“You stay with your parents,” I say. “Can I see Betsy and Caleb before you go?”
“Of course you can,” she says. “But where are you going?”
“I need to be around people who know my twin. Nathan, I think his name is. Her stepson. I need to help find her.”
“Are you sure?” she asks, looking worried.
“Yes, I have to. We’ve been apart fifty years, our whole lives, it’s too long. And now, to think she might not be safe because of me…” I break down then, big fat tears trailing down my tired face.
Lisa gives my hand a gentle squeeze. “Everything will be okay, Claire. The police are doing everything they can. But please come and stay with my parents if you need to.”
She pulls me into a hug and we comfort each other for what feels like minutes.
When we pull away, I ask the question that I’ve been too afraid to ask for the last five years. “Does he hurt you?”
Lisa pulls in a deep breath and the tears gathering at her eyes finally fall. “Not physically.”
I nod. I understand.
I understand all too well.
I’ve suffered years of mental torture at his hands.
I often think about the time I almost pushed Magnus over the cliff at Seeley Moor. He was leaning over the edge, and I saw my chance. I replay that moment in my head, over and over again, considering all the different outcomes. Him dying, him surviving, me throwing myself over that cliff instead. If he had died back then, none of this would ever have happened.
And that is my biggest regret.
CHAPTER 55
FAYE
Iclose my eyes and I see Penny’s face smiling.
She is excited because she’s going to have the little sister she always wanted. I place a hand on my stomach and feel my baby move – she is in there waiting to meet us.
No. That isn’t right. There is no baby.
I blink and see the man sitting on a chair beside me, staring at me with menace. Then a short man walks into the room and places a mug next to me.
“There you are, Mrs Blackburn. A nice cup of tea for you.” He sits across the desk from us.
“Thank you,” I say, even though I don’t want any tea.
“Everything appears to be in order,” the short man opposite says. “We have authorised that transaction and the money should be in the account within the next few days. Is there anything else we can help you with today?”
The younger man next to me smiles broadly. “That’s everything, isn’t it, Mum?”
This room keeps changing shape, the walls moving, heat rising from below. It’s like I’m halfway through a portal between the past and present but I can’t make the two marry up in my mind.
And then the truth sharpens like a knife cutting through the air. The man beside me has kidnapped me and is holding Penny hostage. I’m being forced to sit here and pretend to be his stepmother.
As the younger man—Magnus—stands to leave, he turns away to get the jacket from the back of his chair. I have less than a second. I reach across the table, grab the bank manager’s wrist, and mouth “help”.
He’s visibly shocked. I quickly release him before standing to leave.
Magnus shakes the speechless manager’s hand. “Thanks so much for your assistance today. Sorry about the short notice.”
“Thank you, Mr Froome,” I say quietly. “You’ve been wonderfully attentive.” My words say one thing, but I drive home the call for help with my eyes.
