Rachel stared at the tiny hole in the ground where the small bones had been laid to rest. The remains of an innocent little baby. Her heart was pounding so hard against the wall of her chest, she was worried Eddie and everyone around her could hear it.

She wanted to tear her eyes away from the bones. She wanted to run back into the school and pretend she'd never seen the small grave or the scattered bones. But she couldn't. Her body was rigid, glued to the spot as she continued to stare.

She had questions, so many questions.

How old had the baby been when it died?

Why had it been buried on the school grounds?

Who was the Mother?

And the question she wasn't sure she wanted the answer to...

How had the baby died?

The staff and students were talking; whispering to one another, shocked at the discovery of what was now a crime scene. The voices were muffled, mingling into one big, buzzing noise in Rachel's ears.

Her body went numb, her blood running cold as she heard the detective telling Eddie the forensic team were coming to examine the remains.

She jumped as Eddie placed a hand on her arm to get her attention.

"We need to get the kids and staff back into the school so the Police can do their job" he explained

She nodded quietly, her eyes returning to the shallow grave. Her heart was screaming.

"Rach? Are you ok?" Eddie asked gently

She nodded, turning to look at him. She forced a smile in an attempt to prove to him that she was ok.

"I'm fine"

He nodded, turning away from her to usher the kids and staff away from the scene, leaving Rachel to stare at the bones.

She closed her eyes, taking some deep breaths. When the memories of the past came flooding back into her mind, she immediately pushed them away. She had to. She was the leader of this school. She was Rachel Mason. And Rachel Mason didn't cry, and she didn't show weakness. Rachel Mason had a perfect upbringing; she had no skeletons in her closet.

At least, that's what everyone thought...

...

19 years ago...

Amanda Fenshaw collapsed onto the bed in her motel room, shivering from the cold. She'd been staying here for months and she hated it. The room was dingy and filthy, but she had slept in worse conditions. It was a bed for the night.

Her entire body shook with sobs as she crawled under the covers. It had been an awful day. In fact, every single minute of every single day for the last three years had been awful for Amanda.

The day her Mum had died, her world had fallen apart. She'd been sick for years, but despite that, her Mum fought hard and she survived. Until one day, she couldn't anymore and she lost the battle to cancer. A part of Amanda's soul had died with her Mum, she missed her so much, she was her everything. Her Mum had left a huge hole in her heart; one Amanda didn't know how to fill. She was lost and scared. All she had left was her Father and her sister. Her Father despised her, but thought Melissa was the golden child.

Giving up her education, and heading to the streets to become a prostitute wasn't something Amanda had wanted to do. But she'd had no choice. Her Father had forced her. They needed the money, or they would be homeless and without food. Amanda refused to let her little sister starve. She was doing what she had to do.

Three years down the line, and she hated it. It was degrading and scary. The men were often violent and sometimes didn't pay. Amanda had lost count of the times she had ended up in hospital with a bone that was broken or bruised. She'd lost count of the times she'd concealed the black eyes with make-up. She was 19 years old, and this was her life. Her hopes and dreams had left her a long time ago. She was depressed and broken, a shadow of the once confident, smart teenager.

But the job had put food on the table and kept her Father quiet, even if it meant he took a huge sum of the money she made to buy drink. It kept him quiet and he didn't hit or punch her as much.

Tonight had been the worst night in the last three years.

A client had approached her on the street, leading her down an alleyway. He had his way with her. But when he refused to pay, things became heated. Amanda had stood her ground, and that's what had landed her in trouble. The man punched her square in the nose, knocking her backwards onto the floor, before kicking her hard on the head and knocking her out. By the time she'd come to her senses, he was long gone, and so was the money she'd made that night.

As she lay there on the bed, she questioned why she was doing any of this anymore. Melissa was old enough to look after herself now, and her Dad only used the money she gave him for drink. What was she doing? She could have been killed tonight. She hadn't been, and maybe she was over thinking it, but she so easily could have been. She'd seen it happen time and again, had heard about it from the other girls on the streets. Men beating the women to death so they didn't have to pay. It was disgusting and scary. She was thankful that the only thing she'd lost tonight was her money. It could have been much worse.

All she could think about was how she was letting her Mum down. If she was here now, Amanda knew she would be disappointed. This wasn't the life she wanted for her daughter. She was letting her down, the one thing she'd promised her Mum she wouldn't do. But Amanda had no choice.

A tiny movement in her stomach pulled her from her thoughts. She looked down at her stomach, where a baby was growing inside. She smiled.

It had been five months since she'd found out she was pregnant. She couldn't lie; it had come as a shock. She always used protection, but evidently something somewhere had gone wrong.

At first she was scared and unsure of what to do. But over time, she came round to the idea and she was happy. She was going to have a baby! It was all she'd ever wanted, and it was her ticket out of prostitution.

Almost immediately, she'd come up with a plan. She'd bought some baggy clothes and a pair of maternity spanx to hide the pregnancy from her clients. She was going to wait until the final few weeks of her pregnancy before giving up prostitution. She'd wanted to give up the moment she'd found out she was pregnant, but she needed the time to save up enough money to get herself away from her Father. Once she'd had the baby and they'd found their feet, she was going to get her education and she was going to make something of herself.

The thought of her baby and becoming a Mother was what had gotten her through the last few months. If she could just make enough money in the short time she had left, it would all be ok and she would have a chance.

Now, she was six months pregnant, and suddenly, it felt like her plan had been cut short. She couldn't do this anymore; she didn't want to do this anymore. It was too dangerous for her and her baby. She wasn't the only one she'd put at risk tonight.

"I'm sorry" she whispered to the baby growing inside of her, rubbing her hand up and down her stomach

The baby kicked in response to her touch.

She sat up carefully, reaching for the box she kept in the wardrobe, tucked away at the back of the top shelf. It was overflowing with cash, more cash than anyone would probably ever own in their life. She hated the way she'd earned it, but right now, it didn't matter. It was going to get her out of here.

It took a few hours, but she counted up the year's worth of savings. There was plenty there, more than she'd thought. More than enough to get her a flat, a few months of rent and to pay for what she and her baby needed. She smiled, placing her hand on her stomach.

"We're going to get out of here, darling. We're going to get away from this horrible place. We'll get a flat somewhere, just me and you and it'll be perfect. We won't have much, but we'll have each other, and that's all we need, isn't it?"

The baby kicked in response.

Amanda breathed a sigh of relief.

Now all that was left to do was to tell herFather she was leaving. She didn't have to, but she wanted to face him one lasttime. She was done doing his dirty work.