In excrutiating pain, Jed put his hand inside his mouth. The tip of his tongue was literally hanging there by a thread. Aware that Eddie was back-crawling up the wall, Jed forgot about his own predicament, and grabbed the hammer.

‘You ain’t going nowhere you fucking piece of shit!’ he screamed as he repeatedly smashed it against Eddie’s legs. When Ed fell to the floor, Jed ran over to where the tyres were kept. He picked up one that was attached to an alloy wheel and ran back over to where Eddie lay. ‘Tell me where my chavvies are, you cunt,’ he slurred, repeatedly smashing the wheel against Eddie’s left leg. The injury to his tongue was stopping him from pronouncing his words properly.

Eddie winced as he felt his shin snap in two, but he still didn’t groan or utter a word. The O’Haras might be capable of breaking his arms and legs, but they would never break his spirit.

Joey held his inconsolable sister in his arms.

‘Can yous two sit in the front room and keep an eye on the kids while I have a chat with Frankie?’ Joey asked Dominic and Babs.

Dom and Babs both nodded and Joey shut the kitchen door. He opened a bottle of wine and poured two glasses.

‘What the hell am I gonna do, Joey? They’ve changed so much I don’t even feel like their mother any more. I knew they would have been brought up badly, but they’re worse than my wildest dreams. I don’t like either of ’em, especially Harry – I think he’s horrible. What type of mother does that make me, eh?’ Frankie sobbed.

Joey sat his sister down at the kitchen table and handed her a glass. ‘Drink that, it will make you feel better,’ he said, before downing his own in one. Joey put his empty glass on the table and let out a worried sigh. Apart from the day that his mother had been murdered, this was probably the worst and most stressful day of his entire life. His dad’s life was in danger along with his uncle’s and stepbrothers. He’d rowed with Dom and, unbeknown to Frankie, had a gun hidden upstairs.

‘Where’s Dad? I can’t cope, Joey. I think he should take ’em back to Jed. They’ll never acclimatise to living here with me; they hate me,’ Frankie wept.

Forcing himself to be strong, Joey took his sister’s hands in his. ‘Don’t you dare fucking give up, Frankie Mitchell. Getting them kids back was never gonna be a bowl of cherries within hours of their return, was it? They’re victims of Jed, just the same as you are. They’ll settle in and grow to love you eventually, but it’s going to take a hell of a lot of patience and hard work, on your behalf especially.’