Suddenly, she heard Richard’s voice calling her name. She turned. He was there, and her father was with him. She had been so fixated on the river below that she hadn’t noticed their approach. Her father hurried toward her, but Lisa clutched the railing.
“Andrew, be careful,” said Richard.
Lisa’s father stopped. So did Richard. As the morning light flooded the bridge, Lisa saw the anguish on their faces, but it was nothing compared to the agony in her heart. In her estimation, they were no different than Graham and Sophie. She hadn’t been released after all; she had merely been handed over to another group of criminals.
“Lisa, I’m here,” said her father. “I’m sorry for everything. I should have taken better care of you. I’ll do things right from now on. I’ll be a better father. I’ll put you first, like I should have done a long time ago.”
Despite his tears, Lisa knew guilt was her father’s primary source of motivation. It would fade over time. His promises were worthless. If she made the mistake of trusting him, he would forget what he had done to her. She wanted him to be as hurt as she was; it was the only way to make him understand.
“Lisa, please,” he said. “Give me a chance. Let me prove myself to you. I can’t even imagine what you must be going through because of me, but it doesn’t have to be this way. I’m not going to give up on you. You’re my daughter.”
Lisa shook her head. He would never know who she truly was, or how she really felt. Her throat was so raw from crying that she could barely speak, but she wanted to set one thing straight once and for all.
“Your daughter is dead,” she said, and without any hesitation, she raised herself up so she could fall. Richard lunged forward and grabbed her. She struggled to free herself, and they both tumbled to the ground. Lisa’s breath was knocked out of her. She struck him until he captured her wrists in his hands, and then she heard herself screaming at him in a hoarse voice, begging him to let her go. He hung on, and when she was too exhausted to fight him anymore, she gave up in despair.
Richard picked her up and carried her to his truck, which was parked nearby. He got her settled, and her father sat down beside her, draping his jacket over her shoulders to stop her from shivering. Lisa gazed ahead with unseeing eyes. It would have been a relief to die, but now the opportunity was gone, and she couldn’t organize her thoughts sufficiently to come up with an alternative plan.
Richard drove to the hotel where Lisa’s father was staying, and they went inside. Her father asked her what had happened, but Lisa refused to say a word. She wasn’t brave enough to relive the nightmare. Her father eventually became desperate, but Richard told him to stop.
“We don’t want her to get into the habit of talking about it,” he said. “She’s too upset right now anyway. Just leave her alone. She’s probably been up all night, and she’s obviously traumatized. She’ll feel better after she gets some sleep.”
“But I’m just failing her again,” said her father with a groan. “If I had any redeeming qualities, I would take her straight to the hospital for a forensic examination. I’m pretty sure Graham wouldn’t have hurt her, at least not on purpose, but I don’t know who else had access to her or what they did to her. Even if she doesn’t want to tell us about it, the evidence to convict them is probably right here in front of us.”
“She doesn’t seem to be injured, except a few scrapes and bruises,” said Richard. “As for the evidence, it’s none of our business. Besides, you know why we can’t go to the police, so don’t even consider it. Graham would be delighted to ruin your family once and for all if you gave him the slightest excuse, and you owe it to your daughter to prevent that from happening.”
Lisa’s father nodded.
“I know,” he said. “I feel like I can’t win, but I have to start prioritizing Lisa, and that means challenging her mother on the terms of the divorce. I’ll do whatever it takes to show Lisa how much I care about her. I don’t know how she’s going to cope with all of this. She should be in therapy. If she isn’t able to put this situation into perspective, she’s going to be messed up for the rest of her life.”
Lisa sat on the edge of the bed and listened to their conversation. She recognized the irony in her father’s claim that he wanted to protect her when he was obviously protecting himself, but she didn’t want to go to the hospital to be poked and prodded by strangers, so she didn’t say anything. The thought of accidentally revealing the truth terrified her, and she was relieved when Richard refused to humor her father.
“Andrew, we’ve already been over this,” he said. “Peterson or not, Lisa can never tell anyone what happened.” He knelt down in front of her so she had to look at him, even though she was staring at the floor. “You understand, don’t you? For your safety, and for the sake of your family, you need to keep quiet. You’ve already suffered more than enough. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
Lisa nodded, but she suspected he was merely trying to keep Graham out of trouble. He had done too many suspicious things. She misinterpreted his gloomy expression as an admission of guilt, but she was too worn out to