When Jessie opened her eyes again, she knew immediately that there was someone else in the room with her. She tried to steady her breathing which was so loud in the darkness. Then she realised that her hands were free, she wasn’t tied up any more. She tried to sit up, but she couldn’t manage that immediately. Her legs were still shackled and she was tied to the bed. As she became more aware of her circumstances she felt relief that she had been given at least a modicum of freedom. It took her a few minutes to finally drag herself into a sitting position; she was in a lot of pain – her arms and back felt like they had been broken.

‘Who’s there? I know you’re there.’ She could hear the tremor in her voice and she hated herself for her weakness. ‘You fucking coward! Talk to me! I can’t go anywhere, can I? I can’t hurt you, can I?’

She listened intently, trying to penetrate the darkness. ‘My dad will kill you for this. You know that, don’t you?’

She could hear the person breathing near to her, they were only a few feet away. It was a man, she knew that much, and he clearly wasn’t bothered by her words. She could feel that he was totally in control of the situation and of her. She was scared, but she couldn’t bow down, she couldn’t admit to her fears.

‘I know you’re there. I know you’re near me. I can hear you, for fuck’s sake.’ Her voice was strong, and that pleased her, even as she braced herself for an attack. But it didn’t come. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do, what she was supposed to say. She lowered her voice, and said huskily, ‘I’m starving and I’m thirsty. I had one bottle of water and that’s gone.’

She was straining to hear something, but there wasn’t anything except the quiet breathing. She lay back down; she was weak, and she was wasting her time trying to get a reaction. She hoped she wasn’t going to be starved to death, just left alone to die in the darkness, that was such a terrifying thought. This couldn’t be it for her, surely? She huddled into the mattress and, as she curled up, she heard the clinking of the chains around her ankles, felt the weight of them and, for the first time in the whole of her life, she felt completely alone.

‘You really are your father’s fucking daughter.’

The voice was low, it had a cockney twang to it. It was the voice of an older man. But this person, whoever he was, was a complete stranger to her.

‘Why am I here? What did I ever do to you?’