“That's a tough question to answer,” Joe said. “It depends.”

“On what?” Lily asked.

“It's probably more of a mistake to give him the power he's been getting, having you hide out all this time, Lily. That makes him feel like a big shot. For a narcissist like Hunter, he gets off on any reaction he can get out of you. If he makes you swoon, he likes that. If he makes you cry, he likes that too.”

“Did Edward know Lily was still alive?” Liam asked.

“He knows he didn't kill her,” Joe said. “So I suspect that, yes, he knew she was alive.”

“Was he looking for me? Us?” Lily asked, gazing down at Rose, crouched by the tidal pool.

“He may have been,” Joe said. “I suspect he was keeping a low profile. He was under investigation, and even though he knew he hadn't killed you, he had other things to hide. During a murder investigation like that, he had to behave himself. There were areas of his life he wouldn't want us looking at.”

“Like what?” Liam asked.

Joe shrugged. “He's a con man. The fact that he does most of it legally—through stockbrokering and marriage—doesn't minimize the fact that he tricks people into giving him their money.”

“And their hearts,” Lily said.

Hearing her say that was like a punch in Liam's stomach. Lily had given this man her love, her heart. He looked over, saw the worry and hurt in her eyes, wished he could erase every bit of pain. She had told him some of the details about her life with Edward; he knew she had buried some of it so deep, she hoped never to think of it again. Her nine years in Cape Hawk had been a time of healing; the fact that she was ready for this confrontation said a lot about her strength and the passage of time.

“We were at your wedding,” Tara said. “And we watched you go farther and farther away from us. The longer you were married to him, the more you hid out from us.”

“We were very isolated,” Lily said. “He didn't even like me to be with my friends.” She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself.

Liam moved closer, wishing he could keep her warm. But he knew that the chill she felt had nothing to do with the evening air, the sea breeze. It came from deep inside, from memories of living with a man who had crushed her dreams and sent her fleeing from everything she loved.

A demon had come out. Lily had brought him out for all to see. Talking about him a little bit at a time, she was exposing him for what he was. Liam felt shaken by the group's emotion as they talked about the old days and truths about Lily's life with Edward that they had suspected but never really known.