‘You can have the spare room,’ Hailey said as she led Sara down the landing. ‘I haven’t changed the bed since Ezra was in here.’

Sara picked up a pillow and breathed in the scent of her son as she sank onto the bed. The prospect of being separated from her children hit her then, a pain so raw it ripped through her heart.

‘You’ve got to help me, Hailey. Matt won’t let me back home. I know he won’t. He’s so black-and-white about everything and you can’t argue with that video on the face of it. He won’t let me explain. And if he knows about James, well… he’s not going to believe our relationship is innocent, is he?’

Hailey sat next to her on the bed. ‘Maybe James isn’t innocent, though. You haven’t watched the whole video, have you?’

Sara clutched the pillow to her chest, eyes wide at the thought. ‘You think there might have been more than one man?’

Hailey put an arm round her shoulder, dipped her head so she could look Sara in the eye. ‘We’re going to have to watch the whole thing, so we know exactly what happened to you. Then tomorrow we go to the police.’

Sara pulled away, horrified at the thought. ‘I can’t do that! Don’t you understand? If the police are involved, everything will come out about me stealing the money. I’ll end up in prison.’

Hailey grimaced. ‘Oh God, I hadn’t thought of that. What a bloody mess!’

‘And there’s more.’

Hailey looked worried. ‘What more can there possibly be?’

Sara squeezed the pillow harder. ‘I think this contract of Matt’s involves something illegal. He says it’s to do with writing code, and what his client does with that isn’t his business.’

Hailey puffed out her cheeks. ‘I suppose he could be right there. Technically. If he says he doesn’t know what they want it for.’

‘But you understand I can’t have the police sniffing round our business for any number of reasons. I’ve got to sort this out myself.’

Hailey nodded, thoughtful. ‘Okay, I see your point, but I’m not sure I agree. You know there are mitigating circumstances. The money you took hasn’t technically gone anywhere, so the community centre hasn’t lost out.’ She shrugged. ‘Has a crime been committed?’ She was quiet for a moment, thinking. ‘I’m not sure how they would view it, to be honest. But filming people without their consent is definitely a crime. Drugging and molesting women is definitely a crime. And who knows what else happened to you?’