‘I really don’t know her that well,’ she says, thinking. ‘Though we are all on a WhatsApp group.’

She reaches for her phone on the worktop. ‘Are you able to tell me why you need to get in touch with her?’

I pull a face. ‘I promise I’ll explain, but right now, I just need to find her.’

‘Oh my god, do you think something’s happened?’ I watch as Shelley’s brow becomes more and more furrowed as she scrolls through her screen. ‘The last time she put anything on the chat was over a month ago.’

‘If you can let me have her number, I’ll check she’s OK.’

She reads it out and I add ‘Ness’ to my contacts, feeling a little more in control, now that I might be closing in on whoever’s doing this to me.

I’m about to put my phone back in my bag when an unknown number shows up on the screen. I hesitate, not knowing whether I want to have a conversation with whoever it might be right now, but then I wonder if it might be Anna calling from another phone and I immediately feel the need to pick up.

‘Hello.’ There’s nothing but silence at the other end. ‘Hello . . .?’ I say again.

‘Naomi?’ comes a quiet voice. ‘Is that you?’

It sounds a lot like Anna, but something’s not quite right.

‘Yes, who’s this?’

‘It’s me,’ the woman says in a hushed voice. ‘Jennifer.’

The air rushes out of me and I collapse onto the floor as the shock sends adrenaline through my body, rendering my legs useless.

‘Jen?’ I croak.

‘Yes,’ she says. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to just call you out of the blue, but I’ve been to see Aunt Meryl and I knew if I left my number with her, you’d never call me. I don’t blame you, not after last time.’

‘I . . . I can’t believe it.’

‘Look, we don’t have to do this now,’ she says. ‘I just wanted to say hi and let you know that I’m in the UK.’

‘You’re here?’ I gasp. ‘Where?’

‘London,’ she says. ‘You don’t have to make a decision right here and now, you can take my number and think about it, but I’d really like to see you.’

My head is spinning. I’ve dreamt about this moment for so long, but now it’s finally happening I don’t know if it’s what I want. So much happened back then. So much has happened since – not least in the last couple of days alone – that I don’t feel able to trust anyone.

‘I’m different now,’ she says, as if sensing my reticence. ‘But I completely understand if it’s not something you want to do.’

‘I just . . . I just need some time,’ I say.