‘I was Will. Mum found out and saw the messages on my phone. I tried to warn you to leave but then she deleted the profile.’ Rachel wiped a tear away. ‘I found out she’d been messaging your phone and Instagram after that. I can’t take it all in. I didn’t think it would lead to this.’
‘How did she get my number?’
‘The cottage you’re renting, it’s ours. Your number was on the booking form.’
‘How did you know that you might be Jess?’
Tears stream down her face. She sits on the chair and leans back. ‘I found a baby photo marked up with my name. It was a photo of my mum holding a baby wearing only a nappy.’
‘And.’
‘The baby she was holding had a birthmark on the back of her ankle. I don’t have a birthmark. Then I found something in the attic.’
She reaches into her bag and pulls out a little ladybird with a strap and Velcro strips on the edges. ‘I saw that you posted a picture of Jess wearing one these wrist rattles. I must have had it on my wrist on the day I was taken. Deep down, I’ve always felt that something wasn’t right. I was led to believe that Archie accidentally killed Jess; that he was holding her and dropped her off the pier during one of his funny turns.’ She paused and looked down. ‘We were all told to keep it hush as the poor man was ill. I remember arguing with my mum about it in the beer garden awhile ago. I kept telling her that Archie wouldn’t have done that. I know he had that amnesia thing going on after the accident that confused him. The more Cody and my mother spoke to Archie about Jess, the more he believed he could have done it. It’s all a mess and I don’t know what to do.’
‘That’s what Natalie overheard.’
Rachel scrunches her brows.
‘We’ll take each day as it comes. Can I see you tomorrow?’
I realise I don’t know my sister and she needs time to take everything in. However much I despise Mary and Kyle, they’ve been her parents for her whole life and it’s going to be impossible for her to let go of them. She’ll also be mourning for Mary. She also knows now that her parents hurt me and Natalie. I don’t know how she’s going to process everything, but I hope that I will have the chance to get to know my sister. I haven’t spent all these years and nearly lost my life for nothing.
‘I… I don’t know.’ She sniffs and wipes her nose. ‘I haven’t stopped crying since I left the pier, then the police told me that my mum—’
I place my hand over hers. ‘I understand.’ She doesn’t respond. Instead she stands and leaves. In the distance I hear her let out a hiccupping sob and she’s gone. I feel hollow. What I hoped to find was the truth. Now I have it. I’ve found my sister. She’s alive and I have a niece. I lived through the unimaginable but all I want to do is cry.
FIFTY-SEVEN
NATALIE
Natalie smiled, the kind of smile where a person still frowns. ‘Thank you for being here.’ She sat on her settee as Laura passed her a cup of tea. A few hours in the hospital hadn’t been a pleasure but now it was all over. Laura had filled her in on everything.
‘I’m sorry I didn’t answer my phone earlier, when you were trying to call. I was feeling miserable about my life, about everything really.’
Laura had helped Kate and she’d been there for Natalie after the ordeal. The tablets that Kyle had forced Natalie to take had kept her in a deep sleep for a couple of hours.
‘I’m sorry too.’
Laura tilted her head. ‘Why?’
‘I thought you might have taken Jess.’
She shook her head. ‘I suppose when you found out that I tried to take Rachel in her pushchair – I mean Jess – I can see why you might have thought that. I’m sorry too.’
‘You don’t need to be.’
She shrugged. ‘No, maybe not. But I should have been more open with you. I should have known that I could trust you.’
‘With what?’
‘You know. Cody is Bethany’s father. I owe it to Bethany to tell her the truth. She might hate me for awhile but I’ve seen what secrets can do to a person. She deserves to know everything.’
‘You’re doing the right thing.’
‘I think so too.’
‘Laura, do you want to get out of this town and go on a girls’ holiday when all this has blown over? I’ve never been on one of those and I think we both need a getaway.’
