Never Lie Summary

Tricia and Ethan find themselves trapped in a remote mansion during a snowstorm, hoping to purchase the home once owned by the missing psychotherapist Dr. Adrienne Hale. The house feels eerie, especially with strange signs around, like lights flickering upstairs despite the absence of a car and a suspicious boot print near a hidden bookcase. As they navigate the unsettling atmosphere, their curiosity leads them deeper into the structure’s hidden past.

While exploring, they come across a concealed room filled with revealing tape recordings from therapy sessions led by Dr. Hale. The tapes feature three patients, including Patricia Lawton (known as PL), who suffers from PTSD; EJ, a sociopath with narcissistic traits; and another patient known simply as GW. These recordings begin to unravel the entangled lives and dark secrets locked within the threads of psychological manipulation and fear.

The backstory sheds light on how Dr. Hale was being blackmailed by EJ after she attempted to terminate his sessions. EJ holds incriminating footage of them both, including Hale vandalizing cars, which he uses to threaten her into compliance. In the quest to delete the footage, Hale’s boyfriend Luke is recorded by EJ and becomes a crucial figure tied to the dangerous dynamics in the house.

As Tricia and Ethan unearth more sinister truths, the tension builds—they find a body hidden under the floorboards, belonging to none other than EJ. Luke, who has been living secretly in the dubious mansion, once weathered suspicions surrounding Adrienne's disappearance while wrestling with the knowledge of EJ's scandalous behavior and ultimate fate.

The mystery intensifies when it is eventually revealed that Tricia is, in fact, Patricia Lawton—the woman from the recordings who has taken to violence. Driven by paranoia that Hale could expose her dark deeds, she had already killed EJ and ultimately Believed in her own twisted logic when killing Dr. Hale as well. Adrienne cornered PL into helping eliminate EJ, using her understanding of PL's past liabilities throughout therapy sessions.

Meanwhile, a gripping dynamic unfolds between Tricia and Ethan as power struggles surface. Ethan's own motives for being in the house come to light; he had intended to rescue his traumatized mother from the grips of therapy involving Dr. Hale, complicating the couple's already tension-filled relationship. Luke becomes a captive, his true intentions shrouded in mystery amid the unfolding drama.

The narrative deftly intertwines the history of Dr. Hale's interactions with her patients through flashbacks, chronicling her rise, challenges, and eventual demise within the same chilling walls. Despite her status as a respected therapist, she grapples with her patients’ dangerous truths, leading her to her downfall as they inexorably tie into the secrets surrounding Tricia, Ethan, and Luke.

Ultimately, Never Lie creates a captivating psychological thriller that dissects trust, deception, and survival—revealing how multifaceted lives intersect through manipulation and fear. At the story's conclusion, the murky ethics of therapy blend with the brutal outcomes of unresolved trauma, forcing the characters to confront their intertwined fates, laying bare the notion that in a web of lies, the harsh reality can always surface.

Tricia and Ethan’s search for answers leads them to shocking truths about Adrienne's disappearance and several murders. They discover the bodies of Luke, who was Adrienne's boyfriend, and EJ, a patient trying to blackmail her, hidden under the floorboards. Through flashbacks and tapes, they learn about the blackmail and how Luke was murdered to prevent him from revealing the truth.

The story takes a darker turn as it's revealed that Tricia is actually PL, a violent patient. She killed Adrienne out of fear that Adrienne would expose her past. Adrienne had manipulated Tricia, taking advantage of her fears by threatening to reveal her role in past murders, which included her friends and fiancé. After coercing Tricia into helping kill EJ, Tricia eliminates Adrienne to protect herself.

Ethan admits his own dark secret; he killed his mother for insurance money. Despite their criminal pasts, Tricia and Ethan choose to stay together and plot to cover their tracks. They vow to eliminate Luke’s body, bury the evidence, purchase the house, and start a new life as a family, hoping to hide their terrible secrets forever.