Aunt Nelly was nice, lived in Bow. She’d never married, had no kids, but she felt warmer to me than my real mum ever had. She would praise me, show me love by hugging me. Affection, I wasn’t used to that. Only my nan had ever hugged me in the past. Not once do I remember my own mother doing so. She never even stepped in when Uncle Pete smashed the living daylights out of me.

I was still worried about my granddad, would regularly visit him, urging him to teach me about his world, like he’d once promised to. Unfortunately, by that time he was unable to piece together a coherent sentence. I was gutted. Even as an eleven-year-old, I sensed Granddad’s world was destined to be a mystery to me, and that would always haunt me.

Then fate struck. Me grandfather got rushed into the London Hospital one day. It was Aunt Nelly who sat me down and wiped away my tears as she told me he was dying. His liver had packed up on him.

I begged Aunt Nelly to let me see Granddad one last time. She was reluctant, but even she could see I wasn’t exactly your average twelve-year-old boy by that point. Not after what I’d been through in life. I was a proper little man.

Granddad had the same colour eyes as me: a bright, piercing blue. As I greeted him, I saw his eyes light up like they used to for the first time in years. He grabbed my arm and clung to it. ‘Kenny,’ he croaked. ‘Nell, leave me and the boy alone for a minute,’ he added, even though he was struggling to breathe.

Aunt Nelly left the ward, then Granddad smiled. That cheeky smile that I remembered and hadn’t seen for ages. ‘I never told you how I stole a living, did I, boy?’

‘No. Please tell me. I’m old enough now,’ I pleaded.

Granddad held my hand, clasped it like he never wanted to let it go. ‘You are my prodigy, Kenny. I want you to carry on the Bond name.’

‘Go on, Granddad. I will, I swear. I owe you and Nan everything.’

‘Never be a dogsbody. Only work for yourself.’ Granddad paused to catch his breath. ‘You earn money any way you can. That’s what I did. Banks, security vans – I’ve held up lorries carrying quality loads. You never thieve off your average man on the street, though. House burglars are vermin. Ya never rob your own, either.’

‘Yeah. But how? I wouldn’t know where to start.’

‘You’ll find ways. You plan. Always be cautious. That’s why me and Nan were never poor like every other bastard. I walked the walk and talked the talk. You can be the next me, Kenny. I can see it in you. The right road is boring. The wrong road is much more fun.’

‘OK,’ I replied. Granddad was taking ages to get a sentence out now, but I got the gist of what he was saying, and I was desperate to make him proud and carry on the Bond name.