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Chapters (80)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise for Debbie Howells
  3. Readers gave The Vow five stars …
  4. Dedication
  5. Niamh
  6. Chapter One
  7. Niamh
  8. Chapter Two
  9. Niamh
  10. Chapter Three
  11. Chapter Four
  12. Niamh
  13. Chapter Five
  14. Niamh
  15. Chapter Six
  16. Chapter Seven
  17. Chapter Eight
  18. Chapter Nine
  19. Niamh
  20. Chapter Ten
  21. Chapter Eleven
  22. Niamh
  23. Chapter Twelve
  24. Chapter Thirteen
  25. Chapter Fourteen
  26. Chapter Fifteen
  27. Niamh
  28. Chapter Sixteen
  29. Chapter Seventeen
  30. Chapter Eighteen
  31. Niamh
  32. Chapter Nineteen
  33. Chapter Twenty
  34. Chapter Twenty-One
  35. Chapter Twenty-Two
  36. Niamh
  37. Chapter Twenty-Three
  38. Chapter Twenty-Four
  39. Chapter Twenty-Five
  40. Chapter Twenty-Six
  41. Niamh
  42. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  43. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  44. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  45. Niamh
  46. Chapter Thirty
  47. Chapter Thirty-One
  48. Chapter Thirty-Two
  49. Chapter Thirty-Three
  50. Chapter Thirty-Four
  51. Niamh
  52. Chapter Thirty-Five
  53. Chapter Thirty-Six
  54. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  55. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  56. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  57. Chapter Forty
  58. Chapter Forty-One
  59. Niamh
  60. Chapter Forty-Two
  61. Chapter Forty-Three
  62. Niamh
  63. Chapter Forty-Four
  64. Chapter Forty-Five
  65. Chapter Forty-Six
  66. Niamh
  67. Chapter Forty-Seven
  68. Chapter Forty-Eight
  69. Chapter Forty-Nine
  70. Niamh
  71. Chapter Fifty
  72. Niamh
  73. Chapter Fifty-One
  74. Chapter Fifty-Two
  75. Niamh
  76. Keep Reading …
  77. Acknowledgements
  78. About the Author
  79. Also by Debbie Howells
  80. About the Publisher

‘You can’t change the past, Hollie. It’s happened. You have to move on,’ I begged her.

But her eyes were wild, desperate, as she stared at me. ‘He’s evil, Niamh … Look what he did to Dylan. We can’t let him get away with it. He has to pay.’

As she said that, I knew she was right. My father deserved to atone for his sins, for the cruelty inflicted on all of us. But an image of my mother’s face came to me. She’d suffered too much already. ‘You can’t hurt my mother,’ I said softly.

‘God, Niamh … this isn’t about your mother.’ Throwing her arms up in the air in an exaggerated show of frustration, Hollie turned her back on me and started walking away.

I felt rage explode in me then, that Hollie didn’t care about my mother or about me; that she had the power to destroy what remained of my family. ‘You don’t understand,’ I screamed, running at her, knocking her off her feet.

As she lurched sideways and fell, I heard her hit something. When she sat up, she rubbed her head. When she looked at her fingers, they were covered in blood. ‘Shit, Niamh.’ But her voice was subdued now. ‘We’d better go back.’

We’d reached the hedge by the pool when her steps became uneven. Suddenly, she lurched closer to the edge, then started to lose her balance, reaching out for something to grasp on to. I heard the wind gusting through the trees, saw the wildness in her eyes as they met mine. I wanted to reach out and grab her hands, but something stopped me.

It happened in a split second. She didn’t cry out as her head cracked against the side of the pool. Then her body hit the water beneath the leaves. In the dim light, I stood there as she floated for a moment, motionless. Around me, the wind was picking up force. Glancing up, I saw the clouds racing across the sky. When I looked back down towards the pool, the leaves had closed over the surface. Hollie had gone.

If you enjoyed The Secret, the author would love you to leave a review. And if you’d like to read more of Debbie Howells’ twisty thrillers, pre-order her new novel, The House Sitter!

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Acknowledgements