He nodded. He looked like a man who was on his way to the gallows and knew his soul was already damned.

‘Aye,’ he said softly.

It was time for the truth.

Chapter 76

76

The air outside was thick with humidity, the storm to our south casting the land into deep shadow. It was pushing up fast and would be overhead soon. For now, though, the evening sun continued to beat down on the villa with an intense, relentless Mediterranean heat that started to bake my skin as soon as we stepped outside. Sean and I found a couple of chairs and sat down at the far edge of the balcony, the French countryside spread out below us like a watercolour painting in vivid greens and deep, earthy browns.

‘Before I say anything else, Sean, I just want to make one thing clear between us.’

‘OK,’ he said uncertainly.

‘I’ve never trusted anyone in my life the way I trust you,’ I said. ‘Not even my parents or my sister. The things I tell you, the things we share – I trust you completely.’

He nodded but said nothing.

‘But this week that trust has been tested to the limit, to the point where I thought things would never be the same again, that we could never go back to the way they were. But I still think there’s a chance we can go back. Do you?’

He swallowed hard.

‘I hope we can.’

‘Well, the only way that’s going to happen is if you trust me. You have to trust me. You have to tell me what’s going on, right here, right now. I need the truth.’

‘I know.’

‘And I swear to God, I swear on my life, if you don’t tell me the absolute truth – and I mean everything – the first thing I’ll do when we get home is file for divorce. It’ll kill me, but I will do it.’

‘Don’t,’ he said quickly. ‘Don’t do that.’

‘No more secrets, then.’

He nodded. ‘No more secrets.’

‘Good.’

He seemed to buckle in on himself, slumping into his chair as if he had been holding something back for so long that all of his energy was exhausted. When he spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.

‘I didn’t do it. I didn’t push Izzy over the edge.’

I took his big right hand in both of mine. ‘I know, Sean. I know you didn’t.’

He looked up, blinking in surprise. ‘You do?’

‘Yes.’

‘But you thought I . . .’

‘Not any more – I’ve finally figured some things out.’ It was nowhere near the truth, but I needed him to think that I knew, to push him into telling me. ‘I just need you to help me put the pieces together in the right order.’

He leaned back in his seat until he was staring straight up at the sky, at the dark clouds gathering overhead.