Diana? Did she know about any of this? Jason hoped she didn’t. Prayed, for Karla’s sake, that she didn’t. Because if she did, if she’d kept this information from her, Karla would want nothing to do with her either. And without her mother, she would have no one.

He needed to go inside. Jason glanced towards his office, where he’d once hoped to build a business that would thrive. He’d never wanted to compete with Robert Fenton as a businessman. It had been Fenton who’d made that part of the war between them. He’d simply wanted to support his family, and have something to hand down to his son, who showed an interest in computer technology. He’d failed. It was abundantly clear that he had. He would need to let Mark and Rachel know the outcome of his meeting – there would be no injection of cash. It was amusing, really, that Fenton actually thought he could buy his way out of this, throw money at him in exchange for his silence. Jason would keep his secret, for now, because he had to, until he’d worked out what to do. He wouldn’t be bought though. Because whoever he was, he was nothing like the man who prioritised the accumulation of wealth above the people he was supposed to love and care for.

He suspected Mark and Rachel would insist on sticking with him and continuing to try to keep the company afloat, but he couldn’t allow that. He had no idea how he was going to pay them their salaries beyond another month – two at most. He would have to be honest with them about that aspect of things, tell them to jump ship now before they went down with him.

Feeling jaded to his very bones, he dragged a hand over his neck and climbed out of his car, reaching for his ringing mobile as he did. It was the major client he’d been hoping to hang on to – had thought he would be able to hang on to, with some funding behind him. He debated briefly and then steeled himself to take the call.

‘Jason, hi. Paul Edwards here,’ the guy said, his tone cautious.