After months of counselling for herself and the family, Sara was managing to find ways to come to terms with what had happened to her. That episode in her life had been compartmentalised in her mind, and even though she knew the pictures of her would be circulating forever, she was finding ways to address the anxiety, shame and guilt that were her constant companions. Trust would always be an issue, she knew, but at least she had her sister’s support and the family were closer now than ever before.

Julia had approached her just before the trial had started to see if she’d like to take on a new role at the community centre now that James had left to run the family business full-time. Sara had arrived feeling nervous, and had perched on the edge of her chair, hoping the meeting would be brief. The community centre no longer felt benign, the shadows of the past lurking in every corner.

‘Thank you so much for coming in,’ Julia had said, swinging gently from side to side in the office chair behind the desk. ‘I have a little proposition for you and thought it would be better to do it in person.’ She smiled. ‘I do hate the way everything is done by message these days. So much room for misunderstandings, don’t you think?’

Sara’s body tensed, echoes of previous conversations held in this very office reverberating in her mind. Julia carried on speaking, but Sara could only sit and stare, her hands clutching the edge of the seat as she waited to propel herself into an upright position and walk out of the door the moment the opportunity arose.

‘You’d be doing me an enormous favour,’ Julia said with a wink once she’d outlined her proposal.

Sara’s heart fluttered, and she wondered if she’d got herself trapped all over again, because if it wasn’t for Julia, she’d certainly be facing charges of theft. Julia laughed when she saw her horrified expression.

‘Sorry, it was a joke. Fiona did like her favours, didn’t she?’ She gave a satisfied smile. ‘I have to admit you’ve done us the biggest favour – by getting Fiona out of the way. She was getting far too big for her boots, lording it over everyone.’ She tutted. ‘I can’t see her coming back here, can you? Not since her arrest was splashed all over the news. I hear Maurice is selling the house. He told me Chelsea won’t have anything to do with her mother, and I do think a fresh start in London will be the best thing for the child. Goodness knows what the future holds for Fiona, but I think we can assume a prison sentence will feature in there.’