Ed exchanged a glance with Naomi, anger twisting his features. ‘It was bad enough when you were abusing me, but trolling your own daughter while bringing that drug dealer into your lives . . . You really are sick in the head.’

Naomi bit back the reprimand skimming her tongue. They had all failed Morgan, but why upset her now? Ed leaned forward to stand, but Naomi placed her hand on his. They had to keep calm if they had any chance of getting through this. ‘So Joel used the account you set up under the name of Taz? When did you find out?’ Naomi said, feeling a tiny sense of satisfaction at watching this woman squirm.

‘On holiday. He’d seen me talk to Morgan online a few times. I never thought he’d log in himself. I told him he was disgusting, pretending to be someone he wasn’t so he could flirt with my girl. I threatened to call the cops on him. We had a massive fight.’

Oh, the irony, Naomi thought.

Realisation widened Morgan’s eyes. ‘Is that when you fell off the balcony?’

Harmony nodded. ‘I didn’t fall. I was pushed.’

Ed rose from his chair. This time Naomi didn’t stop him. She had expected drama and Harmony delivered in bucketloads. She reined in her thoughts. Who was she to judge?

Ed looked at his ex-wife like she was a stranger. It was hard to imagine them ever being happy together. Was Harmony a lost soul that he hadn’t been able to save? She looked like a petulant teenager as Ed remonstrated with her. ‘You should have reported it to the police—’

‘I wasn’t well, was I?’ Harmony interrupted. ‘But as soon as I was able, I made it my business to track the bastard down.’ She turned to her daughter. ‘But I was too late . . . and I’m sorry. I let you down.’

Morgan’s lips thinned. It seemed she could barely meet her mother’s eye.

Ed’s face was thunderous at this latest admission. Naomi knew what he was thinking – that Joel could have killed them both. The only thing stopping him from saying more was the guilt that he felt.

Smiling, Harmony touched her daughter’s hair. ‘It’s safe now. You can come home.’

But Morgan bristled at the contact, her shoulders hunched.

‘I’ve been to the police,’ Harmony continued. ‘I’ve given them enough evidence on Joel to put him away for years. His customers, his suppliers. Everything.’ Her glance flickered to Ed. ‘It means we’ll have to move away – these are dangerous people. They don’t appreciate being grassed on.’

We? Naomi thought, with a rising sense of discomfort. ‘It’s best that Morgan stays with us,’ she said. ‘She’s had a lot of disruption . . .’ Morgan needed stability. She needed a loving home.

‘She’s my flesh and blood!’ Harmony’s finger stabbed the air between them.