‘Mind? It will do him good to see you. You’re his stepmum, after all, and married to his dad. Maybe it will also help you to see Jackson?’

She nods, forgetting Holly can’t see her. ‘Yes, thank you. Tell me what time and I’ll be there.’

As soon as she steps into Holly’s house, she is struck by how starkly it contrasts to her own. There are bold prints and colours everywhere, the décor a mixture of styles that shouldn’t work together yet somehow do. It would be Greg’s idea of hell. The reason Sienna hasn’t experimented with more colour is because Greg always insisted on neutral shades and a minimalist feel. He abhors clutter.

‘Thanks for coming,’ Holly says, ushering her through to the kitchen. ‘Jackson’s just finishing off some homework. I only just realised he has some that’s due in tomorrow, so I told him he needs to finish it before dinner.’

Holly steps forward and gives her a hug. ‘This is weird, isn’t it? Unconventional or something? But I’m not one for following stupid rules. We’re in this together as far as I’m concerned.’

Sienna is comforted by this woman’s hug – human contact has been rare since Greg disappeared.

‘Now, before we go any further, in the interests of full disclosure, I have to admit that I’m no master chef, and I apologise now for the food you’re about to have.’ She peers into the oven. ‘It’s supposed to be paella but, um, we’ll see. No doubt Jackson will moan that it’s not chicken nuggets.’ She pulls on an oven glove. ‘Actually, he’s not too fussy with food, so I guess I’m lucky really.’

Despite the situation, and how odd it feels being in this house, which she’s only glimpsed from the car before, Sienna laughs. ‘I’m sure it will be lovely. And to be honest, any food will do right now. I haven’t had much of an appetite.’

Holly smiles. ‘They’ll find him,’ she says. ‘We have to just keep believing that.’ She reaches into a cupboard and pulls out some plates. They’re fuchsia coloured and don’t match anything Sienna can see in the kitchen. ‘Listen, before Jackson comes down, I just wanted to ask you about the police investigation without him hearing. How’s it all going?’

‘The problem is, it’s all happening behind the scenes. To me it feels as though nothing is happening, but I know DC Roberts is fully invested in finding him.’

‘Well, that’s good. I suppose they can’t update you on every detail of what they’re doing. You’ll know when something important happens.’

‘Are you talking about Dad?’

Sienna swivels round and sees Jackson standing in the doorway.

Holly rushes over to him. ‘Yes, we are, Jax, but it’s nothing to worry about. Okay?’