An invisible domino effect had been set in motion, and no one could have predicted the outcome. Would her dad have been killed in an accident if he hadn’t been late for the theater, or if Liv’s mum had waited for him by the park gates? She could ask herself all the questions on earth and there was no way of knowing. Every second of every day, you made decisions that affected your future and that couldn’t be reversed.

Completely drained of energy, Liv crashed sideways onto the pillow. The events of the day played out in her mind in freeze frames. The will, Anthony’s lies, the brass key and the broken awards crunching under her feet. The taxi ride, Essie’s secret apartment, the photos of her dad and his letters. She tried to get up but a wave of exhaustion hit her, making her hug her stomach. She just about managed to text Jake to tell him she wasn’t coming home that night.

Where are you? he said. Are you okay?

She was so fatigued she could only manage one word in reply, Yes.

The room soon grew darker and noise from upstairs and the hallway petered out. Liv’s eyelids were so heavy she fell into the kind of deep sleep that had evaded her for weeks.

She woke in the morning to the sound of a radio blaring something. She missed the sounds of Jake, Mack or Johnny moving about. After wiping her face in the bathroom, she called her husband.

“Where were you last night?” he said urgently.

“It’s a long story.” She gnawed the side of her thumbnail. “Essie owns another flat, from her student days.”

“Has she asked you to clean it?”

“No, but there are things here I have to do. I need to be by myself.”

“What’s going on?” he said. “Just come home. We can talk here.”

“I can’t. Not yet.”

He was quiet for a while. “Look, I know I messed up. You don’t have to leave. I’ll go if you want me to.”

She shook her head at her phone. “No, it’s not that...”

“Are you there with someone else?” His voice was full of pain.

She cupped a hand to her face, too shattered to deal with this. “Of course not.” Her words sounded vacant to her. For almost six months there had been someone in her life. Essie. Focusing on the author had stolen her attention away from her husband and family.

“How long will you be?” Jake said.

“I’m not sure yet. For as long as it takes.”

“You’re speaking in riddles.”

“And that’s what it feels like talking to you, Jake, about Paperpress.”