She destroyed my life because she didn’t speak up. And it never seemed to bother her. She seemed to carry on as if nothing had ever happened. I watched her live her perfect life.

Her marriage.

Her career.

Her family.

Her house.

Her friends.

And I wanted to destroy it all just as she had destroyed me. Justice needed to be served but as a woman, she had the upper hand. Don’t they always? So I went for her son.

Do I feel bad that Joshua was an innocent party in all this?

Not really.

It is a shame though because he’s a bright kid. To be honest, it was Chris I had initially targeted when I started grooming the girls at the youth centre. I just needed one looker to catch his eye and then accuse him of rape. And one certainly caught his eye, but the silly cow went and did exactly what I told her not to do – she fell for him. Or rather she fell for his lifestyle. She loved going with him on business trips, all the presents, the secret phone calls. And he loved having the attention of a twenty-year-old. It was the perfect match.

And even though I couldn’t persuade her to implement the second part of my plan, which was to cry rape, at least she had destroyed their marriage. Still, it wasn’t enough. I needed Claire to suffer as I had. I needed her reputation ruined.

The first time I saw Rose, I didn’t approach her at the youth club. I’d seen her type before and knew if I did, she would have brushed me off in a second. Initially, like I’d done with all the girls, I needed to find out her weakness. Everyone had one – hers, amongst other things, was money. She had expensive tastes in clothes and drugs. She also had a thirst for danger and excitement. And a little bit of revenge against her father, although it took me a while to discover that.

For months, she was just Rose, a loud, sometimes irritating presence. Rose was always at the centre of the action. The loudest, the funniest, the one with the more interesting tale to tell from the night before. She liked to draw attention to herself – in fact, there was little she wouldn’t do for attention. She was one of those girls you noticed immediately. I left her alone though because I had originally wanted girls who were vulnerable. Anyone too mouthy would be a turn-off for Chris, I knew that much.