How quickly things could change.
There was a time, not so long ago, when seeing her mother bedridden, close to death, would’ve broken her heart.
When she’d have been moved to tears by the sight of her broken father, hunched and inconsolable, beside his wife.
But now such responses were laughable in the face of what she knew.
Her brother, James, had taken something from her. Something he’d no right to take. And her parents – her parents! – had known.
They’d known.
And then, on her brother’s say-so, they’d had her committed.
Two years she’d spent trapped in that institution.
Two long years.
Pumped full of drugs… electricity poured into her brain…
She’d made it too easy for her family to betray her.
Cutting herself… attempting suicide… she should have been more sensible. She should have dealt with her brother when she was fifteen, instead of becoming lost to emotion.
And her parents? How could they?
Trying to convince her that her baby had died before it was born.
Yet, that nightmare, the same nightmare she’d had every night for the first year… looking out through a swirling haze… watching… as her baby girl was carried away… crying.
It’d seemed so real.
And the cost of telling the doctor?
More ECT, more drugs, and another year.
At least, now on her deathbed, her mother admitted it. ‘That infernal woman shouldn’t have told you, Elizabeth, dear. Look, it was for your own good. You weren’t even fifteen.’
It didn’t help. In a way, seeing the admission pass through her lying lips filled her with even more hate.
And her father? Always so weak. Always happy to bend. ‘Listen to your mother.’
‘James took my child off me… your granddaughter!’
‘You were a child, too,’ her mother croaked. ‘And I was too sick to care for another baby.’
‘He took them all, though… I know… James took all those children and sold them to wealthy bastards. Mary Evans! She was my friend, too.’
Behind her, she heard the bedroom door creaking open.
She turned to look at her brother. He’d put on a lot of weight in the time she’d been away. His face was pale, and he coughed, regularly. She’d like to think that the choices he’d made were a cancer eating away at him, but she knew that wasn’t so.
The jovial big brother, who’d always had a smile, had been a liar, and a monster, and this was simply his true form exposed.
‘Are you part of this family or not, Elizabeth?’ James asked. ‘You talk about Mary Evans as if she’s more important to you than your own blood.’
‘She was desperate… she lived on the streets… she was addicted to drugs… and you took her child.’
‘And now she’s content. And knows nothing about the—’
‘How could you?’ Elizabeth asked again, turning her gaze to each family member. ‘For money?’
‘You were fifteen,’ her mother repeated.
‘Go to your room,’ James said.
‘I’m seventeen, you can’t tell me what to do—’
‘You’re sick. And have been released into our care. Now, go to your room,’ James hissed. ‘Or do I contact Doctor Caine?’ He pointed a finger.
‘How many children? How many did you take? How many did you sell?’
James came into the room, hand raised, ready to slap her. She flinched and closed her eyes, preparing to receive the blow.
‘Stop!’ her father hissed.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw her father was standing. ‘Stop, both of you.’
Elizabeth couldn’t help the tears now. Tears of complete disbelief. This idea that the evil was inside the whole of her family. ‘Did you know, Dad? Did you know about all those children?’
She saw a flash of shame in his eyes before he replaced it with a narrow, steely glare. ‘Those children have had better lives. I made sure of that.’
Elizabeth shook her head. ‘So, you knew all along. How could you? For money? For bloody money?’
Her father raised a finger. ‘Listen, Elizabeth. The government left us with nothing when we retired early. Nothing. Everything we did for everyone, for all that time, and what did we get? Not a penny. Now, you’ve this roof over your head. And that care you received for two years – do you think that was free? Someone had to cover the costs. The best facilities you can imagine. The best care to get you well again. You think the NHS would’ve taken care of you for two years?’
‘So, you’ve kept me locked up… protected your secret.’
‘Shut up, Elizabeth,’ James said. ‘Shut up, or I’ll call the doctor now.’
‘To lock me up again. Will that be your answer forever?’
‘You’re not being reasonable,’ her father said. ‘They’d better lives. They’re still having better lives. If you slow down to appreciate that, you’ll understand that everything is best left alone.’
‘My daughter… where’s my daughter?’ She thumbed her chest.
‘She went to a wonderful home,’ James said.
She folded over as if she’d been struck in the stomach.
‘I’m sorry that you found out,’ James said. ‘She’d no right coming back and telling you.’
‘I knew she could never be trusted,’ her mother croaked. ‘You never listened.’
‘Who did you sell my daughter to?’
‘No good will come of that,’ her father said. ‘Now go to your room, Elizabeth, before I let your brother make that phone call. And only because I care, mind. Care that you’re a danger to yourself.’
‘Please,’ she begged. ‘My daughter?’
‘God love us,’ her father said.
‘Your room… now!’ James shouted.
And it was then, in that moment, surrounded by so much malevolence and evil, that she decided that not only did she want to die, but she also wanted all of them to die too.
She thought of her father’s words: Now, you’ve this roof over your head.
And with a nod of her head and a brisk exit from the room, she determined to burn it all down.