And did she really care what they thought anyway? She had no regrets about the things she had done and had enjoyed scaring the hell out of those spoilt and entitled kids. They had no idea how lucky they were and it had done them good to get a taste of the dark side.

She only wished she hadn’t been caught. Those little bitches had a lot to answer for. Because of them, she had lost everything.

The need for atonement, for revenge, had burned bright and strong, but she had swallowed it down, tried to be the model prisoner, and by the time her release came around, she understood it was all about playing a game, about telling those in charge what they wanted to hear.

She had been anxious and her belly jittery with nerves the day she was released, unsure of what might be waiting for her on the outside, but Bill had taken care of everything. Her boy had been there the day she was released, taking her to the house he was renting for them. She was on licence and would have to regularly meet with a probation officer, but finally, after twenty years, the freedom she had craved was hers.

Unfortunately, she quickly learnt that it came with a price.

It had taken less than forty-eight hours for word to spread around her neighbourhood and for people to realise who she was, and they weren’t happy. And then there were the journalists wanting her side of the story. Well, they could just fuck off. She remembered how they had ganged up on her before and she had nothing to say to any of them now.

Bill saw them off. Every last one of them.

The threats though, they weren’t so easy to dismiss. The first warning was graffiti on the front door. The second had been delivered on a brick through the front window. She wasn’t welcome here and she should leave before things became worse.

Eileen had grown up in foster care and had endured her fair share of bullying and abuse, but she wasn’t as tough as she used to be. She was a sixty-three-year-old woman and no match for the group of men who tried to intimidate her as she was making her way to the corner shop to buy cigarettes.

Bill was furious, but although she gave him a description of the men, he wasn’t able to track them down.

He tried his best to take care of her, but Eileen became afraid to leave the house and that wasn’t good when her boy worked away during the week.

Admitting to weakness and living in fear was tough for her to handle. From humble beginnings, she had worked her way up to top dog and then it had been stolen from her. Bitterness and rage warred with self-pity as she mourned the woman she had been and loathed the one she had become.