Liam had never met the Goldbergs, but already he couldn’t stand them. How dare they take his mother from him?

His father tried his best to make things up to him and his aunts and cousins rallied around, but life had changed and in that blink of an eye, his childhood was over.

It was over two years later when Von eventually reached out to her son, and he had just turned fifteen. Von had recently moved to Suffolk and at first she had contacted him by telephone.

By that point, he had stopped writing to her and was trying his best to get on with his life. His grades had been slipping and for a while he had been hanging out with the wrong crowd, but thanks to close supervision from his father and old friends who were there for him even when he had turned his back on them, he was gradually getting back on track. His dad had also met someone. A lady called Jennifer, and while Liam was initially wary of her, over time the pair of them had become friends.

When he was told Von was on the phone, he refused to speak with her.

The woman who had given birth to him was now dead to him, and he didn’t want anything more to do with her.

But then she had travelled to Devon, showing up at the house and blindsiding him.

She was different now. Her hair shorter and lighter, her clothes neat and smart, and her face more heavily made up. She looked like his mother, but an imposter version, and he shied away from her touch when she tried to hug him.

That was a mistake as it started the waterworks. Tears dripped from her eyes and she daintily wiped at her nose with a handkerchief, as she begged for his forgiveness.

She hadn’t meant to hurt him, she just needed to find herself. Now she was much better and stable and she wanted him to come and meet her new family.

The idea filled Liam with dread, though part of him was still curious. He talked it over with his dad and Jennifer, not knowing what to do. He was worried he would be betraying his father by going, but James was quick to allay his fear, telling Liam he would support whatever decision he made.

Initially he said no, but his mother knew how to manipulate him and her parting words were all about family, blood ties, love, and forgiveness. The guilt had gnawed away over the following days, eventually becoming too great a burden to bear, and he had conceded, agreeing to visit the Goldbergs at their new home in the village of Hixton in Suffolk.