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Chapters (56)
  1. Cover
  2. Also by Dawn Goodwin
  3. WHAT I NEVER TOLD YOU
  4. Copyright
  5. Contents
  6. Dedication
  7. Prologue
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. 7
  15. 8
  16. 9
  17. 10
  18. 11
  19. 12
  20. 13
  21. 14
  22. 15
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. 25
  33. 26
  34. 27
  35. 28
  36. 29
  37. 30
  38. 31
  39. 32
  40. 33
  41. 34
  42. 35
  43. 36
  44. 37
  45. 38
  46. 39
  47. 40
  48. 41
  49. 42
  50. 43
  51. 44
  52. 45
  53. 46
  54. Acknowledgements
  55. About the Author
  56. An Invitation from the Publisher

Matt opened the bag and pulled out a pile of Polaroids. Helen knew immediately what they were, but she wasn’t expecting the top photograph to be of her and Jason on the bench in the garden. She wanted to rip it from his hands, tear it into tiny shreds.

Matt flicked through them, confused, then tossed them aside uninterested. “I don’t get it,” he said.

Lydia continued. “She started saying all this stuff about Helen and how her best friend had vanished when they were at school, how it was Helen’s fault. She said someone close to her had given her these photos, how they proved that Helen had murdered this girl because of the photos and the party.”

“But how? Who?” Helen asked.

Lydia was crying again, her hands wringing in and around themselves. “Then she started telling me how it was only right that Helen paid for what she had done, that she didn’t deserve all this money, this house, when others had suffered because of what happened. She said she had been using the photographs to blackmail Helen and would give me a cut of the money. She said she was so proud of me for helping her, that Matt and Mills were both weak, pathetic, unhelpful.” She took a shuddering breath.

Matt scowled at the floor. “She did keep asking me about you, Helen, but I ignored it, was too busy trying to get her to like me. I thought it was because you are a writer or something, you know, like a minor celebrity – and then she lost interest in me, moved on to Lydia apparently.” He spat the words at his feet.

“I’m sorry, Matt. I thought she loved me,” Lydia whispered. “But as I listened to her today, I realised she was just using me. She wasn’t interested in me, hadn’t seen me at all. She’s just as bad as everyone else.”

She stopped talking, buried her face in her hands.

“So you lost your temper?” Helen nudged.

Lydia merely nodded.

Helen thought for a moment, working it all out. “But why drag your dad into it? He knew nothing about all of this.”

“What do you mean?” Lydia asked in a shaky voice.

“Your dad. She has been blackmailing him for money, threatening to spread rumours about him and underage girls. The photo was a threat.”

Lydia looked confused now. “I don’t know about that. She told me it was all to find out the truth, to get justice for the missing girl.”

“That bitch! He is upstairs now, despairing that his career is over! And for what?”

They all fell silent again. Matt got to his feet, started to pace.

Then Mills said quietly, “So what did happen, Mum? Who are these people? What is the truth?”

42

THEN