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Back The Lies We Told Save as PDF
Chapters (44)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Dedication
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. Acknowledgements
  41. Keep Reading…
  42. About the Author
  43. Also by Camilla Way
  44. About the Publisher

The prosecution tried their best: calling in a psychiatrist as their expert witness who said he was certain Hannah posed a significant and ongoing threat to society. They even got Kathy Philips, Clara’s old childminder, to describe how Hannah had set fire to her son’s room all those years before. But despite all this, despite the fact that she deliberately burnt down her family home, in the end her fate hinged on the performance she gave, the jury’s belief of whether she intended to kill or not. She sobbed as she said she hadn’t meant for the fire to spread, that she’d tried to go back to save her father and brother, that she had the burns on her back to prove it. The jury was divided, uncertain, and in the end the murder charge was reduced to involuntary manslaughter, and because of her age, she got just five years.

At first I was shocked that she didn’t come clean about the discoveries she’d made, had shied away from a heartrending description of how she’d found out, aged seven, the awful truth. Such a pitiful tale could only have worked in her favour, after all. But I think she knew that there was no need. That story was too valuable to be given up so easily, when she still had so much more suffering in store for her father, and for Rose.

I could have told the police myself, confessed to them about Hannah’s real mother, how she died, how Rose and Oliver and I were involved in it all, but what good would that have done? My child was dead. I thought of the two Lawson boys, so young still, and I didn’t think I could be responsible for destroying their lives too. I was drowning in grief, only capable of wishing with all my heart that I’d died with Doug and Toby that night, as I’m sure Hannah knew. I wish I had died too.

29

Suffolk, 2017

As Rose described the fire and Hannah’s trial, Clara felt cold waves of panic wash over her. This was the person who had hold of Luke? This murderer, this madwoman? And Rose, Oliver – they had known it all along? She stared at them, anger and shock mingling with her despair.

It was Tom who spoke first. ‘How old was he, the boy?’ he asked, his voice scarcely louder than a whisper.

Rose hung her head. ‘Ten. Toby was ten years old.’

‘Jesus! Oh Jesus Christ!’ He got up and paced the room, coming to a halt in front of his father. ‘She’s killed before, what’s to stop her doing it again? What’s to stop her from murdering Luke too?’