On her walk to the dark arches, Lana had wondered what her new life would be. She had potential. That was what they’d said. It was the sort of acknowledgement and praise she’d hungered for her whole life. She’d always known that she was better than most people, but the world around her couldn’t always see it. It made her furious. Only the drinking and the drugs numbed her frustration. The only time she ever really saw the awe she craved was when she seduced a man away from his wife or girlfriend, and that never lasted long enough. They either became distracted by their own guilt or started to take her for granted.

She’d knocked on the large wooden door as instructed and waited. It had opened to reveal four people on expensive-looking chairs in the middle of a bare brick cellar.

‘Please, take a seat, Lana.’ She’d recognized the voice from the phone calls.

‘Sarah?’ Lana had said as she walked to the wooden chair and sat down. Only then had she noticed the ropes on the floor. What were they for?

‘We’ve been impressed with you, Lana.’ The woman who spoke was attractive, with blonde hair and striking blue eyes. ‘You handled the situation with Mr Jameson and Dr Bloom on the bridge particularly well and I thank you for that. It was a moment which held a degree of … importance for me personally.’

‘What has impressed you?’ Lana had said, desperate for praise.

Sarah had smiled. ‘Do you know who we are?’

Lana had looked at each face in turn. ‘That’s Denise, who collected Jane. And that’s the motorbike driver.’

‘No. I mean, do you know who we are as a group? What we represent?’

Lana had shaken her head.

‘I take it you know that you’re a psychopath?’

Lana’s temper had flared. It was not the first time someone had thrown that insult at her, but she hadn’t expected it here. ‘You think?’ she had said with barely contained irritation.

‘No, we don’t think, Lana. We know. You are a psychopath. That’s why we selected you and that’s what we have been testing you on. The game is a means of analysing your choices and skills to determine if you truly are one of us. And I hope you feel proud, Lana Reid. Because I can confirm that you are.’

Lana had tried to process the information. Was this really something to feel proud of? Didn’t it make her a freak or a monster? ‘Are you all psychopaths?’ She had looked at the five people around her and then at Sarah.

‘Indeed we are. Albeit of a particular kind.’

‘How do you mean?’