When I point out how serious it is, Amber laughs, saying she’d have done the same thing if she was him. It worries me, how easily she accepts his deceit. How he managed to enter her world unnoticed. Who else could do that? My mind doesn’t want to go there.

‘Don’t make a big deal of it, Ma,’ she says leaving the room, her face glued to the picture of her half-brother.

Tom comes through the front door at the same time as the boys run out from the playroom. His face looks as flustered as I feel.

‘I’ve told her,’ I say pulling open the press door in the hope I might find a tin of spaghetti or something to put on toast for Cian and Aaron. Amber can go to the chipper.

‘What did she say?’

‘Like you, she doesn’t seem to give a shit that she was stalked by him. She’s back in her room, probably messaging him as we speak.’

‘Maybe that’s a good thing.’

‘Tom, are you out of your fucking mind? We know nothing about this young man who – by the way – lied to you about contacting your daughter. Or so you say, I’m not sure what to believe anymore.’

‘You have to believe me, Sal, I didn’t know, I would not have allowed him do that.’

‘Well, there you go, Tom. Like father like son.’

‘For fuck’s sake, Sal, you’re being totally unreasonable.’

‘Daddy said fuck!’ Cian exclaims, bringing both boys to a halt staring up at their father.

‘I’m sorry, it just slipped out,’ Tom says kneeling down to talk to the two boys.

‘Silly Daddy,’ I say sternly, putting two plastic beakers full of juice on the table. The boys are far too old for beakers, but Aaron still has too many accidents with regular cups, so sometimes I take the easy option and give them beakers. It won’t kill them.

‘Silly Daddy,’ Aaron laughs as they both take their place at the table.

Two plates of toast and spaghetti later and the boys are rendered silent.

‘What do we do now?’ Tom says. ‘I’m supposed to report to the social worker how the meeting went.’

My head is banging with pain. Pulling open a drawer I search and find a packet of paracetamol then fill a glass of water and swallow two down.

‘Tell her what you want, Tom, we need to talk about all this but I haven’t the energy now.’ He makes to leave the room like a kid having been told ‘yes you can go to the movies with your pals,’ when I add, ‘And make sure you tell her about your son stalking our daughter.’

Chapter Twenty-Seven

It’s been nine days since I saw that photo. Nine days, since the world I thought I was living in began to unravel. One small image. That’s all it took.