“Of course. Two good parents, and she’s got that. It doesn’t mean they have to be a couple.” She thought of her own parents then, who were really her biological grandparents. They’d stayed together and provided a stable enough environment for her early years, but the cracks were there even for them, growing wider with the secret amounts of vodka that Marianne poured in. As for her biological father, Ruby had no idea where he was now. He was just a name without even a face attached. A teenage boy at the time of her conception, he’d probably forgotten Ruby even existed.

“And now all I want is for her to be happy, to be well again. Because despite everything, she’s a brilliant mother. Or she would be, given the chance.”

“Yes,” said Ruby. “And you’re more than a brilliant father. You’re having to take care of Constance too.”

He turned toward her, looked into her eyes. “Ruby. Can I ask you something?”

Her heart started racing. “Of course.”

“When I was out of the room, what did she say to you?”

Ruby hesitated. “Why?”

“I feel like I don’t know what’s going on in her head anymore. I hate to have to ask you, but she barely speaks to me these days.”

“She said something about a coat. I didn’t understand it. I think it was part of her delusion.” She remembered the horrible accusation then and instinctively moved away from him. “She also said you locked her in the bedroom. Did you actually do that, Gregor? Because if so …”

“Oh, Jesus,” said Gregor. “Oh no. This is how it started last time. It’s worse than I thought.”

“What?”

“Look, I’ll show you.”

He took out his smartphone and pressed “Play” on a video. It took Ruby a second to realize what she was looking at. There on the screen was the room they were sitting in, from above. She looked up, searching for a camera, but could see nothing. In the video the room was disheveled, and there was a figure moving around it, frantically searching.

“A burglar?”

“Look closer.”

It was Constance. She was pulling the room apart, removing cushions from the sofas and throwing them, tipping chairs, pushing over the coffee table. She disappeared from the shot, and the camera switched to the kitchen.

“Do you have cameras everywhere?”

He grimaced, nodded his head yes. “I have to. It’s for everyone’s safety.”