It was nearly midnight according to the clock in the hall. With a shiver of relief, she noticed the absence of light filtering down the stairs from their bedroom. Tom, never one to feel perturbed by her late returns, would sleep through until morning, never stirring to wonder what fate might have befallen her after dark.

Placing her handbag on the hall table, she moved into the kitchen. The room felt like an abandoned stage set, unnaturally still. The light from the streetlights beyond the garden wall illuminated her daughter’s colouring pencils, scattered across the Formica dining table. Pouring herself a glass of water, she sat in front of the piece of paper Sadie had left for her, inscribed with the words: FOR MUMMY, LOVE SADIE.

The drawing was of the four of them, Callum substantially smaller than exact ratio would dictate, Tom and Gabriela on either side. There were flowers and hearts etched crudely around them, as if to create a frame, but within its walls none of them was smiling.

There was a sudden sound like a child’s bone snapping as the light clicked on in the kitchen. She turned sharply to see Tom in the doorway, blinking in boxer shorts and an old T-shirt.

‘Fucking hell, you nearly gave me a heart attack!’ She jumped before gathering herself, her heart thumping in her chest as her fingers lifted self-consciously to the skin under her eyes. The thought crossed her mind that she should have taken a moment to look at her face, to see what it betrayed.

He paused for a moment, looking at her, and then frowned, moving over to the sink.

‘Sorry, I only turned on the light. I had no idea you’d be back so late.’

Swallowing, she ran a hand through her hair. ‘Sorry, I didn’t realise either. It was someone’s leaving drinks after work, I couldn’t get out of it and then I got delayed coming back. I sent you a text.’

‘I know …’ He filled his glass and moved back towards the doorway. ‘Are you coming up?’

‘In a minute,’ she said and his reply was lost as he moved back up the stairs.

She was trembling as she sat at the table, waiting for the sound of Tom’s footsteps to fade out on the hallway upstairs. Once the silence took hold again, suddenly the room was cold, the gravity of what was happening consuming her, and she stood, looking about for a shirt or a blanket to wrap around herself, where Ivan’s arms had been, but she found nothing.