Somehow she found the strength to get herself cleaned up. Then she sat on the sofa with Jake and they watched cartoons. She could have almost cried when she heard his little laugh again. She was worried it might have disappeared. She knew that her only goal in life had to be to get away from Nathan. The man she fell in love with, the one she married – he was long gone. She’d been hoping that he’d come back one day. Praying that one day he’d finally wake up and see what he was doing – but she realized that day was never coming. And in the meantime, she was endangering the most precious thing in the world. Her son.

Grace vowed there and then that Nathan would be out of her life as soon as possible. Unbeknownst to him, she had all the details of the next big job he was planning. He thought so little of her intelligence, and had become so arrogant in his belief that he was untouchable, that he discussed specifics while she was sitting in the same room. All in some pathetic code, of course, as if she was too stupid to realize what he was really on about.

The day before the big event, she phoned Crimestoppers and told them everything they needed to know to catch him red-handed. He was charged with ‘Possession of a Firearm With Intent to Resist Arrest; Conspiracy to Supply Class A Drugs and Money Laundering’.

Even during the trial he’d never suspected a thing. She sat in the public gallery every single day, looking every inch the dutiful wife. She was no stranger to a courtroom, having sat through two previous trials. Once shortly after she met him, when he’d been charged with GBH. And again a few years later when he was charged with ABH and got eight months. But when they’d handed him an extended sentence, twelve years in prison with an extended licence of six years, Grace had almost fainted. It was longer than she’d dared to dream of. He would be eligible for parole after nine years, but even nine years away from him felt like an eternity.

After Nathan was taken down to the cells, Grace stumbled out of the stuffy courtroom. She couldn’t breathe. Beads of perspiration trickled down her back making her thankful she was wearing a jacket over her thin blouse. The room started to spin. Her knees buckled. Fortunately, Nathan’s barrister was with her, and caught her before she hit the floor.

Manoeuvring her to the nearest seat in the waiting room, he asked. ‘Are you okay, Grace?’

She nodded. ‘It’s just a shock, that’s all.’