‘She was my sister,’ I say, resolve hardening with every word. ‘Kayleigh. She’s Baby Girl A. Technically she’s my half-sister but that never mattered to me. For a while it was only me, Ma and Jason, but the scroungers showed up soon as Ma started flashing her army cash. They paid her his military pension – at least that’s what I was always told, anyway. I never knew anything about my dad, just that he died a soldier … for all the good that ever did us.’

‘They gave you his army pension, even though you never knew him?’

‘Yes … until Ma let one too many chancers in on the secret. By the time Kayleigh came along it was all gone. We didn’t have a bean. She was so innocent and helpless … I’d been taking care of myself forever, then I had to take care of her too. I didn’t have any other choice.’

‘Choice? What do you mean?’

‘The army gave us everything we needed in return for … well, you know. Jason was the one who sorted it all out, he’d joined up long before. We never had enough to eat, let alone clothes, or baby stuff. And Ma could hardly get off the sofa…’

‘Are you telling me you were one of the original victims? You?’

I nod as he looks at me in worn horror.

‘They wanted me to bring her in too, so I shopped them. I couldn’t … Who could? Kayleigh was the only reason I ever 226agreed to testify … to try and keep her safe, to try and make sure she had everything I lost. It was like I got a second chance when she was born, like life just started up again right before my eyes. She was how I could make it all right … I testified against them all, went over every last bit of detail, so she’d get looked after. At least I thought it was against them all…’

I trail off into the train’s squeal as it leans into its final approach to London.