Page 24 of The Stolen Child

‘Not as far as I know. Dom and I decided we’d tell her if she ever brought him up to us.’ A shadow passed over his face. He leaned in a little closer to Lily. ‘Mom never wanted to talk about my other mother either.’

‘Did she tell you why that subject was difficult for her?’ Lily asked.

Zach shook his head. ‘She’d pretend she was all cool and happy to talk about anything, but, like with my birth father, I could see that any mention of my other mother distressed her.’

‘She may have thought you created this imaginary friend because you were unhappy with her. Her existence might have been hurtful for her. I think if my son created another mother, despite my head knowing that it was normal, it might sting.’

‘Yeah, I can see how hard it would be for you if Ben did that.’

Lily looked at Zach sharply. ‘How do you know my son’s name?’

‘You mentioned it was his birthday last week. You said his name then,’ Zach said, blinking again.

Lily felt a trickle of unease run down her back. She couldn’t say for sure that she hadn’t mentioned Ben by name, but it was unlike her to do so. She had rules that she stuck by about sharing her personal life.

Zach continued in a rushed voice, ‘My therapist said the same to me when I was a kid. My mom probably couldn’t talk about my other mother because she was jealous. And I believed that to be true throughout my entire life.’

‘You don’t believe that now?’

Zach’s leg began to jitter and shake again. He looked around the room as if half expecting someone to jump out at him.

‘You seem agitated today, Zach. Ever since you walked in, you’ve looked upset. Has something specific happened you want to share?’

He shrugged. And something about the almost scowl on his face made Lily uneasy. An echo of something or someone.

‘What if my other mother wasn’t imaginary?’ Zach asked. ‘What if she was real?’

He stood up abruptly, causing his chair to topple backwards. His hands were balled into tight fists by his sides, and his breathing was erratic. Lily watched him carefully, trying to gauge his mood and level of distress. She’d dealt with demanding clients before, and she knew how to handle situations when they became agitated or angry. Sympathise, empathise, listen.

‘Sit down, Zach,’ Lily said firmly. He made no move to return to his chair, though. ‘I’m sorry you are feeling so upset, Zach. But, please, I need you to sit down.’

‘I lied about why I came to see you,’ Zach whispered, his voice barely audible. ‘I wanted to tell you, every time I’ve been here. But I thought you might throw me out. Say I was crazy.’

Lily felt another pang of concern. She had sensed that Zach had been holding something back. Were they finally going to get to the truth? She smiled encouragingly at him. ‘Nothing you can tell me will shock me, Zach. This is a safe place for you. And I want you to be honest with me. There should be no secrets.’

His face turned ashen, and Lily realised that Zach wasn’t angry. He was scared.

‘It’s going to be okay,’ she said gently, pointing to the chair again. ‘Please sit down.’

He stopped pacing, but remained standing, his eyes fixed on something behind Lily. She swivelled round to follow his gaze to a bookshelf, where a framed graduation photograph of her and her parents sat amongst the books.

Before she had a chance to process this, he continued. ‘I saw the interview. While eating granola and yoghurt, I saw Jason Murphy – your dad.’

Lily stood up. Backing away from the man in front of her, every part of her was now on high alert. Zach reached behind him, and for one horrifying moment Lily thought he was going to pull out a weapon.

Instead, he grabbed a folded page from his jeans pocket. Lily watched silently, her heart hammering in her chest as he unfolded the sheet and placed it on the table between them.

The words Missing for Forty Years and Time for Answers were emblazoned across the top in bold, black letters.

Zach locked eyes with Lily once again. His lips trembled, and his eyes filled with tears as he said seven words that would forever change their lives, ‘I think I’m your older brother, Robert.’

PART TWO

Eyes of the innocent

Lies of the guilty

Float around like loose atoms