Slipping out from under the duvet, a shadow in the dark room, Joanna gently pulled on the handle that she had never fully closed when she came to bed. The less noise she made, the less chance Danny would wake up. Out in the hallway, she lifted her feet off the wooden boards with precision. A creak could do it, startle him, put an end to her plan.

The woman was not going to ruin everything. Not now. Not with Joanna’s whole world finally moving in the right direction. She had taken a risk marrying Danny. His past kept him awake at night. But it had paid off. Joanna had it all now; the fancy house, the fancy car, the best of friends. And, in a couple of weeks’ time, the baby.

She knew if this woman ever got to meet Becca, Joanna’s whole world would be destroyed. Danny would be questioned and possibly even arrested for the death of that little baby all those years ago. When she found Katie’s note in her father-in-law’s mailbox, Joanna knew the past had arrived to taunt the future. Her future. And she was not about to let some trailer trash passer-by destroy that.

At the bottom of the stairs she walked in the darkness to the cloakroom, switching on the small light inside the door. Her heart was beating faster. Anxious? Excited? Joanna wasn’t sure. It was the same feeling she’d had the day she searched Becca’s apartment to see if Katie had sent a note there too.

Taking her jacket from the hook, she realized it didn’t fit anymore. It wouldn’t close over the bump. The night was cold, icy cold, she could feel it sneaking in below the front door. So she took Danny’s navy jacket and tried it on. Perfect, it closed all the way up, covering the bump and keeping her warm. With the sleeves pushed up, she pulled on a pair of Uggs, tucked in her pajama bottoms and walked to the kitchen. 1.45am; the meeting was at 2am. Fifteen minutes, plenty of time. Taking the keys from the hook by the door, she stepped out into the dark night, the whistling wind providing a camouflage for the car’s engine as she backed out onto the empty road.

Rehearsing her story, Joanna moved through the night’s shadows, arriving at the pre-arranged spot. The bridge. ‘You can’t miss it. It’s the only one. It crosses the dried-up river.’ No one else would be there at that hour.

Thinking she was meeting Becca, Katie had agreed to wait until Becca had finished her shift at work. She would have agreed to anything, she was so desperate to meet her. Her sister.