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Back Day of the Accident
Chapters (71)
  1. Cover
  2. About the Author
  3. Dedication
  4. What readers are saying about
  5. Epigraph
  6. Prologue
  7. Part One
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. 7
  15. 8
  16. 9
  17. 10
  18. 11
  19. 12
  20. 13
  21. 14
  22. 15
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. 25
  33. 26
  34. 27
  35. 28
  36. 29
  37. 30
  38. 31
  39. 32
  40. Part Two
  41. 33
  42. 34
  43. 35
  44. 36
  45. 37
  46. 38
  47. 39
  48. 40
  49. 41
  50. 42
  51. 43
  52. 44
  53. 45
  54. 46
  55. 47
  56. 48
  57. 49
  58. 50
  59. 51
  60. Part Three
  61. 52
  62. 53
  63. 54
  64. 55
  65. 56
  66. 57
  67. 58
  68. Epilogue
  69. Acknowledgements
  70. THE NEXT THRILLER BY NUALA ELLWOOD
  71. THE BEGINNING

Whitstable. It was Sean’s idea. He’d booked a cottage for a week in March as a birthday surprise for me. Elspeth was so excited. Whitstable was her favourite place. She spent the whole week before we were due to go packing her suitcase and planning precisely what she would do each day of the holiday. Things had been better since Christmas, and I’d decided it was just a blip. Then in February Sean and his team won a new contract that would require more late nights and occasional trips to Europe. In the run-up to the holiday he worked late and on the rare occasions he made it home for dinner would sit in silence, glued to his phone. When we got to the cottage Sean was distracted, his phone always to hand. And then on the second day he announced that he would have to head back to London, that he was needed at the office. ‘I’m so sorry, Mags,’ he said when I came back from the beach and found him packing. ‘Work’s just gone crazy.’ I told him that this was a holiday, my birthday present, that surely he could delegate whatever problem had arisen to one of the team, but he said there was some legal issue that could turn nasty and he was the only one who could sort it out. Elspeth and I had tried to enjoy the rest of the break but Sean’s leaving cast a shadow over it. When it started raining on the fourth day we decided to give up and go home. We were halfway back when I got the text from Sean. He said that he was flying to Stockholm, where the sports company was based, for an urgent meeting. ‘I’ll make it up to you, Mags,’ he said at the end of the text. ‘And tell Elspeth I’ll get her something special from Sweden.’

Sweden. I look down at the name written on the piece of paper in front of me and a chill courses through my body. Freya Nielssen. What if he met her on that trip to Stockholm? Did she work for the sports company? I need to know, I tell myself, as I carefully enter her number into the phone, otherwise I’ll be trapped in this limbo for ever. I close my eyes, press the ‘call’ button then hold the phone to my ear.

There’s a pause and then I hear a robotic voice.

‘The person you are calling is unavailable. Please leave a message after the tone.’

I don’t leave a message. Instead I press ‘end call’ then sit with the phone in my hands as it slowly sinks in.

Sean has left me for another woman.

29

Friday 4 August

I stand in the shower and look down at my broken body. What is the point of being clean? What is the point of getting through another day when I’ve lost everything?