Page 143 of Liberating Lily

But then she realized this might work better than if her mother realized it was her. Obviously, something had broken inside her mother’s head.

“What do you need Lily for, Mother?” she asked.

Harvey hugged her against him. Her mother didn’t seem to see him. She didn’t really focus on anything; her eyes drifting from thing to thing in the room. Ronan just stood to the side, silent and quiet.

Paddy hadn’t come down with them, but she guessed there were probably cameras in here, so this was being recorded.

“I need her to marry Rick. He’s ambitious, and his family has plenty of money. All of our money is gone. We have nothing. Nothing. The only reason I’ve survived is because I’ve been selling her.”

It was a punch to the stomach.

“I found a way to make her obedient. Dr. Wallace had this special formula, these pills that we gave her, and then we could suggest anything to her, and she believed us. I made her believe that she’d attacked me, that she’d hurt me, that she needed the pills in order for me to be safe. She felt so guilty that she took those pills without a word. Not even an argument.”

“Did you not have to pay Dr. Wallace for the pills? How did you afford that? You said that you sold Lily? What does that mean?” she asked. It was hard to get the questions out without being sick.

“Oh, I was going to pay for them originally, back when I still had money. But the doctor suggested another arrangement. Something about making videos of her and selling them. I just had to take her to the clinic once every two weeks. He’d drug her more deeply so she wouldn’t remember a thing. He’d get what he needed, and he’d pay me. It was all a win-win situation.”

A win-win situation. Was she for real? She felt Harvey tense behind her.

“Except for Lily,” she said. “It wasn’t a win-win situation for Lily. She spent most of the past ten months drugged with no idea what was going on. And what exactly was Dr. Wallace doing to her? What kind of videos was he making of her? And what was he doing with them?”

Her mother waved her hand through the air dismissively. “What do I care what he was doing with her? The only stipulation I had was that he couldn’t have sex with her. Oh, and that he couldn’t harm her. I didn’t want her waking up with bruises or cuts and wondering how that had happened. I also couldn’t risk her getting pregnant before she was married to Rick.”

Wow. Was that the only concern that she’d had, that Lily might get pregnant before she married Rick?

“You’re a monster,” Lily told her. “You sold your daughter for money and because you wanted her to marry some dickhead. You never had one thought for her or her feelings. How do you think she’s going to recover now?”

Her mother started to rock back and forth, and there was a strange look on her face. “Who cares? Who cares? It’s all over. It’s all over now. It’s all over.”

“Mother, what was Doctor Wallace doing with the videos he took of Lily?” she asked.

Pretending to be Clem was surprisingly easy. Maybe it was helping her keep herself calm.

“You had me arrested, Clem. Your own mother.”

Jesus.

“What was he doing with those videos,” Ronan said.

“Subscription. A subscription service.”

Oh God. She’d known it had to be something like that . . . but it made her feel sick to hear it.

Harvey shuddered, holding her tighter. She knew he was probably barely holding himself together.

“Do you know who killed Doctor Wallace?” Ronan asked.

“He’s dead. Lily’s gone. Clem had me arrested. All gone wrong. All wrong.”

“You were so desperate to have Lily marry Rick that you were willing to sacrifice me?” she asked, still pretending to be Clem. “And for money. What about Harvey’s house? Did you go there looking for Lily and trash it?”

“No, no. Why would I do that? David did it. Got into a rage when you weren’t there. He said he was under pressure to get you back. Something about threats and owing money.”

“What would happen when Lily married Rick?” she asked. “Then he wouldn’t be able to take his videos.”

“Not happening. All wrong. All gone wrong.” Her mother started pulling at her hair. “It’s all wrong! Clem!” She tried to surge at Lily and Harvey turned with her in his arms, protecting her.

“I have her,” Ronan said.