The Invite: A completely addictive psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist by Sheryl Browne

Author:Sheryl Browne [Browne, Sheryl]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bookouture

Twenty-Nine

Kaitlin

Opening the front door, her mum took one look at Kaitlin’s face, and then gave her a firm hug and shepherded her along the hall. Once in the kitchen, she guided her to the table and made sure she sat. ‘Have you eaten?’ she asked, diplomatically avoiding the question she must have been burning to ask.

Kaitlin shook her head and breathed in hard. Once DI Diaz and Sally had gone, she’d sobbed until she’d retched and couldn’t cry any more. What good would crying do? Tears wouldn’t bring Zoe back. Wouldn’t bring back the child whose name she was sure Greg had stolen.

What had Greg done? How could he have?

‘When you want to talk …’ her mum said softly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Kaitlin placed a hand over her mum’s and squeezed hard. ‘I’m okay,’ she lied, striving for the strength she would need to try to keep everything normal for the sake of Ruby, who would sense her distress in an instant. For the sake of the child growing inside her. Greg’s child, the man she’d thought perfect and who’d turned out to be a monster.

‘I’ll put the kettle on,’ her mum said, nodding towards the hall, where sounds of Ruby emerging from the lounge reached them.

Kaitlin made herself smile as she heard her calling excitedly back to her grandpa, ‘Mummy’s here!’ The next second, she was flying through the kitchen door, her face delighted.

Kaitlin swept her up, hugging her hard and breathing in the special smell of her. ‘Have you been good for Nana and Grandpa?’ she asked, her voice catching.

‘Uh huh.’ Easing away from her, Ruby nodded adamantly. ‘But Grandpa hasn’t,’ she added gravely. ‘He’s been bad, hasn’t he, Nana?’

Her mum glanced over her shoulder. ‘Very,’ she concurred with a serious nod.

‘Oh no.’ Kaitlin widened her eyes in mock alarm. ‘What did he do?’

Ruby’s brow knitted into a frown. ‘He went up the snakes as well as the ladders. That’s cheating, isn’t it, Mummy?’

Kaitlin couldn’t help but smile at her five-year-old’s earnest expression. ‘I think it probably is.’

‘You’ll have to teach him the rules again, Ruby. I think he’s getting a bit forgetful in his old age,’ her mum said, coming across with tea and a slice of home-made coconut cake covered in white frosting, which she knew Kaitlin would feel bad saying no to. Kaitlin, though, was sure she wouldn’t be able to swallow a morsel.

‘I heard that,’ her dad said, a scowl on his face as he wheeled himself into the kitchen. ‘I’ll have you know I’m in my prime, woman.’ He smiled for Ruby’s benefit, but Kaitlin could see the deep concern in his eyes as his gaze settled on her.

‘Is Greg coming here to stay too, Mummy?’ Ruby asked innocently – and Kaitlin felt herself reel inside.

‘No, sweetheart,’ she answered as casually as she could. ‘He’s on a work course, I’m afraid.’ With no idea what she would tell her daughter in the long term, she lied, hating herself for it, hating herself more for never dreaming she might have to.

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