The three of them tucked into their food in silence for a couple of minutes.

‘Have you been to see Dad?’ Harry asked with a mouthful of fries. The question, coming out of the blue, knocked Dani. She wondered how much the kids knew about what had happened. She’d certainly never had a conversation with them about it. Nor had she spoken to Gemma much about it. In fact, she’d talked to pretty much no one about it. She certainly wasn’t going to be the one to explain to Harry that his father had killed his biological mother all those years ago in a fit of rage, covered up the crime, then years later when his life of lies and deceit was steadily unravelling, decided to go on a killing spree which included trying to kill his twin sister and Gemma – his new wife, mother to Chloe. Even Dani couldn’t make sense of that, never mind a ten-year-old and a five-year-old.

‘No. I’ve not seen him at all,’ Dani said. ‘Why do you ask?’

‘I really want to see him. But Mum says no.’

‘Why do you want to see him?’

Harry looked down at his food, his sorrow clear. ‘Because he’s my dad. I miss him.’

Dani looked from Harry to Chloe. She seemed oblivious to the conversation. She’d only been three at the time, perhaps she couldn’t even remember Ben properly. But Harry had been eight. Not only would he remember Ben but he probably knew most, if not all, of what had happened from one source or another.

‘Prison isn’t a nice place for kids,’ Dani said, realising she was treading on thin ice. This was really the last subject she wanted to be thinking about, and she didn’t want to put her foot in it and say something she shouldn’t to a ten-year-old.

‘That’s what Mum says too. But it’s not fair. I know what he did, but…’

‘But?’

‘He was a good dad. I wish he was still here.’

Dani really didn’t know what to say to that.

‘Do you think he’s a really bad person?’ Harry asked.

‘I think there’s good in him,’ Dani said, her own words shocking her.

Did she really mean that? Or had she only said it in order to ease the suffering of a child?

‘But you’re his twin,’ Harry said. ‘Aren’t you both the same? It’s not fair that he’s stuck in there and you’re out here.’