She had probably only been unconscious for a couple of minutes, if that, and the first thing she was aware of was the pain. Her head and face throbbed and an intense searing sensation was cramping her stomach. She could taste something metallic. Was it blood? And there was a horrible whimpering sound. It took her a moment to realise it was coming from her.

All she wanted to do was curl up in a ball, but something heavy was pinning her down.

Where was she?

She forced her eyes open. They were watering badly and she struggled to see through the blur. Blinking, she tried to clear them, and as she did, the fog lifted.

Bill.

She could see him now, realised she was on her bed, flat on her back, and that he was sitting on top of her. He was leaning forward so she only had a view of his torso and for a moment she wondered what he was doing. Then she realised she couldn’t move her hands. Her arms were pulled above her head, rope tightening around her wrists as he lashed them to the headboard.

Panic kicked in and she started thrashing beneath him. He held her down easily, appearing amused at her efforts.

‘Glad to see you’re awake. I don’t want you to miss any of this.’

This couldn’t be happening.

A fresh wave of cramps hit, turning to nausea. She needed to sit up, needed to get to the bathroom, but the rope and his weight on top of her prevented her from doing so.

‘Please… I’m going to be sick.’

His face was close to hers now, his hot putrid breath intensifying her need to vomit.

‘Did you ever show any mercy to my mother? No, you didn’t. So why the fuck should I show any to you? She served her time, but you just couldn’t leave her be.’

What?

‘All she wanted was to live the rest of her life out in peace. You had to keep at her though. Pick, pick, pick.’

‘I don’t know what… I don’t know what you mean.’

A hard slap across her cheek distracted her momentarily from her cramping belly.

‘Liar! Do you think I’m bloody stupid? I know exactly what you and your boyfriend have been up to.’

Who was he talking about? Did he mean Liam?

His weight shifted as he climbed off the bed and she watched as he left the room without saying another word.

Groaning in pain, she tried to turn onto her side, pulling her knees up into a foetal position. She needed the cramps to subside so she could think straight, because right now she didn’t understand what she was supposed to have done. She hadn’t seen Mrs W since her release.