Content Warning: The source text includes references to physical assault, psychological manipulation, child abuse, and animal abuse. Additionally, the source material uses offensive terms for mental health conditions throughout, which are replicated in this guide only in direct quotes of the source material.

“According to my mother, Liam looks very much the way my father did when he was young. My father died when I was a child and I barely remember him, but I’ve seen pictures, and I agree the resemblance is uncanny. I keep one of those photos in a drawer by my bed, and lately, every time I look at it, I get a pang in my chest. It was hard enough knowing my dad never got to see me grow up, and it’s another sting to know he’ll never meet the grandson who looks just like him.”

Even before Erika meets her father or knows he is alive, she notices how much Liam looks like him. On the surface, it appears that the “pang” she feels is grief, but the feeling foreshadows her future guilt for The Threat of Inheritance and Genetics she gave her son by being the daughter of a murderer.

“But Liam is my favorite. I can’t help it. From the moment he was born and I became a mother, I knew no matter how many other children I had, he would be my favorite. Nobody else had a chance. Even if Hannah liked my eggs better and didn’t roll her eyes, it wouldn’t matter. Liam would still be my favorite.

He’s my favorite, even knowing what he’s capable of.

And I will protect him with every fiber of my being.”

Erika spends most of the novel certain that Liam is violent and manipulative. She doubts his innocence both privately and publicly. However, her love for him as a mother never wavers, implying it is unconditional and emphasizing the theme of The Safety and Expectations of Families.

“Liam goes up to talk to the debate teacher, Mrs. Randall, and then he talks to an attractive woman in her forties that has the same dark hair and eyes that he has and also a similar nose. I think it’s his mother. He looks a lot like her. He seems to be really polite to her, which is good. I read online that it’s a really good thing when boys are nice to their mothers.”

Olivia knows very little about Liam but assumes he is a good person because he is kind to Erika. This suggests that people who align with the stereotypical family dynamics society expects of them, can get away with otherwise inappropriate behavior. Olivia also emphasizes his resemblance to his mother, reinforcing the focus on the genetic links between the two.