After a heart-stoppingly bumpy flight from Dublin to Guernsey, Cristy and David walked into the vaulted kitchen of his incredible home in the wooded heights of the island to be greeted by his mother, Cynthia, and the heavenly aroma of freshly baked cookies. To Cristy it felt like coming home, and simply seeing Cynthia’s dear, crinkled face before being hauled in for a hug made her once again think of her own late mother and how alike the two were. Sweet-natured, mischievous, sharp-eyed behind the scattiness, and somehow managing to exude warmth without even trying.

‘Where is everyone?’ David asked, going to fill two mugs with coffee and helping himself to a biscuit on the way.

‘Rosie’s at rehearsals for a new play,’ Cynthia replied, ‘and Anna’s … Ah, here they are,’ she said, as the back door opened and Henry the golden retriever burst joyously through and made a beeline for David.

Connor and Anna followed, Connor unravelling his scarf as he said, ‘Good flight? Great! We have news, only we’re not entirely sure what it is yet.’

Amused, Cristy sank down on a sofa saying, ‘OK, that sounds promising. Just tell me, has anyone locked up anyone else in the past few hours?’

‘Not that we know of,’ Connor replied, grunting as Henry jumped at his groin.

Dragging the dog away, Anna said, ‘Bad boy! Go say hi to Cristy.’

Immediately Henry bounded onto the sofa and launched into a hearty lick of Cristy’s travel-weary face.

‘Basket!’ Cynthia commanded.

Henry apparently enjoyed the taste of Cristy.

‘Basket,’ David commanded.

Henry cocked his head as though puzzled by the word, before promptly doing as he was told.

‘So what’s the news you’re not sure about?’ Cristy asked, sipping her coffee as Connor brought his to the opposite sofa. ‘Well, before we get to the big stuff, the landlady in St Peter Port was no help. She was too hazy on everything and who can blame her, considering how long ago it was, and how many people must have rented from her since.’

Clearly unable to wait any longer, Anna dived straight into the main news. ‘Sadie’s found something in Lottie’s journals,’ she declared. ‘She won’t tell us what it is until after she’s shown it to Mia and as far as we know that’s where she is now. I offered to go with her – Jasper flew to London this morning – but she told me she could handle it and she’ll call as soon as she’s done.’

Concerned, Cristy said to Connor, ‘Did you speak to her before she went off on this mission?’

‘I did and frankly she sounded kind of manic. I told her to wait, that we could be there in twenty, but she was determined to go alone. Obviously we went anyway, but we can’t get past the gates without a code.’

‘I’ll call the security company,’ David said, opening up his phone. ‘If I say it’s an emergency they’ll do an override and let us in.’

‘We’re waiting for Jasper to call back,’ Anna ran on, ‘but he’s in a meeting and can’t be interrupted. Obvs he has the code.’

Only half aware of David talking in the background, Cristy was envisaging all sorts of scenarios unfolding at the villa , none of them good. Nor was the thought of Gabe, Lukas and Evie waiting patiently, trustingly, to hear when they could meet their precious Sasha.

‘OK, thanks, Jeff,’ David said into his phone. ‘We’ll head over there now.’

Cristy and Connor were on their feet, and already half out the door when Anna suddenly cried, ‘It’s Sadie!’ and quickly clicked to take the call. ‘Hey! Are you OK? We’ve been worried.’ She paused, glanced up at Cristy and said to Sadie, ‘Where are you now?’

‘Put her on speaker,’ Cristy instructed.

‘… still at the villa,’ Sadie was saying. ‘She’s a mess, but she deserved it.’

‘What do you mean, a mess?’ Anna cried, turning frightened eyes to her father.

‘I recorded it all,’ Sadie answered, her voice sounding shredded by exhaustion.

‘Jesus, we need to get over there,’ Connor muttered.

Snatching Anna’s phone, David said, ‘Sadie, we’re on our way. You need to open the gates.’

When Sadie didn’t answer, Anna cried, ‘What did you find in the journals, babe?’

‘You need to come,’ Sadie said weakly. ‘Please come. I’ll go up to the lodge and see you there.’

*

Less than half an hour later Cristy and Connor were in the lodge’s small sitting room, all pale oak beams and cosy furniture, with Sadie hunched into a capacious armchair looking both dazed and beaten, as though she’d just fought her way through some sort of storm. Anna was on the floor next to her, while David was outside dealing with the security guard who’d just turned up. Cristy didn’t know yet whether they were going to head down to the villa to check on Mia, or wait until Sadie had explained what had happened during the past hour.

‘You can listen to it all,’ Sadie said quietly, half-throwing her mobile onto the coffee table between them. ‘I told her I was recording, but I’m not sure it went in. She’s … I don’t know what she is … Crazy, cruel …’ Her breath caught on a dry sob and Anna reached up to take her hand.

‘I’m OK,’ Sadie assured her. ‘Just a bit …’ Her eyes went to Cristy, and for a fleeting moment Cristy thought she sensed something horribly dark inside her.

‘Did they come back with you?’ Sadie asked, suddenly seeming so much more vulnerable than she had a moment ago.

Knowing who she was referring to, and understanding how bewildered and conflicted she must be feeling, Cristy said, ‘They were very keen to, but you said you wanted to sort things out with your aunt first so they’re waiting …’

‘I’m glad they’re not here,’ Sadie interrupted, seeming to mean it, then her voice faltered as she said, ‘but I really … I really want to see my dad.’

Feeling her heart swelling with empathy, Cristy said, ‘What would you like me to do?’

Sadie shook her head. ‘I don’t know. I … It’s all so messed up …’ She looked at her phone and said, ‘You’ll find it in voice notes. I want to listen to it too just in case …’ She gulped as she swallowed another sob, and pressed her hands to her face.

Still amazed that she’d recorded everything, Cristy found the file and after hitting play she placed the mobile back on the table and kept her eyes on it as it began to reveal why Sadie was in such an emotional state.

SADIE: ‘I’ve read the truth, Mia. I know everything …’

MIA: ‘What are you talking about? I don’t understand you.’

SADIE: ‘I’ve got it all here, in this journal …’

MIA: ‘All what, for heaven’s sake?’

SADIE: ‘Everything you did to my mother.’

There was a lengthy silence, broken only by the sound of muted voices, too indistinct to decipher.

‘This is where I’m telling her I’m recording,’ Sadie explained.

‘Did she object?’ Cristy asked.

‘She accused me of being in thrall to you “people” and that I’d end up regretting it.’

‘Is she saying anything,’ Connor asked, ‘about what had been done to your mother?’

Sadie shook her head. ‘Not really, only that I was a fool to believe everything I read, especially if it was written by Lottie.’ She stopped as her voice became clearer on the recording.

SADIE: ‘So here it is, are you listening? I said , are you listening?’

MIA: ‘I don’t feel I have a choice. If I don’t you’ll lock me in a cupboard again.’

SADIE: ‘You’re right, I will, until the police get here.’

MIA: ‘What are you doing?’

SADIE: ‘I’ve decided you should go into the cupboard anyway. I don’t want you running away before I’ve finished.’

MIA: ‘There’s no need of that … Let me go, please. I promise I’ll sit here and listen.’

SADIE: ‘If you move from that chair you know I’ll catch you and this time I’ll put you in there without a light on.’

Mia’s next words were indistinguishable as she muttered angrily, or helplessly, probably both.

SADIE: ‘This entry in Lottie’s journal is dated Tuesday eighth of March, 2005. 2005. Do you remember that year?’

MIA: ‘You don’t have to shout. I can hear you perfectly well.’

SADIE: (reading) ‘“We received a note today from someone claiming to be Sadie’s mother. It was a terrible shock, coming out of the blue like that. Maybe we should have been better prepared, but how do you prepare for something so earth-shattering? She wants to see her child, she says, and we have to believe she’s who she’s claiming to be because she goes on to describe how she left ‘Sasha’ on the beach five years ago.

‘“We can’t let it happen, of course, for any number of reasons, although most of all it will be far too disruptive for dear Sadie when she’s so settled with us now and such a happy little child. She’s about to have her seventh birthday and she’s doing well at school, at sports, at just about everything she sets her mind to. We are tremendously proud of her, I guess you could say we’re like satellites revolving around her sweet little world. It would be very hard for me to give her up, but it would devastate Mia and I can’t have that. Mia needs Sadie in a way I don’t, although I defy her to love her any more than I do. I have a life elsewhere with my darling Robert who I plan to go to soon, when the time is right for us both. Mia’s whole existence revolves around Sadie – insofar as it revolves around anyone apart from herself. Such a needy and selfish woman, I actively detest her at times, but of course I love her too.

‘“I debated for a long time over whether I should tell her about the note from Sadie’s mother, and in the end decided I had to. I need to ensure that we are protected from blackmail, because that’s what this could be about. After all, why would the woman suddenly turn up now asking for contact, when she could have come any time over the past five years? We’re both certain she can be paid to go away, so I’m considering meeting her in the café she’s suggested. Apparently she’s going to be there every morning this week so I can choose my day. If I go I have to make sure we’re in a window seat so that Mia can take photographs from across the street. This will give us a record of the meeting – blackmail attempt – should we need it later. Mia’s idea, not mine, but no point arguing.

‘“Thursday tenth of March, 2005: I still haven’t been to the café. Mia is as frightened as I knew she would be. She’s angry too. Apart from valuing her freedom and good name, she truly believes no one has a right to take Sadie away. This attributes a depth of feeling to my sister that I’m not entirely sure she possesses. She’s all about ownership and control, and can’t bear the idea of anyone challenging her. I believe that sometimes she despises me simply for being an equal partner in our fortune, but worse than that, she’s jealous of Robert. Not that she knows his name. I’ve told her nothing about him, it’s best that way, but she’s not a fool, she knows there’s someone and I’m sure she’d do anything, anything to make him go away, mostly out of fear of me leaving her. She’ll probably fall apart if I do. I feel sorry about that, but I’m afraid he means more to me than she does. I’m already wracked with guilt about leaving the child with only Mia to take care of her, she’ll be damaged for life and the dear little thing doesn’t deserve that. Will I actually be able to make myself go when the time comes?

‘“Friday eleventh of March, 2005: I still haven’t gone into the café, but I’ve seen Sadie’s mother there waiting in case I show up. A man is always with her and I want to find out who he is before I go in. Unfortunately we have no idea how to do that as we have no contact details for the woman who calls herself Janina. Mia is certain he’s a thug who’s going to force us to give Sadie up. She could be right, but he surely can’t do that in a public place, so I’ve decided I’ll go tomorrow. If they’re not there, all well and good; if they are I guess I’ll just listen to what they have to say. If it is about blackmail we’ll go straight to the police. Or maybe not. It’s a very complicated situation, especially after all we’ve done to make our girl officially ours. If our crimes are revealed it will be an end to everything and there will be nothing we can do to stop Sadie being taken away. It could even mean prison and I don’t think Mia would survive that. I’m not sure I would either.”’

There was a pause in the recording leaving Cristy to imagine Sadie looking at her aunt, perhaps to be sure she was paying attention, or hoping for some sort of response. It was impossible to know what was going on in those moments, only that there was a silence before Sadie started reading again.

SADIE: (reading) ‘“Saturday twelfth of March, 2005. I met with the mother this morning and it turns out the man is Sadie’s father. I have no idea if that’s true, but it’s what they claimed. He said almost nothing, only watched me, as though keen for me to listen and understand what was being said. They called Sadie ‘Sasha’, of course, but I stuck with Sadie, wanting to press it home that the child they’d abandoned was someone else now. A happy, rounded little girl, who was loved and cared for, and who had every advantage in life – and no memories of them. I added that part and saw the mother flinch, but why not? I’m sure it’s true. I asked why they would want to deprive Sadie of so much (feeling certain they couldn’t equal it) and why they were only coming to find her now when there had surely been many opportunities to reclaim her since they’d abandoned her. The mother flinched again and the father looked as though he might cry. Strange man.

‘“As I listened to Janina’s reasons for leaving Sadie in our care I have to admit to being profoundly shocked – and moved. She claims she was trafficked to the UK back in ’97 and though poorly treated by the men who brought her, she was taken to the man who’d paid a large sum for her to become his ‘companion’. This was George, Sadie’s father. He’s apparently a man of some means and standing, although you wouldn’t know it to look at him. Handsome, yes, and strongly built, just not assertive or even confident enough to speak up for his wife (are they married?) or his child. When they got onto how he’d been used, exploited, by a criminal gang I began to see him in a different light and of course I felt sorry for him. Apparently the leader of this gang, someone by the name of Matis Albescu, or his son (some confusion there), has been holding Janina captive for the past five years. She didn’t go into detail of what she’d been subjected to during that time, but she didn’t have to, I am familiar enough with these kinds of stories to know what happens to girls in her position. And actually, I could see the trauma of it in her eyes. Naturally, I’m deeply upset by the experiences she’s suffered, no one deserves such a fate, but in my opinion – and Mia agrees – it makes her an even less suitable parent for Sadie.

‘“Monday fourteenth of March, 2005. The question that’s been plaguing me since meeting Sadie’s mother is whether or not I’ll be able to live with myself if I deny her access to her own child? Mia keeps ranting on about it being madness to allow the woman into our lives, and of course it would be. We might never be rid of her, and sooner or later Sadie will find out who she really is and what then? So how can we make her go away? I’m really not sure money will do it. It wasn’t mentioned while I was at the café and if the father’s as comfortably off as they claim, they don’t need it. So now I am considering Mia’s idea of tracing this Albescu character and telling him where he can find his missing sex worker.”’

MIA: ‘It was not my idea! It was hers.’

SADIE: ‘Did you try to stop her?’

MIA: ‘Yes, of course, it was a monstrous idea that only someone like Lottie could think up. You never really knew her, Sadie. All she wanted was to be with some doctor she’d met in Africa who she always claimed had saved her life. She wanted to keep you here, with me, so I wouldn’t be alone when she left to be with him. She thought I didn’t know that, but I did. She told herself it would stop me from going after her, from falling apart, from exposing the fact that we’d taken a child – you – and made you our own …’

Sadie’s voice was emotionless as she continued.

SADIE: (reading) ‘“Wednesday sixteenth of March, 2005. I have contacted Janina and invited her to meet me at the Sark View house so we can talk some more. I’d rather Mia wasn’t around, but she’s insisting that she has to be. It’s a shame she doesn’t trust me, her own sister, to do what’s best for us all.”’

MIA: ‘Sadie! Listen to me—’

SADIE: ‘No, Mia, you are listening to me.’

MIA: ‘Yes, yes, of course, but you have to understand—’

SADIE: (reading) ‘“Friday eighteenth of March, 2005. Janina has agreed to meet me at Sark View. I asked her to come alone in the hope she’ll feel more intimidated – acquiescent might be a better word – if she’s outnumbered. Mia has found herself a gun, heaven only knows where from. It doesn’t work, I’ve made sure of that …”’

MIA: ‘I never had a gun. Never!’

SADIE: (reading) ‘“I don’t anticipate anyone being hurt, unless, of course, Mia has managed over the past few days to make contact with this Matis Albescu character. Then, obviously, things won’t go well for Janina. Him taking custody again is an answer, of course, just not the one I’d have preferred.

‘“Saturday nineteenth of March, 2005. I waited at Sark View all day yesterday but Janina didn’t come. Sadie seems fretful this morning, I’m not sure why. Mia thinks we’re being watched and that something terrible is going to happen. I asked what she imagines that might be, but she seems not to have any idea.

‘“Sunday twentieth of March, 2005. I know why Janina didn’t come now and I’m so horrified I’ve started to have palpitations. How could Mia have done this?”’

MIA: ‘What? No! No!’

SADIE: (reading) ‘“She confessed about an hour ago. I’ve had to come here to my rooms to get away from her. She is even crazier than I realized …”’

MIA: ‘I don’t understand. Why has she written this? My own sister …’

SADIE: (reading) ‘“She says no one will know that Janina was coming to see us. She must have forgotten about ‘the father’. He will know, and he’s sure to come looking. What are we going to tell him? Not the truth, we can’t do that or we’ll lose Sadie for sure along with everything else. How could she have done this? I’m so angry I could strangle her.”’

MIA: ‘I didn’t do anything. I don’t know what this is about.’

SADIE: (reading) ‘“Monday twenty-first of March, 2005. The father came earlier, as we knew he would. We told him that Janina didn’t show up – that at least was the truth. He was distraught, poor man. We mentioned Albescu, and it was clearly his greatest fear. Nevertheless, he wanted to search for Janina, so I went with him and eventually, as I knew we would, we came to the spot where Janina’s car had gone off the road – where Mia had forced it off the road – down onto the rocks below. There was simply no way anyone could have survived such a fall …’”

Sadie stopped reading as her aunt screamed her denial. It was painful to hear, wrenching gulps of fear and desperate pleas to be believed. Cristy was watching Sadie as she listened, her face ashen, her eyes so large and tortured it was as if she was seeing the crumpled car for real and could register nothing beyond it.

SADIE: (reading) ‘“Tuesday twenty-second of March, 2005. The car has gone. The police must have taken it away. They are as certain as I am that it would be impossible for anyone to survive such a fall, but as yet no body has washed up on any of the nearby shores. Sometimes they never do. Everyone is wondering about the driver – they’re certain it was a woman because of the bag found inside. It’s a notoriously dangerous spot, but still they wonder, was it suicide or a tragic accident? Maybe she was drunk or high on drugs. Who was she? What happened to the body and why has no one come forward to say they’re missing a loved one?

‘“The poor ‘father’ is distraught, hardly knows what to do. Should he go to the police, tell them what he knows, but if he does will his involvement with the traffickers, or his and Janina’s abandonment of Sadie, end up making things worse? I don’t try to answer his questions, what matters is that he seems to understand we must do everything in our power to keep Sadie safe and out of the news. He’s terrified now that if Albescu does have Janina, he might come back for Sadie. He is right to be so afraid, because there’s no knowing what a man of Albescu’s character would do with a child.

‘“Tuesday nineteenth of April, 2005. Mia’s terror seems to be subsiding. She was certain for a while that the police were going to come for her, that someone had seen her using her car to force Janina’s over the edge.

‘“Luckily for Mia the ‘disposing’ of Janina seems to have gone very well. That’s how she refers to it, the disposing of a problem; she doesn’t refer to Janina by name. I am shocked, and I admit partly fascinated, to see my sister starting to show pride in the fact that she sustained no damage to her Golf when she swerved at Janina’s Fiesta. There wasn’t even the slightest collision, she tells me. Janina reacted so fast, maybe hit the accelerator instead of the brake and the next thing she’d gone and Mia simply drove on. I don’t think Mia is losing any sleep over this, if anything she’s becoming more buoyant by the day, and keeps making such a fuss of Sadie that I’m sure the poor child is feeling smothered.

‘“We’re not sure where ‘the father’ is now, if he’s left the island or still combing the shores hoping Janina’s body will turn up. Even if it does we have no need to feel concerned, there can be nothing to tie it to Mia’s murderous act, nothing at all. ‘I took care of it,’ she said to me earlier. ‘You should be grateful instead of sitting there looking at me like that.’”’

MIA: ‘I never said that. I didn’t take care of anything. It was all her.’

SADIE: (reading) ‘“Friday twenty-second of April, 2005. I need to get away from here, from her . I detest her more as each day passes and am only saved from doing something rash by the need to protect Sadie. I don’t think Mia will harm her, physically, but I know now what she’ll do if I try to leave. She has guessed how important Robert is to me, and she has told me that if I see him again, or try to leave the island without her permission, she will make sure that he knows what I did. Not only the abduction, for that’s what it was no matter how gentle or well-meaning we were at the time, but how I – I – forced Janina’s car off the road to make sure she could never take Sadie away from us.”’

Mia was clearly beside herself as she started shouting.

MIA: ‘It’s not true, Sadie. You have to believe me. It was all her. Lottie’s the one who ran your mother off the road, who tricked your father into believing Albescu had returned, who kept the police from our door. She’s twisted it all round … Sadie, don’t go, please … Oh God, oh God … No, Sadie! Please, don’t do that … Nooo! ’

Cristy looked at Sadie, certain she was going to explain what all the thudding and crashing about was, why Mia was screaming so hard, but Sadie didn’t speak, simply let the recording come to an end.

Finding herself assessing Sadie for bloodstains, scratches, bruises, ripped clothing even, Cristy said, very gently, ‘Sadie? Is your aunt OK?’

Sadie continued staring at the phone as if still trapped in the violence of those final moments. She gave a small shudder, but still didn’t speak.

‘I’ve spoken to Mia,’ David said quietly.

Cristy turned, unaware that he’d come into the room.

‘Is she all right?’ Connor asked.

‘I haven’t seen her,’ David replied. ‘She wouldn’t come out, but she told us she was fine and that we had to go away while she dealt with a private family matter.’