Listen for the Lie
by Amy Tintera
Contents
Chapter Thirty-Two: Lucy
Overview
After Julia’s podcast interview airs, Lucy is pressured from all sides to acknowledge that Matt abused her, but she chooses self-protection over public honesty. Lucy knows that telling the truth could also expose her own violence and reinforce the town’s worst assumptions about her.
At home, Lucy’s parents are relieved when she avoids a public confession, but her grandmother refuses to participate in that denial. By bluntly saying that Matt probably killed Savvy, Grandma pushes the narrative toward a more direct reckoning with Matt as a serious suspect.
Summary
On Monday morning, Ben releases Julia’s podcast episode, and Lucy listens while running. When she finishes, Lucy sees a flood of calls and texts from her grandmother, parents, Nathan, and Emmett, all reacting to what Julia revealed about Matt. Lucy resents the sudden concern because she does not want to be recast as the victim in the story; in Lucy’s mind, Savvy is the true victim, and Lucy refuses to step into that role.
Julia texts Lucy to offer support, but Lucy keeps her response brief and distant. Lucy thinks through what admitting the truth would cost her. If Lucy confirms that Matt abused her, Matt could also expose that Lucy eventually fought back, and Lucy fears that people would use that against her as proof that she is violent and capable of murder. Because Lucy believes Julia will be seen as a more believable victim than she ever was, Lucy decides to protect herself instead of publicly backing Julia.
Later that day, Lucy gives Ben an interview and uses a carefully prepared line: Matt had a temper, but Lucy claims her experience was not the same as Julia’s. Ben and Paige both seem unconvinced, but Lucy sticks to the statement. Her choice shows that Lucy is deliberately avoiding a full confession about Matt’s abuse, even though she knows the truth would matter to the broader story around Savvy’s death.
When Lucy gets home, her grandmother, mother, and father are waiting in the kitchen. Lucy repeats her evasive version of events, saying Matt threw things and raged but not clearly admitting he hit her. Her mother immediately insists that the family would have known if abuse had happened, which pushes Lucy to make the sharper point that no one really knows what happens inside a marriage. Even then, Lucy reassures them that she will not make any emotional public disclosure, and her parents are visibly relieved.
The family tries to return to normal by focusing on dinner, but Lucy’s grandmother refuses to let the subject drop. She bluntly asks why they are not discussing the obvious possibility that Matt probably killed Savvy. That direct accusation cuts through the family’s evasions and ends the scene with a jolt, forcing Matt into clearer focus as a suspect.
Who Appears
- LucyListens to Julia’s episode, rejects the victim label, and refuses to fully admit Matt abused her.
- MattAbsent ex-husband exposed as abusive and newly named as a likely suspect in Savvy’s murder.
- GrandmaWorried but blunt; presses Lucy for honesty and directly suggests Matt probably killed Savvy.
- JuliaMatt’s second wife; her podcast interview about his abuse triggers Lucy’s dilemma.
- Ben OwensPosts Julia’s episode early and later interviews Lucy about Matt.
- Lucy’s motherInsists she would have known about abuse and feels relieved when Lucy avoids a public confession.
- Lucy’s fatherAnxious during the family confrontation and eager to avoid dealing with painful revelations.
- SavvyThe voice in Lucy’s head resurfaces, urging violent thoughts about Matt.
- PaigePresent during Lucy’s interview with Ben and appears skeptical of Lucy’s story.