‘I don’t care. I can’t pretend this never happened, that I’m Rebecca Wall, that I’m his real daughter.’

‘But you are, Becca. You are his daughter.’

The sound of glass shattering fills the room as I smash it into the sink. ‘I’m not his fucking daughter, Danny. I’m not your sister, either. Mom took me. She took me. I’m not me.’

Danny pushes up out of his seat, comes around the table and holds me tight.

‘I’m sorry, Becca. I’m so sorry. I should have told you… I wanted to, but then Mom got sick, and, well…’

‘Take your hands off me, Danny. You should have told me.’

Shoving my way out of his grip, I pick up my coat. ‘That’s why you didn’t want me to get tested for the gene, isn’t it? You knew the results would reveal I wasn’t her daughter.’

I’m shouting this when I hear his cell ringing. Surely he’s not going to answer it? He lifts the phone, checks the ID on the incoming call.

‘It’s Dad,’ he says, swiping the answer button.

Lifting the cell to his ear he says, ‘Dad.’ Then, like the last bomb just dropped onto his shattered world, he turns to me.

‘It’s Mom. She’s dying.’

Chapter Forty-Nine

Nothing is said on the way to Oakridge. Danny, eyes locked on the road, is driving as fast as the car will allow. Sitting by his side, I feel strange, like I shouldn’t be here. This is not my Mom; my Mom isn’t dying. The bundle of bones taunts me. Rebecca Wall, buried at the bottom of the yard. All I can think about is who I am and where I fit in. Am I really the baby in the pink coat with the button missing, the one Katie Collins came looking for?

Danny’s in shock, driving through tears, his mind eaten by loss. Shifting in my seat, feeling I don’t belong here, I open the window and let the fresh air cool my face.

The car screeches to a halt outside Oakridge and Danny jumps out of the car. My instinct tells me to stay put. Don’t go inside Becca, don’t say goodbye. But Danny has other plans. Opening the passenger door, he asks me to hurry, then sees the reluctance on my face. Kneeling down, he takes my hand.

‘Becca. You have to do this. Hold it together. Please, come inside.’

But why? I want to shout. She took me Danny, she robbed me of the world I belong to. Why should I go to her? But his eyes are pleading with me, begging me to go in and play my part in this, the final act.