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The Daughter

Michelle Frances
Contents (71)
  1. THE
  2. DAUGHTER
  3. MICHELLE FRANCES
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. ONE
  6. TWO
  7. THREE
  8. FOUR
  9. FIVE
  10. SIX
  11. SEVEN
  12. EIGHT
  13. NINE
  14. TEN
  15. ELEVEN
  16. TWELVE
  17. THIRTEEN
  18. FOURTEEN
  19. FIFTEEN
  20. SIXTEEN
  21. SEVENTEEN
  22. EIGHTEEN
  23. NINETEEN
  24. TWENTY
  25. TWENTY-ONE
  26. TWENTY-TWO
  27. TWENTY-THREE
  28. TWENTY-FOUR
  29. TWENTY-FIVE
  30. TWENTY-SIX
  31. TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. TWENTY-NINE
  34. THIRTY
  35. THIRTY-ONE
  36. THIRTY-TWO
  37. THIRTY-THREE
  38. THIRTY-FOUR
  39. THIRTY-FIVE
  40. THIRTY-SIX
  41. THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. THIRTY-NINE
  44. FORTY
  45. FORTY-ONE
  46. FORTY-TWO
  47. FORTY-THREE
  48. FORTY-FOUR
  49. FORTY-FIVE
  50. FORTY-SIX
  51. FORTY-SEVEN
  52. FORTY-EIGHT
  53. FORTY-NINE
  54. FIFTY
  55. FIFTY-ONE
  56. FIFTY-TWO
  57. FIFTY-THREE
  58. FIFTY-FOUR
  59. FIFTY-FIVE
  60. FIFTY-SIX
  61. FIFTY-SEVEN
  62. FIFTY-EIGHT
  63. FIFTY-NINE
  64. SIXTY
  65. SIXTY-ONE
  66. SIXTY-TWO
  67. SIXTY-THREE
  68. SIXTY-FOUR
  69. EPILOGUE
  70. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  71. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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THE

DAUGHTER

MICHELLE FRANCES

image

Contents

PROLOGUE

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

TWENTY

TWENTY-ONE

TWENTY-TWO

TWENTY-THREE

TWENTY-FOUR

TWENTY-FIVE

TWENTY-SIX

TWENTY-SEVEN

TWENTY-EIGHT

TWENTY-NINE

THIRTY

THIRTY-ONE

THIRTY-TWO

THIRTY-THREE

THIRTY-FOUR

THIRTY-FIVE

THIRTY-SIX

THIRTY-SEVEN

THIRTY-EIGHT

THIRTY-NINE

FORTY

FORTY-ONE

FORTY-TWO

FORTY-THREE

FORTY-FOUR

FORTY-FIVE

FORTY-SIX

FORTY-SEVEN

FORTY-EIGHT

FORTY-NINE

FIFTY

FIFTY-ONE

FIFTY-TWO

FIFTY-THREE

FIFTY-FOUR

FIFTY-FIVE

FIFTY-SIX

FIFTY-SEVEN

FIFTY-EIGHT

FIFTY-NINE

SIXTY

SIXTY-ONE

SIXTY-TWO

SIXTY-THREE

SIXTY-FOUR

EPILOGUE

AUTHOR’S NOTE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

For Livi and Clementine

‘A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavour by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.’

Washington Irving

‘Fortune favours the brave.’

Translation of Latin proverb

PROLOGUE

A tiny, perfect wave flopped onto the absurdly beautiful beach. A few seconds later it was followed by another, then another, in a faultless rhythm, the warm water seeking out Kate’s toes as she stood at the edge of the turquoise ocean. She looked up at the horizon, the blue of the sea merging with the sky. She lifted her sunglasses, checking out the colours both with and without the tinted lenses. Which was more incredible? Glasses up. Glasses down. Impossible to choose.

Plip! Plip! went the water, in a pattern repeated over time eternal. And then suddenly, a rogue wave came too quickly, a double time Plip! Plip! that upset the rhythm and, in doing so, altered the flow forever. At one point, Kate had thought her life was set on a predictable path, that she was going in a direction that would never change. Then, quite unexpectedly, everything was thrown out of sync. Even now, she thought, twisting the ring on her finger, no one knew what was in store. You just didn’t know what was going to hit you next.

ONE

2017

‘It’s the police,’ said Kate, looking out of her kitchen window. She jerked the stuck wooden blind to get a better view. Across the close, Iris struggled with arthritic fingers for a full minute trying to unlock her porch door. Two police constables, a man and a woman, waited outside patiently as Iris glanced up through the glass with a flustered smile.

‘Bloody little shits,’ said Kate.

‘They look quite well behaved to me,’ said Becky, peering over Kate’s shoulder.

‘You know what I mean. The little buggers who’ve been graffiti-ing the back of her fence. Ripping holes in it. They should pick on someone their own size. Or age. Oh, thank God, I was just about to go over.’ Kate felt Iris’s relief as the door finally opened. She could tell by the way Iris was gesturing that she was being overly apologetic, in the way her generation often are, not used to needing help, not wanting to be a burden. Iris looked up and Kate threw her an encouraging wave. Iris nodded, then disappeared back into the house, the police removing their hats before doing the same.