‘I spent so long thinking about her,’ Bella said, ‘wondering whether she was alive or if she’d been with him in Crete and died in the crash too. Hating her because, if she was still alive, she had the chance to grieve in private. While my face was splashed all over the front pages of every newspaper. It never occurred to me, not even for a second, that I already knew her.’

Clodagh was struggling to understand what Bella was trying to tell her. Bella’s fingers were digging into the sides of Clodagh’s face, hurting her. When she tried to twist free, Bella squeezed tighter.

‘You think I’d have spent the last five years being your friend if I’d known?’

Suddenly, Clodagh understood. And with that knowledge came fear. Using every last remaining piece of energy, she pushed Bella away from her and stood up. The room swayed, and when she tried to walk towards the door, her legs gave way and she fell to the ground. She scrabbled forward, her only thought to get away before it was too late. Bella had killed Nick and Tara. And now she was here to kill Clodagh.

She grabbed hold of the table leg, trying to haul herself up so she could run. But Bella grabbed the back of her head, pulling her back, away from the table. She could hear screaming, realised the sound was coming from herself and wondered how she had the energy to make that noise.

‘Shut up!’ Bella smacked Clodagh’s face, the sudden pain bringing a sharp focus.

‘You killed Nick.’

‘It was an accident.’ Bella let her go and Clodagh slumped back on the ground. Her limbs were heavy and uncoordinated.

‘He told me about you and Gary,’ Bella said. ‘That night at the villa. I didn’t believe him at first. But the more he talked, I realised he was telling the truth. He thought it was funny. Kept laughing as if it was all one big joke. I couldn’t stand it. I pushed him away from me and he fell forward. He was on his hands and knees, still laughing. I wanted him to shut up but he wouldn’t. I picked up a stone and I hit him, and I kept hitting him, again and again. And you want to know something, Clodagh? Nothing I’ve ever done before or after made me feel as good as I did in that moment.’

Clodagh was drifting. Watching her body, on the ground. Looking down as Bella rolled her onto her back, pushed up her sleeves and put Adam’s Japanese chef’s knife into Clodagh’s hand. Bella wrapped Clodagh’s clumsy fingers around the handle and sliced the blade into the white skin on the underside of her wrist. A sharp pain and the warm rush of blood, as Bella put the knife in Clodagh’s other hand.