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Back The Village Save as PDF
Chapters (62)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. DEDICATION
  4. CONTENTS
  5. START READING
  6. PROLOGUE
  7. CHAPTER ONE
  8. CHAPTER TWO
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. CHAPTER FOUR
  11. CHAPTER FIVE
  12. CHAPTER SIX
  13. CHAPTER SEVEN
  14. CHAPTER EIGHT
  15. CHAPTER NINE
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  23. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  24. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  25. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  56. CHAPTER FIFTY
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  61. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  62. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

‘Best you keep that under your pillow,’ Lloyd whispered, as he rose from his chair.

‘I will,’ Grace replied on the cusp of a yawn. ‘Thank you, Uncle Lloyd.’ Taking the iPad, she slid it beneath her covers. There was no way her mother would allow her to keep it.

He reached out and squeezed her hand. ‘Your happiness is thanks enough, little lady. Looks like I’ve tired you out.’

‘Your sandwich is waiting,’ Susan said, standing in the doorway. She had brushed her hair, changed her clothes and put some lip gloss on. No wonder she had given them time alone. ‘What are you looking so happy about, Grace?’ She tilted her head to one side.

Grace’s smile faded. If Mummy found her iPad, she would take it away. She rested her head on her pillow, unable to find the right words.

‘I’m not doing my job if I don’t make my favourite girl smile!’

Lloyd said his goodbyes before joining Susan in the hall.

As Grace’s bedroom door clicked shut, she exhaled a relieved breath. For now, she could lose herself to sleep. Tonight, she would use the iPad to seek help. Dare she dream that she would finally be free?

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

‘I come in peace.’ Harmony raised her open palms as she traipsed into their hotel suite. ‘Hear me out. Let me say my piece and then I’ll go.’

There was no malice on her face. She surveyed the room, her red hair wet and straggly as it hung limply over her parka coat.

‘I’ll leave you to it.’ Slipping her hotel key card from the back pocket of her jeans, Connie turned to Naomi. A look passed between them. Naomi delivered a nod to say she would be OK. The atmosphere grew strained as Ed stared at his ex, his arms folded, jaw set.

‘I’m not here to cause trouble,’ Harmony reiterated, her eyes fixed on Ed’s face. She unzipped her coat, the silver bangles on her arms jingling a tune.

‘Mum, sit down.’ Morgan gestured towards a chair. She looked nervous and uncertain as her eyes darted from her mum to Naomi. So different from the girl Naomi had first met. A girl filled with spite and hatred. A girl who wanted her dead.

‘I’m not here for a social visit,’ Harmony said, staying put. ‘I’m here to take you home.’

There was a time when Naomi would have loved to have heard those words, but now she was filled with a sense of dread.

‘I’ll make some tea,’ Naomi said, the classic British answer to everything.

‘You don’t have to do that,’ Ed said firmly, touching her arm.

‘She’s been travelling for hours,’ Naomi said. ‘The least we can do is make the woman a hot drink.’