‘Get what, Verity?’ Confusion bounced through him, his heart thumping, unable to comprehend what his sister was telling him. He knew he should grab both children and run away from the place where poison oozed through the walls, and never come back – but he needed to know. He needed to know what secrets Verity had been keeping from him.

‘When I came back from Europe, I had a daughter. Her name was Faith. She was two months old.’ Verity’s eyes are glassy, a layer of tears on her lashes. She strokes Tiger’s hair. ‘This is Faith.’

‘What the …? I don’t understand. When? Who—’

‘I thought I’d actually fallen in love when I met her father, Mikolaj. That my life was changing for the better. And then he was gone.’

Hugh dragged his fingers through his hair, eyes flashing from Verity to Tiger. ‘Why the hell didn’t you tell me?’

‘I was abroad when I found out I was pregnant. You were here, wrapped in your own happiness with Pippa. I couldn’t turn to you, Hugh. I just couldn’t. And anyway, I planned to get rid of it at first.’

‘But you decided to keep it – her?’ Hugh looked at the child being held in a vice-like grip by Verity. Had the little girl he struggled to bond with never been his? Was she really Verity’s daughter?

‘As time went by, the harder it was to go through with an abortion. So I kept her.’ She stroked her hand over Tiger’s hair. ‘Best decision I ever made. Then, when you rejected your baby the day Pippa died, a child I knew you would eventually grow to love, I decided to make a swap.’

‘Christ, Verity.’ Hugh covered his mouth. ‘What the hell were you thinking?’

‘I wanted my baby to feel your love. It was easy to make you believe she was yours. You weren’t interested, barely looked at her when she was tiny. But I felt sure one day you would, and when you came to your senses, my child would be your child – and we could be a family.’ She paused for a moment. ‘I intended to get rid of your daughter, but it wasn’t as easy as that. I couldn’t bring myself to hurt her. So I kept her in the attic.’

Guilt surged through Hugh. If he hadn’t left Verity to bail him out, just like he’d done his whole life, none of this would have happened. If the going got tough, if he couldn’t cope, there Verity would be – to the rescue – saving him, or picking up the pieces. But this time she’d gone too far. He’d gone too far.