“You can ring me if there’s any need to.”

“Do you think there will be?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” He placed a gentle hand on each of her upper arms. She tried not to flinch away, not wanting him anywhere near her, not wanting him to know that was how she felt. “I’ve been thinking, actually, that maybe you were right about treatment for Constance. Maybe it’s too much for us to handle.”

“You think she ought to see someone?” Ruby felt a small rush of hope then. If Constance could get to a doctor, maybe she could get away from Gregor.

“I found a residential treatment program that might be right for her. It’s a commitment, though. She’d have to go away for a few weeks and wouldn’t be allowed contact with us.”

“Oh, I see. No contact at all? Not even with Leonie?” The hairs on her neck stood up.

He shook his head, the regret apparently genuine. His act was so convincing. “The therapy is quite intense, but what with her being as bad as she is now, I think it might be worth it.” It was as if he were a different creature entirely from the cruel and violent man from moments ago.

“Where is it, this therapy place?”

“It’s going to be hard for all of us, not to contact her. So, I think it’s best I don’t tell you.”

She knew then, with a cold certainty, that if Constance went away, she wouldn’t be coming back—he’d make sure of it. She felt as if her heart would pound out of her chest. “H-how long would she be gone?”

“Until she’s better, I guess.”

Ruby stared at him, trying to work out what he wanted her to say, how she ought to respond. If he could fake it, so could she. Outwardly, she managed to look relieved and hopeful. Inwardly, her guts churned with fear. “Okay,” she said.

“But would you—I mean, if it came to it, if I can get her on the program—would you help me with the baby when she’s away? You’d come to stay?”

So, that was the plan. With Constance gone, he’d need a replacement there, to do the bulk of the childcare. She pretended to consider it. “Just while she’s away? I can do that, sure.”

He grinned with relief. “Thank you. Seriously, you don’t know how much that means to me. You’re so good with Leonie. She loves you more than she loves me, I think.”

Ruby forced herself to laugh, to show that she thought that was ridiculous. But it wasn’t. It was the only true thing he’d said so far. There had always been caution in the way Leonie interacted with her father. She should have known there was something very wrong.