I stood, eager to check right away. “Don’t worry. I will.”
She followed me to the door. “And, Amira.”
I faced her. “Yes?”
“Please don’t tell anyone where my mother is.”
“Are you still being stalked?”
“Sort of.” Lizzie shook her head. “I recently discovered who it is. He tracked me after all of that publicity about your suing me about the house. After he found me in Durham, I left in the middle of the night and drove here. I checked into this hotel and have been here ever since. But he traced me again. He came here to my hotel just a few days ago. He keeps showing up everywhere I go.”
I felt a stab of guilt. “Did you call the police on him?”
“Yes, but he hasn’t broken any laws yet.”
“I thought you said he made threats against your children? Is that legal?”
“I didn’t report the early incidents in Maryland. There’s no proof that he’s done anything wrong. The cops told him to stay away from me.”
“I wish you’d told me the truth from the start,” I said. “I wouldn’t have had to sue you.”
“At least now you know everything.”
If only that were true. “What about Caryl Daryus?”
“It’s my grandmother’s name. I used different names and spellings in different places to make it harder for anyone to track me.”
“Another thing,” I said. “Why didn’t you tell me that Bill Warren is your brother?”
Her mouth fell open. “You know Billy?”
“He works at my husband’s firm. You must know that.”
“I didn’t realize you’d met him. It’s not as if you and I have ever had a reason to talk about my brother.”
“Are you two close?”
“Not super close. But we are siblings,” she said. “We always have each other’s backs.”
“Meaning that you look out for each other?”
“Yes,” she affirmed. “Always. Are you satisfied? Will you go away now?”
The more time I spent with this woman, the more I felt I could trust my instincts, which screamed that Ali hadn’t been unfaithful to me with her or anyone else. But I still had questions.
“I can’t understand why Ali risked our marriage to help you when he could have sworn me to secrecy.”
“What does it matter?” she asked wearily. “He loved you. There was never anything intimate or sexual between us once he met you. Ali would never be unfaithful once he made a commitment.”
“I do know that.” Satisfaction washed through me to hear her confirm what I already knew in my heart. There’d been no affair. Ali was faithful to me. Our mutually loving marriage was real.
“I was devastated when Ali broke up with me,” Lizzie told me. “Is that what you want to hear?”
“I want the truth. That’s what I’ve always wanted.”
“The truth is that I wasn’t all that surprised when Ali broke up with me. I always knew I loved him more than he ever loved me.”
The words reverberated through me. “You’re not the one that got away,” I said.
