The Silent Ones: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller(81)

From here, we can see the whole room.

‘There’s George, in the blue and white striped T-shirt,’ she says quietly. ‘He loves Monopoly.’

He’s sitting side-on to where we stand, playing with three other people, his brow furrowed with concentration.

His hair is light brown, the same colour exactly as Chloe’s. My heart jumps when I see that the tuft of hair that would never stay down when Dad brushed it is still there on the crown of his head.

He is of average build and his forearms look lightly tanned, as if he sits outside in the sun quite regularly.

He’s counting his Monopoly money when he suddenly seems to sense he’s being watched. He looks up and I take a sharp breath in.

His eyes are the exact same shade as my own. I knew this but I’d forgotten it. He looks at all of us in turn, and then his gaze comes back to me. I smile, and he smiles back, looking slightly puzzled as if he’s trying to recall something.

Eileen walks over to the table.

‘Sorry to disturb your game, George, but I wanted to introduce you to Juliet Fletcher.’

He looks at me. I look at him and hold out my hand, trying to keep it steady.

‘Hi, George,’ I say. ‘Nice to meet you.’

His eyes flick over my face and he smiles. I think he recognises me. After all this time, I think—

‘I’ve just got the last station,’ he says, looking down at the board. ‘I have all four now.’

His words are slightly slurred, but he can speak perfectly well. Close up, I can see the small scar at the side of his mouth where next door’s puppy nipped him as they played on the floor together.

‘Juliet’s come all the way from Nottingham to say hello, George,’ Eileen tells him. ‘Remember we talked about her visit?’

‘Very pleased to meet you,’ he says, and I can tell he’s itching to get back to his game.

‘If I come back tomorrow, George, I wondered if you’d like a walk around the park… and we could have a game of Monopoly too. It’s been a long time since I played.’

‘Yes, that sounds fun,’ he says. Then he looks at me – I mean, really looks at me – before he asks, ‘Are you my sister?’

‘Yes, George,’ I say, making a tremendous effort not to dissolve into tears of happiness. ‘I am your sister and you’re my brother.’ I reach for his hand. ‘And I promise you this. Nobody is ever going to keep us apart again.’

‘My sister. Juliet,’ he whispers, and squeezes my hand.

To hear him say my name feels like plucking a star from the coldest night sky and holding it against my heart for the briefest moment.

So many lies, so much deceit and wrongdoing, not knowing who or what to believe. But this… this is real. My brother is right here in front of me, living and breathing.

It’s the only thing that matters.

We’ve been given another chance to be together. To live our lives and love each other.

One thing is certain: we’ve a lot of catching-up to do.

Me and my brother George.