Her eyes darted around, looking for some way in, but she knew it was hopeless. Security had been high on Matt’s agenda when he’d set up the office, and with the door locked, there was no way to get access. My phone’s inside. She groaned, leaning her head against the door. What am I going to do?

Then she heard a muffled grunt and pressed her ear to the door. ‘Hailey, are you okay?’

She could hear movement, then her sister’s voice. ‘I’m all right, I think. I was just winded for a minute.’

Relief flooded through Sara’s body. ‘What happened? You seemed to be well in control, and then…’

‘I got cramp in my hand. He must have sensed the pressure come off, elbowed me in the face, punched me in the stomach. Next thing I knew, I was on the floor and he was bloody gone.’

‘He’s locked the door, I can’t get in,’ Sara said, rattling the handle again. ‘He punched me so hard he knocked me off my feet and then he scarpered out the back gate.’

Hailey groaned. ‘Goddammit. What do we do now?’

‘I honestly don’t know. I’ve no idea where he’s gone.’ Sara winced, her fingers finding the place on her cheek where Matt had hit her. ‘My God, I never thought he’d punch me. Vicious with words sometimes, but never with his fists.’

They were quiet for a moment, until Hailey spoke, back to her usual businesslike self. ‘Look, I’ll ring a locksmith, then once I’m out of here we can sort out what to do next.’

‘What if he comes back, though? We can’t have him destroying evidence.’

Sara closed her eyes and slid down to the floor, her back against the door.

‘Even if it means I have to come clean about everything, I can’t let this website carry on. I can’t. My conscience won’t let me. Goodness knows how many women have already been abused. It won’t just be me. There’s lots of dates on that spreadsheet. What if there are more spreadsheets, more venues? I didn’t look that carefully. Christ, it could be massive.’

‘That’s the dilemma.’ Hailey sounded as weary as Sara felt, the burden of this decision weighing heavy on her. ‘Do you look out for yourself or do what’s right for the greater good?’

Sara’s brain was humming, her face throbbing.