Claudia kept her back to Leanne. It was impossible to see her expression, but the look on Justin’s face was easy to read.

‘She didn’t tell you?’ asked Leanne. When neither responded, she sat down, leaving no doubt that she wasn’t about to give up. She repeated her question, more softly this time. ‘Why did you go back, Claudia?’

‘I think I’d like to know the answer to that too,’ Justin said.

Claudia backed away from her husband and sank down onto the sofa. She kept her head lowered and her hands clasped tightly in her lap as Justin joined her. He put a hand over hers. After what felt like minutes, they heard Claudia swallow hard.

‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered. ‘I couldn’t leave her there.’

‘Leave who?’ asked Justin. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘Amelia Parker,’ Leanne said, when Claudia couldn’t.

‘The girl in the paper? The one who was pulled from the rubble by a … Are you saying that was you?’

‘When the alarm sounded, it was obvious to anyone who saw Amelia, that she wasn’t going to leave until her mum came back. And she was right where the ceiling collapsed,’ Claudia said, avoiding a direct answer to Justin’s question. She had to go through it, step by step. ‘I suppose it was easier to believe that she had moved out of the way in time, or if she was beneath the rubble, that she hadn’t suffered. But … some of the people coming out mentioned those who had been left behind, calling for help. I suppose I had to know for sure if there was more I could do.’

She pressed herself against her husband, but Justin had tensed and it must have felt like snuggling into a slab of granite. His knuckles were white where he held his wife’s hands. Claudia inhaled deeply. ‘I know I should have stayed outside, but I couldn’t walk away. I don’t know, maybe it was the hormones.’

Claudia’s voice was growing bolder, and Leanne understood why. She had to justify her actions, not because she had saved someone and kept it a secret, but because she and Justin had paid a terrible price for her bravery.

A sob escaped when Claudia added, ‘She was a child, and I thought I was going to be a mother. I couldn’t just leave her.’

‘It’s OK,’ Justin whispered. His shoulders slumped. ‘I would have done the same thing.’

Claudia lifted his hand to her quivering lips. ‘I wish I could go back,’ she said. ‘If I’d known I was making a choice, I might have chosen differently. We might be a family now.’

‘We are a family.’

‘What happened when you went to look for Amelia?’ Leanne asked, aware that her voice had become scratchy.