She walked over to the table, where Hailey was sitting, her phone to her ear. ‘Hi, Marian. I just wanted to make sure Ezra’s okay with you for another half-hour or so.’ Her eyes widened. ‘What do you mean? When?’ She ended the call, stared at Sara. ‘Matt picked him up. He’s got Ezra.’

Sara gasped, and the glass she was holding fell to the floor, smashing on the tiles, pieces skittering in all directions. ‘Oh my God, no.’ She clung to the back of a chair. ‘That’s it. We’ve got to call the police. This has gone too far. I’ve got to put the safety of the kids first.’

Hailey blew out a long breath, clearly shocked. ‘How did he know where Ezra was, though?’

To Sara, it was obvious. ‘If we’re here together, then someone must be looking after him, and your next-door neighbour is the only person he’ll stay with, isn’t she?’

‘Yeah, you’re right. Wouldn’t take a genius to work that one out.’ Hailey swiped at her phone, put it to her ear, her face pale but determined. ‘Let’s just check in with the girls, shall we? See what they’re up to. Then we can give the police the full picture. Matt might get cross with Ezra, but he’s not going to hurt him. He’s safe enough.’

Sara paced the floor, too agitated to sit down, her hands buried in her hair. ‘What if he’s going to get the girls and make a run for it? What if he and Fiona have got a contingency plan worked out?’

Hailey tutted, looked at her phone. ‘No reply. I’ll message Soph.’ She gave Sara a hard look before she started tapping away at her screen. ‘You’ve been watching way too many TV dramas. You know your daughters. Nobody’s going to make those girls do anything they don’t want to do.’ She pressed send and gave Sara her full attention. ‘The only reason Matt would take Ezra is as a bargaining chip. That’s what it’s all about. He’s desperate and thinks if he’s got Ezra, he can control you.’

They busied themselves with clearing up the mess on the floor while they waited for a response from Sophia. When they’d still heard nothing, Hailey made mugs of tea, while Sara stood gazing into the back garden, paralysed by fear.

‘Come and sit down. Panicking isn’t going to get us anywhere, is it? Let’s have a proper think about this.’

Sara slid onto a chair, her hands cupped round the hot mug, her body shaking. Just when she’d thought she was in charge of her life again, Matt had been one step ahead.

Hailey’s phone pinged and she frowned as she read the message out loud: ‘Chelsea is being a bitch. Fiona is being weird. Can we come home?’