Little Liar

Little Liar (2024) is the second installment in Leigh Rivers’s Web of Silence duet. The dark, taboo romance delves into the tumultuous and forbidden relationship between Malachi Vize and his adoptive sister Olivia. As Malachi’s deep-seated obsession and desire for control collide with external threats, the couple navigates a perilous path between love and danger, testing the limits of their bond and their willingness to defy societal norms. The novel explores themes such as The Impact of Past Trauma on Present Behavior, The Dynamics of Power and Control in Relationships, and The Ethics of Taboo Romance.

This guide refers to the 2024 Kindle Unlimited edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death, child death, rape, sexual violence, graphic violence, physical abuse, emotional abuse, child abuse, bullying, mental illness, death by suicide, suicidal ideation, animal death, addiction, substance use, sexual content, and cursing.

Plot Summary

Four-year-old Malachi’s life is relatively happy, despite a growing aversion to loud noises. However, this stable existence is ripped apart when his father leaves home. Malachi’s mother blames him for his father’s abandonment and begins using substances and neglecting Malachi. Malachi’s father dies by suicide, leaving him with a pet spider called Rex. 

Though time with Rex provides Malachi a brief respite, things take a nightmarish turn when criminals attack their house, force Malachi to watch his mother die, and dismember Rex in front of him. The trauma leaves Malachi with a lasting difficulty in forming words. 

Malachi enters the adoption system, where he is deemed difficult to place with a family because of his solitary nature and silence. When Malachi is eight, he is adopted by Jennifer Vize, a judge, and her husband, Jamieson, a criminal defense attorney. The wealthy Vizes also have an adopted daughter, seven-year-old Olivia. Malachi forms a deep connection with Olivia the moment he meets her.

As the years pass, Malachi’s love for Olivia grows more intense, with the adopted siblings considering each other as best friends and sharing the same room. By the time Malachi is 17, he recognizes that he is in romantic love with Olivia, a fact that he needs to keep hidden. When Jennifer forces Olivia to date a prospective suitor for an arranged match, Malachi asks the Vizes if he can marry Olivia instead. 

Jamieson rejects the proposal, thinking that it arises from Malachi’s impulse to protect his sister from a forced marriage. Olivia’s wedding plans are delayed for the time being, and Jamieson asks Malachi to develop other interests apart from his sister. Assuming that Jamieson wants to separate him from Olivia, Malachi grows to resent his father.

Olivia and Malachi begin a sexual relationship when Olivia is 18. Meanwhile, Malachi shows increasing signs of reckless behavior, including using substances and beating up Olivia’s boyfriends. His festering resentment against Jamieson comes to a boil when Jamieson walks in on Malachi and Olivia having sex. Malachi flies into a rage and beats Jamieson until he passes out. 

Jamieson survives, but the attack leaves him with permanent memory loss and difficulty walking. Malachi is arrested, and although Olivia does not want to testify against him, Jennifer emotionally extorts her into doing so. Malachi is sentenced to eight years in prison for attempted murder. The separation from Olivia and the conditions of incarceration complicate Malachi’s mental health condition. Meanwhile, Jennifer and Jamieson adopt another daughter, Molly.

In prison, Malachi blames Olivia for his incarceration and plans to punish her for her betrayal. When Malachi is released, he kidnaps and tortures Olivia (in events covered in the first book, Little Stranger) but ultimately lets her go. Olivia, contracted to marry the wealthy scion Xander Reznikov, almost goes through with the wedding but realizes that she still loves Malachi. She flees her wedding to return to Malachi’s cabin in the woods. 

Malachi and Olivia begin a new life together in his cabin, though Malachi does not know that Xander is still determined to marry Olivia. Olivia also worries that Jamieson and Jennifer will never accept Malachi. Matters come to a head when the Reznikov family demands that Olivia be handed to them. Jamieson and Olivia refuse, leaving Jennifer incensed.

Olivia is kidnapped by a contract criminal working for the Reznikov family on her way home from work. Tracking her location, Malachi rescues her and kills the criminal. He asks Jamieson for help in disposing of the body. To Olivia’s surprise, Jamieson agrees to help Malachi. 

Malachi and Jamieson bury the corpse in Malachi’s backyard. When the phone that the dead man was carrying gets a call from an unknown number, they learn that it was Jennifer who hired him to take Olivia to Igor Reznikov, Xander’s father. They discover that Jennifer has already taken $13 million from Igor for Olivia and that Igor is now determined to finish the deal.

Jamieson confronts Jennifer, and she moves out of their house. Jamieson and Molly visit Olivia and Malachi for a family meeting, but Xander arrives with his brother, Adryx, to reveal that he is being forced into the marriage by his father. Xander, Adryx, and their cousin Sebastien Prince want to bring down Igor and help Olivia. Igor and his men arrive, and though Malachi manages to hide Molly, Igor shoots Malachi in the chest and takes Olivia.

Malachi slips into a coma, and Igor traps Olivia in his basement. Igor threatens Xander that if he does not quickly marry and impregnate Olivia, Igor will rape her. To keep Olivia from escaping, Igor inserts a motion-activated tracker in her arm that will detonate and kill her if she goes beyond the manor’s radius. 

When Malachi recovers, Adryx, Xander, and Sebastien enlist the help of their friend Tobias Mitchell and his assistant, Barry, to infiltrate the Reznikov manor during a masked ball. Malachi and Sebastien enter the manor as masked guests, bringing devices that block all electromagnetic devices, disabling the tracker. Malachi flees with Olivia. Reunited, the two make love in Sebastien’s car as he drives them to Barry’s house. Adryx remains behind to kill Igor.

Barry removes the tracker from Olivia’s arm, and the group disbands. Olivia breathes a sigh of relief as Jamieson makes peace with Malachi. Malachi and Olivia can now truly head home. In the first Epilogue, the narrative jumps three years into the future, with Olivia and Malachi leading a happy life with their toddler son, Isaac. The final Epilogue sees Olivia, Malachi, and 14-year-old Isaac visiting Sebastien in Scotland, where Isaac strikes up a friendship with the daughter of Kade Mitchell, a friend of Sebastian’s.