Oh God, why couldn’t she remember the code? She wrapped her arms around her head and sobbed.

Rosa seemed to be trying to control the shaking of her own voice. ‘Keep talking to me, Hannah. Distract yourself. It’s going to be hell, but you will get through it. We will get through it.’

But both of them knew that unless Thea or the doctor came, they would eventually die of starvation. Why hadn’t they come?

Hannah forced herself to do what Rosa said and began to describe the sequence of events that had brought her here – the mindfulness retreat, the visits to Thea for reassurance, and then the stealing of the baby.

‘I brought the baby here. I was going to keep him. It was all over the news that I had stolen Albie, and Thea said she had to prise him from my arms and take him away. She left him outside a hospital so someone would find him and I wouldn’t be arrested.’

Her voice caught on a sob of disbelief that she had done something so dreadful.

Rosa was quiet for a moment. ‘Do you remember taking him – bringing him here?’ she asked finally.

‘No. That’s what was so awful about it. I’ve tried and tried to remember, but there’s nothing there. What about you?’

‘I came here to care for Thea. She’d had a fall and had broken her hip. I felt sorry for her. Her sister had been looking after her, but she had become unwell so I was brought in to take over. I moved in, and it was fine because I’d just split with my husband and wanted to escape from the world.’

Both women were quiet for a moment, then Hannah lifted her head and groaned. ‘I think I’m going to be sick again.’

‘Keep talking.’

‘I can’t.’

Rosa shuffled around, trying to get comfortable. ‘Okay, I’ll talk then. I’d been here for about a week. I’d never seen the sister, but I thought she was somewhere in the house. I heard someone crying one day. I was going to ask Thea about it, but she wasn’t having a good day. That night I was up in my room – I was sleeping in the main part of the house then – when I heard shouting and screaming. I rushed down the stairs, but the door at the bottom was locked. They’d locked me in.’

Hannah gasped. ‘What were they saying?’