‘For everyone else . . . secrets can destroy you. If you have your Mum and Dad close by, give them a hug. You never know when they might be taken away from you. And if you have a son or a daughter . . . sometimes it’s our job to protect you . . . or your memory.’

He heard a creak on a floorboard outside his door, saw the shadow of movement under the door.

He leapt up and flung the door open. Butch was creeping back down the corridor.

‘You were listening!’ shouted Murphy.

Butch flinched. ‘I was worried, I was coming to check on you, and then I heard Jasmine’s voice. Were those old videos on your phone or something?’

Murphy hadn’t shared the videos with him yet. He still hadn’t even been able to bring himself to tell Butch that Madison had planned it all. And the longer he waited, the worse it became.

‘Why didn’t you knock?’

‘Honestly . . . I didn’t think you wanted me to see you crying again.’

Butch came in and sat on the bed. The two brothers were silent for a few moments.

Then Murphy’s phone buzzed. An unknown number was calling him.

‘Yeah?’ he answered.

‘Murphy. It’s Constable Cavanagh. Con told me to call you. He thought you might want to . . . look, get online right now. Madison is streaming live, and it’s . . . it’s massive.’

Murphy opened the laptop and Butch leaned over his shoulder. He opened the MMMMadisonMason page. He began the livestream from the start.

‘I have a confession to make, and I need everyone to listen closely.’ Madison sat on her bed in her usual spot. Her mascara had bled, almost too well – artificially well. Her lips were red as blood. She looked straight down the camera.

‘I planned it. I planned it all.

‘I mean the disappearances. Cierra, Bree, Jasmine . . . our other friend, who can’t be named. We all planned it together, but it was my idea. They were always going to go missing on the school camp.

‘Yes, I know it was stupid. Yes, I know it was dangerous. But I had a good reason. I’ll explain everything in my next video. But the honest-to-God truth is that I have no idea what happened up there. The plan was for the girls to make contact with me when they were safe, but they haven’t. Now they really are missing.

‘I’m not responsible for our friend who can’t be named’s death. Our plan was for the four of them to leave the trail and meet at Lake Mackenzie, gather the supplies we’d stashed there, and drive to a safe location. I have videos of all of them, speaking before the camp. I’ll share them tonight, so you can understand our reasons – their reasons.