Sharon couldn’t sleep but that was nothing unusual. She had not slept an entire night since her wedding to Ray all those years ago. Her sons were both now firmly embedded in the Life, and that broke her heart every bit as much as it pleased them. They were both thrilled to death to be villains, and what could she do? They had been determined and Ray, whatever he tried to pretend otherwise, had encouraged them to follow his example. He saw their rise in that world as a reflection upon himself. It was only young Kathy that he wanted to stay outside the Life – should she ever embrace it, it would kill him. Ray wanted his daughter to be a doctor or a scientist. It did not occur to him that, for all her expensive education, she wasn’t academic in any way, shape or form. She was a nice, normal girl, who didn’t see herself as some kind of fucking intellectual needing to prove herself every second of the day. But that was how Ray treated her. Sharon was aware that it worried her lovely daughter. Kathy simply wanted to please the people around her. She was seventeen and she was still finding her feet. Why did Ray need her to act like she was only put on this earth to please him?

She heard young Lenny come into the room and she forced herself to face him, but she’d had a large glass of wine and she could feel the animosity coming off him. He hated that she needed a few drinks to get her through the day, but who the fuck was he to tell her how to live her life? He was Ray’s son now, and they both knew that.

‘Where’s Kathy?’ His voice was clipped and she could tell he was angry at her. He saw her as just someone who wanted to drink and nothing else.

‘She is staying at her mate’s. Was she supposed to ask your permission?’ She was angry and it came across in her tone.

She watched young Lenny look her over and find her wanting. It was a deliberate rebuke and she had seen it many times before. Oh, he was Ray’s boy now, there was no doubt about that.

‘Can I help you, son?’ Her sarcasm was evident.

‘Who is she staying with?’

His lack of respect for her was hard to live with. Even her own mother had told her that he needed a right-hander, but what would it achieve?

‘Who the fuck do you think? Where does she usually stay, Len? At Maria’s. Maria, the girl she has been friends with for years. Going to check up on her, are we?’