‘I want this Communion to be really great, Lena. Tania is our only daughter, and for the first time ever you can pick out a dress. With the boys it was so different, I know – just nice suits and shirts. But this time you get to go over the top! So I will leave you and Ria to sort it out.’

Daniel could sense the strained atmosphere between his wife and his sister-in-law because of the state of affairs between him and Peter, and he knew that his presence would not make it any easier. He needed Lena and Ria to be friends – it gave the illusion to the world that all was well with the Bailey brothers, even if people knew the real score.

As he left his house, he looked around him, and he saw the home he had provided as other people would see it. At the front door he paused and, turning round he looked at the hallway, saw the tired carpets and the grubby wallpaper. The kitchen door was open and he saw the old-fashioned units, as if for the first time. He wondered at Lena then; she had never really bothered about their surroundings – it was clean and cheerful but it was also dated and cheap. It had never bothered him before; now, though, he felt that his home should reflect him and his success, and a little bit of him resented Lena for never wanting that for herself. She still salted money away, and he had been grateful for her thriftiness in the past, God knew. But now he suddenly felt that his home should have been upgraded a long time ago to befit a man of his standing, and reflect his status.

Peter lived like a fucking king; he had always said that a house was an investment, and he had bought and sold many over the years, so that now he had a seriously big drum. Electric gates and the privacy that only money could buy. Daniel could easily have the same – he had enough legit businesses to cover any costs he incurred.

His mother’s words had penetrated and he was genuinely trying to look at the world through his sons’ eyes. They wanted him to toe the line, and he was trying desperately to do just that; it was fucking hard going if he was honest. But he was determined to keep a low profile as such, and listen to the boys’ advice and, by doing so, he hoped to eventually fit in with the rest of his so-called peers. He’d cut down on the drugs for a start – he still did the odd line but he felt like he had a clearer head now.