Maria glanced at her son, his cheeks burning, his bottom lip twitching. ‘I don’t think—’ she started as Danny pushed back his chair, one of its legs catching in the ground, sending it flying as he ran off to the treehouse and up its ladder. Every one of them turned and watched him.

Stella, she could see, was desperate to go after him but Maria held a hand over her daughter’s to keep her from doing so. David tapped his fingers on the table, unsure what to do about the sudden explosion. Bonnie’s face had flared an angry red, her jaw set hard, and Maria wished, just for once, that she could see through her wrath and love her brother for who he was, like the rest of them did.

‘Oh dear, I think I might have said the wrong thing,’ Iona said at last.

If the girl expected the others to assure her she’d done nothing wrong, she was in luck, for David spoke up. ‘It’s really not your fault, Iona,’ he was saying and soon he’d managed to move the conversation, stilted and edgy, while Maria continued to stare at the ladder.

She couldn’t bring herself to reassure Iona. Not when the girl’s words felt hard and empty, almost planned.

As she looked at her daughters and their guest, and the empty seat where her son should be, unease settled over her. This wasn’t what her family dinner should look like. One of them missing. Someone different in his place.

Nerves skittered through her body like a thousand bugs, but still she didn’t realise the true extent of how this stranger could tear her family apart.

PRESENT

Chapter Fourteen

Freya watches my reaction closely. I can feel the intensity of her stare as my life feels like it’s chipping apart again, tiny fragments falling away.

‘Why have you told me it’s Iona?’ I say. ‘Surely you’re not supposed to.’

Freya leans her head back, looks at a spot in the distance. ‘I didn’t know whether to or not, I still hadn’t made my mind up until we got here. To be honest, I wanted to give you some kind of warning.’

‘Why would I need a warning?’

Freya looks at me like I’m stupid. ‘Because as soon as the news comes out this lot are all going to react and—’ She sighs and breaks off. ‘Oh, come on, Stella. She was always at your house, with your family. The islanders are all so keen to point fingers, and as soon as the ones who didn’t know you find that out, they’ll all be turning to you for the answers you don’t have.’

I tear my gaze away from her.

‘You know I’m right,’ she says more gently.

‘Why are you looking out for me?’