Francesca looks between us, her eyes growing wide, her breathing becoming quick and shallow.
“Where’s my daughter?”
“We don’t know. Kat has turned off her tracker,” Elijah admits.
He looks to his phone and mouths the word, Pen.
I nod.
“I’ll put the kettle on.” I move towards the kitchen.
I turn to see Francesca crumple in on herself.
“What have you done?” she mumbles, as she rocks back and forth.
Elijah shoots me a look as he drops into the seat next to hers, pulling her into his arms.
I open my phone and dial.
She answers within two rings.
“Pen, you need to come home.”
Something in my tone must garner no argument.
“On my way. See you in fifteen minutes.”
I busy myself making tea, before leaving the kitchen and rejoining Elijah and his mum. I place the tray on the table and return quietly to my seat.
The front door opens as Lottie returns. She takes one look at the situation in front of her and heads for her bedroom with her newly purchased tub of ice cream.
Pen arrives almost directly behind her. She drops to her knees in front of Francesca.
“Franny,” she says quietly.
Francesca looks up, her hand cupping Pen’s cheek. She gives her a weak smile.
“He loved you so much,” she says. “You were like a daughter to him.”
Pen covers her hand with one of her own.
“And he was like a father to me,” she says, cradling Francesca’s hands in hers. “Franny, I need you to tell me what happened?”
“They killed him, Pen. They killed Robert,” she says, inclining her head, a fresh line of tears streaming down her face.
Pen’s grip tightens, her voice catching.
“I know they did. I wanted to protect you.”
“Always such a good girl, putting others before yourself. That’s what I did. I had to protect my family. They’d already taken the love of my life. I wasn’t letting them have my children, too.”
Francesca freezes as she sucks in a shaky breath.
“Who, Franny? Who was going to hurt your children?”
Francesca’s head draws back quickly, her arm folding over her stomach.
“I don’t know. A man. He called. Told me I needed to give them the files if I wanted to prevent a further accident. He sent me pictures of each of them, showing me exactly how vulnerable they were.” She inclines her head. “I couldn’t let them get them.”
