Content Warning: This section of the guide describes and discusses the source text’s treatment of child abuse, child abduction, and references to child molestation. The source text also contains stereotypical and stigmatizing portrayals of neurodivergent people.

Lapena explores how The Impact of Secrecy and Deception fuels Avery’s abduction and return by giving every character a secret that they wish to keep hidden. As Stanhope’s secrets become exposed to the police and the media, the trust of the community completely disintegrates.

William’s choice to have an affair with Nora sabotages his standing in the community. Since he wants to keep Nora’s identity a secret, he ends up lying to the police and becoming their primary suspect. As a respected doctor in Stanhope, William’s secrets ruin his reputation, and he ends up losing his family in the process. Erin breaks off their marriage due to his infidelity, but mainly because of the way that he abuses Avery. When Erin learns about how William hit Avery before she disappears, she entertains the possibility that William could have killed their daughter and realizes that it does not surprise her. William loses Erin’s trust, which is why she cannot listen to his warning when he believes that Avery may be lying about her story.