It was yet another slap to the face. And Tony must have realised he’d said more than he meant to, because then he stepped towards her, and she became acutely aware of how much taller he was than her. He spoke quietly. ‘Don’t breathe a word of that to Andrea. I’m letting her have her hope for now, got it? Just keep your mouth shut.’

She knew she shouldn’t be afraid of her own son. She was his mother; it was still her responsibility to pull him into line. She should tell him that he’d splintered her heart when he’d betrayed his father. But there was something in the way he spoke that caused her skin to prickle and the words wouldn’t come.

And then the second thing happened.

After they’d all said their goodbyes and were about to get moving, Jill had climbed into her car and looked in the rear-view mirror. She hadn’t known that Callie and Tara were going to ride with Tony. But as she watched her two granddaughters climb into his car, she saw the look on Callie’s face.

A look of pure fear.

And the words that Tony had said when she’d confronted him came slamming back against her.

Keep your mouth shut.

And then Callie’s words, the day she’d turned up at her place in tears.

I’m keeping my mouth shut.

The two phrases tumbled around in her mind. The expression on Callie’s face. The fear in her eyes. The anguish in her voice when she’d sobbed and sobbed at Jill’s place.

Who told you to keep your mouth shut, Callie? Who told you that? And why? What were they making you keep quiet about?

Why hadn’t she pressed harder that day?

It all came back to her then. Each and every incident over the years. She sifted through them and as she delved deeper, she began to understand. She began to see them all in a different light.

It finally hit her.

Tony was not the person she thought he was.

She’d scrabbled to pick up her phone and open the email. She read it at speed. By the time she was done, it was too late to do anything about it. Both Pete and Tony’s cars were already pulling out of the service station.

She’d driven along the freeway, trying to figure out how to fix this . . . how to fix everything. And slowly, somehow, Frank materialised on the passenger seat next to her.

Why didn’t you tell me about any of this, love? His voice was soft, not angry like she’d thought he would be.

‘Because I never knew for sure. I had my concerns . . . but I thought it was nothing more than . . . some unnatural thoughts. I thought he’d grown out of it. I never believed he would actually . . .’