Her eyes are wild and burning with fury. She has seen the photograph. She knows that he lied about not knowing who she was. She knows that he lied about Fiona. He lied to her face from the moment he met her, only revealing enough of the truth to keep her at a safe distance.
‘You lied to me,’ Emilia shouts, her voice cracking.
‘But I –’
‘You have hundreds of photos of her? You took this photo of her! She was talking about someone following her for months, and it was you all along! You sick fuck!’
‘But I never hurt her! Never! I just used to watch her –’
‘She was scared of you! And when she called the police, she said that there was a man in her house trying to hurt her!’
‘That wasn’t me!’ Ryan cries, desperation seeping out of him. ‘I swear! I’m sorry – I know it was wrong to lie, and I know it was wrong of me to hide knowing who you were, who your sister was, but I knew that if I told the truth, you would think it was me. And it wasn’t, it wasn’t!’
‘What kind of sick person makes up a whole story around a stranger? You said she was your ex-girlfriend! You didn’t know her! You even gave her a fake name – Fiona!’
‘I know it sounds mad – it is mad – but in my head, she was mine! Until she was in the news, I thought that was her name. I never spoke to her, never approached her to find out who she actually was. One day, I heard a voice coming out of the house, shouting goodbye to her. They shouted, “Bye, Fi!”, and I thought Fi was short for Fiona, that’s all. So that’s what I called her.’
Emilia’s face crumples, the gun dropping down to her side. ‘Fi … short for Sophie. I hardly ever called her that any more. It was from when … when we were kids.’
She begins to cry, hanging her head, her shoulders stooped and heavy.
‘Emilia,’ Ryan whispers. ‘I’m so sorry. And I know it might be impossible to believe –’
‘Don’t listen to him, Emilia,’ the woman snarls. ‘Think of how much he’s lied to you already –’
‘Listen to me, please!’
‘Enough!’ shouts the man, his voice immediately dulled by the close ceiling and walls. ‘Enough.’ He walks quickly towards the door and leaves the room, disappearing into the darkness of whatever lies beyond.