As soon as I heard Lyra's mum address me, I hung up, passing my sister her phone. How could Toni know it was me? Was she serious?

'James – it's just down here.' Lyra's voice interrupted my thoughts as we turned down a derelict, icy road at the end was a huge conversion done on a farmhouse.

'Converted farmhouse.' I gestured to the mansion as we walked towards the main door. Annoyingly, there was an intercom with a buzzer.

'Graham won't want us coming.' Lyra's face turned downwards into unsmiling.

'Hey,' I chucked her under chin with her thumb, and then remembered the name 'Graham'.

'I knew someone once who was called Graham – I thought he was a friend of Ma's – but it turned out he was a sick, sick old perv.'

'Graham's my dad.' I buzzed the intercom so loud I didn't hear a word of what she said and then Lyra's iPhone rang, interrupting us.

'Mum… mum, what's happening?' Lyra started sobbing as a man's voice came on the end, he was obviously threatening Ma.

I grabbed her phone, shushing her with a wink and then started speaking.

'If you don't let our ma go, we're coming in for you….. Dad.'

I furiously ended the call, tossing Lyra her phone which she pocketed, a look of shock plastered on her face as we looked at each other.

'You're him… you're James – my brother?'

I nodded, and then persuaded her to stand back.

'We can have our little heart to heart later, darling – right now Ma needs us.'

…..

James and I entered the house, after he'd successfully splintered the wood, breaking the intercom in order for us to get through. I still couldn't believe I had a brother.

I found Mum lying on a bed in a room upstairs. I shouted to James.

'She's up here, James.'

James raced up the stairs and into the bedroom where Mum was. He went straight over to her, unzipping his leather jacket and pulling off his hooded sweatshirt which he tied around Mum's shoulders.

'Come on, Ma. Talk to me – it's James.' I watched as Mum slowly smiled and sat up, her eyes flickering from me to him.

'Come here, you.' She motioned to me and I raced over, sitting down next to her as she opened her arms for a cuddle – me in one and James in the other.

'Oh, sweetheart…' She tailed off as both nestled into her; James held my hand as we did so, pressing it to his lips.

'Ma – did he hurt you?' James' question threw her off the scent.

'No.' She sighed heavily, rubbing at her eyes. 'I've got somewhere to sleep and access to a bathroom but that's it.' She turned to me. 'He left Deena in Blackpool – said he was on some business down in Walton – which is here.'

James stood up as Graham entered the room. Lyra sat down next to me on the double bed.

'Graham?' My son's tone was icy as they glared at each other.

'James?' Graham's voice was a mixture of shock and sneer.

And then I knew what was coming as me and Lyra were manhandled into another bedroom and , leaving our bedroom door open, he padlocked the one him and James were in and my heart sank as I heard my son's moans of pain and the bed creaking.

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