Suzy K Quinn - Not My Daughter

‘Layers of intrigue and suspense, with a brilliant sting in the tale. Loved it!’

Mel Sherratt, author of Liar Liar

‘Just brilliant! Ridiculously addictive (I DID NOT put it down) and chock full of twists and turns’

Lisa Hall, author of The Perfect Couple

‘Suzy K Quinn is a born storyteller’

Erin Kelly, author of He Said/She Said

‘OMG! What a book! Brilliantly written and utterly chilling! Just wow!’

Darren O’Sullivan, author of Our Little Secret

‘Creepy and addictive with a genuine shocker of a twist!’

Roz Watkins, author of The Devil’s Dice

‘A twist so unexpected I had to turn back to the beginning to see what clues I’d missed! I thought I’d spotted the magician’s sleight of hand, and all the time I was looking in the wrong direction. Bravo, Suzy K!’

Ruth Dugdall, author of My Sister and Other Liars

‘A twisty and menacing look at modern families. Fantastic; I loved it!’

Ali Knight, author of Before I Find You

‘Deliciously dark; had me gripped from the get-go’

Rebecca Tinnelly, author of Never Go There

I still can’t believe so many people read my books.

Each and every day I am grateful for you, dear readers.

Thank you so much.

If you want to ask me any questions about the books,

or chat about anything at all, get in touch:

Email: suzykquinn@devoted-ebooks.com

Facebook.com/suzykquinn (You can friend request me. I like friends.)

Twitter: @suzykquinn

Website: suzykquinn.com

Happy reading,

Suzy xxx

Don’t Tell Teacher

Suzy K Quinn

ONE PLACE. MANY STORIES

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2020

Copyright © Suzy K Quinn 2020

Suzy K Quinn asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Ebook Edition © May 2020 ISBN: 9780008323196

Version 2020-05-21

This ebook contains the following accessibility features which, if supported by your device, can be accessed via your ereader/accessibility settings:

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Page numbers taken from the following print edition: ISBN 9780008323189

This book is dedicated to my twin sis, CS Quinn – an

amazing author and fantastic human being.

Cover

Praise

A note from your author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Dedication

Lorna – Once upon a time …

Lorna – Sixteen years later

Once upon a time …

Lorna

Once upon a time …

Lorna

Lorna

Lorna

Once upon a time …

Lorna

Once upon a time …

Lorna

Once upon a time …

Lorna

Once upon a time …

Liberty

Once upon a time …

Liberty

Lorna

Once upon a time …

Liberty

Lorna

Once upon a time …

Liberty

Lorna

Liberty

Lorna

Liberty

Lorna

Liberty

Lorna

Liberty

Once upon a time …

Liberty

Lorna

Liberty

Once upon a time …

Lorna

Liberty

Once upon a time …

Liberty

Once upon a time …

Liberty

Once upon a time …

Lorna

Lorna

Once upon a time …

Liberty

Once upon a time …

Lorna

Lorna

Happily ever after …

Acknowledgements

Extract

About the Publisher

There was once a woman who had long in vain wished for a child.

– RAPUNZEL

‘Lorna Miller?’

I want to stand up, but I can’t move.

My sister Dee gives my shoulder an urgent shake.

‘Come on, Lorna,’ she hisses. ‘You’re here now. Too late to back out.’

‘Ms Miller?’ The registrar calls again, looking over the room of couples and their new-born bundles. It’s very beige in here. I suppose people don’t want too many stimulating colours when they’re registering births. It might wake the babies.

My bony legs, bare in denim cut-offs, stick to the fake leather seating. Like they’re glued.

It’s warm today. Warmer, I’m told, than usual for the UK this time of year. And it’s spring here. A time of new beginnings.

Dee loses her patience. ‘Miller,’ she says, standing. ‘Lorna Miller. That’s us.’

‘You’re Lorna Miller?’ the registrar asks.

‘No,’ says Dee, placing a hand on my shaking shoulder. ‘She is. I’m her sister.’

Everything feels weird and slow. I’m under warm water and all I can feel is baby Reign’s warmth against my chest and the weight of Dee’s chubby hand.

Dee’s voice becomes urgent. ‘Come on, Lorna.’ She reaches to take the baby.

‘NO.’ My arms lock in one tight muscle and the whole room widens its eyes. ‘Just … give me a second.’

In one swift ‘pulling off a Band-Aid’ movement I get to my feet.

The registrar smiles. ‘It’s okay. Registering a birth isn’t an interrogation. Just a bit of form-filling.’

Dee puts an iron-bar arm around my shoulder. I feel like I’m on a rollercoaster – the part where the ride starts and you can’t get off.

The registrar leads us into his office. There is a UNISON mug on his desk and a half-eaten Trio bar beside it. Two segments left. Trio bars are a peculiarly British sort of candy; too teeny-tiny to ever be popular in the States. I feel homesick, suddenly, for giant Charleston Chew bars.

‘The father couldn’t be here today?’ the registrar asks. ‘Or …’

‘There’s no father,’ says Dee.

My hands make fists around the baby.

There are chairs either side of the desk – sort of like a police interview room. The window overlooks a half-empty parking lot and a green fir tree.