Page 34 of The Sunken Truth

“I do if I want to find the answers about my childhood.”

“Sometimes ignorance really is bliss. If you’re convinced nothing good will come from it, there’s no shame in letting it drop.”

“Maybe.” Her notion of having had a happy family life in her early years had already been destroyed, so it probably didn’t matter much now. “Anyway, I’m not putting it off. I was intending to go over this afternoon, and I can still do that when we get back. I’m trying not to think too much about it, though. Chances are she won’t tell me anything. You know what she’s like.”

“She definitely hasn’t been overly forthcoming so far,” Flynn said. “Have you remembered any more from when you were here as a kid?”

Lily rubbed at her forehead. “Nothing new. I remember being on the beach with my dad, and I think we were staying at the flat with Maria. I vaguely remember sleeping on the couch… but it’s all so hazy. It’s like the harder I try to remember, the more out of reach the memories become.”

Flynn gave a sympathetic smile before his gaze dropped to his phone, which lit up on the table in front of him.

“Is that the sergeant again?” Automatically, Lily leaned in to look. Her stomach tightened at the female name flashing on the screen: Gina. Whoever the heck she was.

Flynn’s lips twisted to a frown as he tilted the phone towards him.

“Don’t ignore it on my account,” Lily said, trying to sound like someone who didn’t have any thoughts at all about a woman calling him, and certainly no jealousy.

“I’ll call her back later,” Flynn said, silencing the call and shoving his phone in his pocket.

For a moment, Lily held her tongue, but curiosity got the better of her. “Someone special?” she asked, her voice annoyingly brittle.

The intensity of his gaze made it clear he could see her jealousy as plain as day.

“Gina is my dad’s wife,” he said with another sympathetic smile.

“Oh.” Relief flooded her. “Your stepmum?”

“Yes. Except that feels a little odd, since I barely know her.”

“I thought you got on with her.”

“I do.” He sank back in his chair. “She always seems nice, but I’ve only actually met her a handful of times.”

“How come?”

He shrugged and chewed his lower lip. “They have busy lives.”

“Does she call you often?” Lily asked.

“No. We usually communicate by email.”

“Maybe you should have answered then. It could be important.”

He gave a slow shake of the head. “She’ll leave a message if it’s urgent, but I suspect I know what it’s about.”

“What?”

He hesitated a moment. “I think her and my dad are having issues and I’m getting dragged into the middle of it.”

“How come?”

“I suspect my dad was lying to her about my relationship with him. From what I gather, he made out that he was some kind of model father and told her that my mum turned me against him.”

“And that’s not true?”

“No.” He ran his thumbnail along his lip. “Not at all.”

Unsure what to say, Lily waited until he finally continued.