‘Grace,’ he croaked. She’d come back for him! But then the soft hands were gone in an instant, and he realized it was Kayleigh. He was at home, in their bed. ‘Sorry, babe. What happened? Last thing I remember I was a goner.’

‘Nathan, you scared the fuck out of me. I was just heading to bed when someone started banging on the front door. Some young bloke was standing there, with you practically in his arms. You were out of it.’

Nathan shook his head. He didn’t remember any of that.

Noticing the puzzled expression on his face, Kayleigh went on. ‘He told me he found you at the Rose and Crown. The place was on fire. You were unconscious, and someone was standing over you. This bloke hit him over the back of the head, and then he carried you out of there and brought you home.’

Nathan rubbed the back of his head absent-mindedly. ‘Who was he? This bloke?’

Kayleigh frowned as she tried to recall his name. ‘Eddie, I think he said. Eddie Redman. Yes, that was it. Because I thought it was like that actor’s name who we saw in that film the other night.’

Nathan knew exactly who Eddie was, but he wondered if Eddie knew he was his father. Whatever Eddie knew, he’d saved Nathan from being burnt alive. Grace and Ben’s plan to kill him had spectacularly backfired. He couldn’t believe it. It all took a while to get his head around.

So, Ben was left there unconscious. Which meant he was most likely burned to a crisp. Pity, he would have liked to do that treacherous fucker in himself. Grace would have no idea he was alive then. She would assume he’d died in the fire. That murderous fucking bitch. Thinking she could try and kill him and get away with it. How fucking dare she! He couldn’t believe the treachery of her. How she portrayed herself as some beacon of propriety. Yet for years, she’d been fucking his best mate behind his back. And if that wasn’t bad enough, she’d been conspiring with that fucker all along; to get him sent down; to steal all his fucking money; to fucking kill him. Filled with adrenaline and rage, he jumped out of bed.

‘Nathan! Where do you think you’re going?’ Kayleigh shrieked. ‘You need to rest. You almost died.’

‘But I didn’t, did I? And now I am going to kill that fucking bitch.’

‘Who?’ Kayleigh shrieked, her eyes wide as she stared at him.

‘Grace!’ he spat. ‘That fucking whore.’