his arms crossed and look unimpressed.
Lily learning she did not have to earn love by being useful.
It was not the life I had expected.
It was better.
Then my phone rang.
Elise.
I stepped a few feet away.
“Yes?”
Her voice was controlled, but something underneath it had shifted. “We recovered part of the corrupted video.”
I looked back at the children.
Lily was laughing because Owen had accidentally turned on the seat warmer and accused the car of hugging him.
“What did it say?”
“Not over the phone.”
“Elise.”
“Ryker, not over the phone.”
My hand tightened around the device.
“Is it about Anna?”
“Yes.”
“Is she alive?”
A pause.
“I don’t know.”
That was not the answer I expected.
“What does that mean?”
“It means Evan believed she was alive when he recorded the video. But he also believed someone else was using her identity.”
I
