ Hannah touched the bandages on her head and forced herself to smile. ‘I have to stay here until I’m better. Doctor’s orders. You go on now.’

Sydney rushed to Hannah and tried to embrace her. Hannah reached for her, and hugged her back as fiercely as the pain would allow.

Then she turned to Adam. She entwined her fingers with his again and gripped them with all her might. ‘You are the one person in my whole life who I could always trust, no matter what. You still are.’

They stared into one another’s eyes. Confusion and desperation were mingled in his intense gaze. For a moment Hannah thought he might refuse. For a moment, she wanted him to. Then he nodded. ‘You can count on me,’ he said.

‘I never doubted it,’ she said. ‘Goodbye, my darling. Keep our girl safe.’

Adam hugged her as if he would crush her. Hannah held on to him for a desperate minute, and then pulled away from his embrace.

She gazed at him resolutely. ‘I love you both. Forever.’

He nodded, and forced himself to stand up. ‘Come on, Sydney,’ he said, extending his hand to his granddaughter. ‘Come with Pop.’

After they left, the nurse came, and wheeled Hannah back to her room. She helped her into bed, and Hannah collapsed onto the scratchy sheets. A short time later, an orderly came in with her dinner, and put the tray on the rolling table. Hannah looked at the food, and felt her stomach contract. She shook her head.

‘I can’t,’ she said. ‘Please, take it away.’

The orderly obeyed without comment. Hannah lay back and stared at her own reflection in the dark window of her room. Was this the best thing to do? They couldn’t just wait for Lisa to come and take Sydney away with her. Their choices were few. Where would they go, she wondered, thinking of Adam and Sydney, driving through the dark night? Would she ever see them again? she wondered. Or was that their last goodbye?

Tears began to trickle down her face but she wiped them away angrily.

No, she thought. This is your punishment. You deserve this. You should have realized, somewhere along the line, that your daughter lacked humanity. You should have acknowledged it and sought help, instead of making excuses for Lisa. She berated herself for a while, and then she stopped. She knew that she still had a job to do at this end. This was her plan, and she had to try her best to make it work. She reached over to the bedside table for her phone, grimacing at the pain it cost her to twist her body to one side. She groped for the phone and found it.

It took her a moment to catch her breath. Then she dialed the number of Restoration House and let it ring. Father Luke answered shortly.

‘Father Luke,’ she exclaimed with sincere relief. ‘I’m so glad I caught you.’

‘Anna, is that you?’ he asked.

Hannah nodded. ‘Yes. I’m . . . still in the hospital.’

‘Well, I’m not surprised,’ said the priest, ‘given the shape you were in.’