You win, Grace. You win again.

“So you think he did do it then?”

“All I know is that those twins put me in this effing thing.” I hit the side of the chair.

“Yeah, right. The bastards.”

But Tim’s not interested in what happened to me. My story is clear, you just have to look at me to believe it. He wants the other story, but he can’t have it.

“What about the dad?” Tim isn’t going to let his chance with me escape so easily. “You saw the interview with him on The Morning Show?”

I tried to watch it but I didn’t get far. The presenters, sitting next to Simon, looked a bit uneasy perched on the edge of their orange sofa, but Simon seemed better than ever before. His dark eyes still crawled like shiny beetles around the studio, but he seemed to fill his own skin at last.

“So, Simon, tell us, did you ever suspect Megan was abusing your daughter?” The presenter did quite a good job of masking her discomfort. Simon cleared his throat carefully before he started speaking his rehearsed words.

“Well, Katie, Megan was a master manipulator. She’d blackmail me to keep my suspicions to myself. She’d threaten to accuse me of rape or being violent and she’d remind me that everyone would believe her over me.” Although he’d probably been told not to, Simon stared right into the black eye of the camera. I felt as though he was talking directly to me.

“I wasn’t in a good place at the time. I was unwell myself after Meg blamed me for our son’s death and wouldn’t let me see Grace. I lost sight of what was real and what wasn’t. I knew Meg was lying about Grace’s name and age, of course. I suspected she was up to something else but I didn’t know what. I came close to telling a doctor the truth once, but I’m ashamed to say I lost my nerve. Meg could have ruined me, got me locked up. You see now what she was capable of.”

I didn’t know if it was sweat or tears, but Ruth saw the droplets running down my face.

“Maybe we’ll watch this another time,” she said, flicking the television off and wiping my cheek with a tissue. I’m relieved that, so far, there hasn’t been another time. The truth is I think Simon knew Grace was involved in Meg’s murder, he knew she’d do anything to get away from her. He didn’t come forward when the police were looking for him because he wanted to give her the time to get away, to escape. That’s why he didn’t tell the police about her real name and age. He let the world think it was him and that she was someone else to protect her, to give her a chance. He was, in his way, trying at last to be a father to her.

“Mate?” Tim asks, pulling instead of pushing my chair as though he’s trying to jerk an answer out of me.