Chapters (68)
- Cover
- Dedication
- NOW
- One
- BEFORE
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- NOW
- Twenty-One
- BEFORE
- 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
- NOW
- Thirty-Nine
- BEFORE
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- NOW
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- AFTER
- Fifty-Six
- Acknowledgements
- About the Author
‘Right, “The Game”,’ Mark said, using his fingers to emphasise the point that he didn’t really understand what this was all about. ‘Is it possible, with all the things that she’s done over the past year or so, that it could have been used against her?’
‘I don’t know…’
‘Obviously she said something, or did something, that resonated. Otherwise you wouldn’t remember it. You need to start telling me everything. This is too serious now. No one thinks you have anything to do with Emily’s death at the moment, but that can change if you keep things from me. People will think you’re lying by omission and think you have something to hide. You’ve got to give me something to work with here.’
‘I never asked you to do anything.’
Mark sighed and leaned forward in his seat. ‘I know you didn’t, but you need answers. Your mum and the rest of the family need them as well. Right now, this is what we have. I need you to start talking to me.’
It was Stephanie’s turn to sigh. ‘It was a few months back, when I came home from university for the summer. I was going to be living back at the house, but I decided to stay with some mates instead. One of them had digs and a spare bed, which made more sense than moving back home for a couple of months. Easier all round. Emily wasn’t happy, but I didn’t understand why. Whether it was the thought of being on her own, even though we both hated sharing a bedroom. Or that I had friends and she didn’t. I don’t know. I went round there and wanted to pick up some of the clothes I’d left at home. She came in the bedroom while I was going through them. She asked me about it. The Game, I mean. Asked if I knew anyone who had actually done it. Played. I said no, because it wasn’t real.’
‘Did she tell you why she was asking?’
Stephanie nodded her head, her hands clasped together in her lap. ‘Yeah, she said she’d been looking into The Game. Said she’d found some things online that had made her interested in it. Looking back now, I think she wanted to talk to me more about it because of what I’d done in sixth form.’
‘Sixth form?’