Page 59

BEFORE

July 1983

Kimberly

The Carousel , Spanish Coast

Kimberly’s heart raced as she sprinted across the salon floor, her handbag nearly causing her to trip. She called out desperately, ‘Wait, please. Wait.’

Having spent so long pretending to be someone she wasn’t, Kimberly had lost touch with her true identity. Now, standing face to face with her past, her mask finally dropping, she felt panic sweep over her. The thought of Sally calling security filled her with dread. If Robert was taken away from her, she knew she’d also lose Jason and Lily.

Sally’s expression was now hard and cold, unlike the kind and warm face Kimberly had known for years. But Kimberly knew she was to blame for this change in Sally’s demeanour.

But the thing was she wasn’t Elsie – not any more. She’d spent the past couple of years redefining herself. And she liked Kimberly in a way that she had never liked Elsie.

So, was it fair that she be held accountable for the part of her past that she’d left so far behind?

She needed to come up with a plan before it was too late and she lost everything.

‘You can’t call security,’ Kimberly said firmly, her hand shaking as she held it over Sally’s.

‘Give me one good reason,’ Sally countered.

And in that desperate moment, as Kimberly tried to buy some time, the perfect answer came. ‘Ian Baldwin.’

Sally’s face blanched at the mention of his name, understanding beginning to dawn.

‘If you call security, then he’ll be notified, won’t he?’ Kimberly continued, her voice going stronger as her thoughts crystallised. ‘And you said yourself he damned you publicly, stating that you were a bad mother. He’ll take Robert . . .’ She corrected herself when she saw Sally’s face flinch. ‘He’ll take Zach. You know I’m right. You will get your son back, only to lose him again. Do you think a judge will allow you to keep him?’

Sally collapsed onto the couch in the reception area, her body shaking uncontrollably. The weight of Kimberly’s words had crushed her, leaving her feeling vulnerable and helpless.

‘You could leave Zach with me . . . with Jason and his little sister, Lily.’ Kimberly held a placating hand up when Sally yelled out an immediate no. ‘You could come to live in Dublin with my family. We bought a new house a few months ago. It’s got four bedrooms. I’ll introduce you as my long-lost sister. You’ll be Robert’s godmother. And, this way, you can see him every day.’ Kimberly smiled encouragingly. ‘My husband and I have money. We have our own business, and it’s doing well. Since working with Jason, I’ve transformed it, doubling our revenue. I can pay you too, give you a lump sum, so you can open that salon you’ve always dreamed of . . .’

Kimberly saw she had made a mistake mentioning money when anger flashed over Sally’s face at the clumsy attempt to bribe her.

‘You think I’d give up my son for money?’ Sally’s voice was high-pitched in its incredulity. ‘You are delusional, Elsie Evans, if you think I’d ever agree to that.’ She stood up and moved close to Kimberly, their noses an inch apart. ‘I want my son back. And there is no other solution here than that. So you can forget your fairytale nonsense of me living as a second-class godmother.’

Kimberly nodded along, her mind racing again as she tried to work out her next move, anything but allowing Sally to finish placing her call to security – her hand still hovered over the receiver.

‘You need to understand that in the same way that you can’t lose Zach I cannot lose Jason and Lily,’ Kimberly stated as she felt terror snake its way around her body, making her tremble. For the first time, she truly understood the horror through which she’d put her best friend. But they’d reached a stalemate, and they both knew it.

Then an idea came to Kimberly, and she knew there was only one thing they could do so they both got to keep their families.

‘You have to take Robert. Abduct him. Then disappear forever,’ Kimberly said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Sally’s hand fell limply to her side. Kimberly led her back to the couch, and they sat side by side, as they’d done hundreds of times throughout their childhood. Sally listened as Kimberly made a plan to get them out of trouble – as she’d always done.