The Family Reunion

THE FAMILY REUNION A TOTALLY UNPUTDOWNABLE PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE NOVEL WITH A JAW-DROPPING TWIST KAREN KING BOOKS BY KAREN KING Psychological Thrillers The Family Reunion The Mother-in-Law The Perfect Stepmother The Stranger in My Bed Romantic Comedies Single All the Way The Year of Starting Over Snowy Nights at the Lonely Hearts Hotel AVAILABLE IN AUDIO The Mother-in-Law (Available in the UK and the US) The Perfect Stepmother (Available in the UK and the US) The Stranger in My Bed (Available in the UK and the US) CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 55 Chapter 56 Chapter 57 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Chapter 60 Chapter 61 Chapter 62 Chapter 63 Chapter 64 Chapter 65 Chapter 66 Chapter 67 Chapter 68 Chapter 69 Epilogue The Mother-in-Law 1 Hear More from Karen Books by Karen King A Letter from Karen The Perfect Stepmother The Stranger in My Bed Single All the Way The Year of Starting Over Snowy Nights at the Lonely Hearts Hotel Acknowledgements * 1 26TH OCTOBER Mary Mary shivered and pulled her raincoat closer around her as an icy gust of wind blasted through her body. She was an idiot sitting out here in the rain, but she had been so desperate to get away from the others, to be out of the tension-filled atmosphere, that she hadn’t cared. Thank goodness they were all going home today instead of tomorrow. She’d had quite enough of being cooped up with her warring family and longed for the peace and quiet of her home, and to leave her grown-up children to get on with their own lives. Never again would she suggest a family holiday. Oh, why hadn’t she simply booked a nice restaurant for a family meal for her birthday instead of persuading everyone to come to this remote cottage in Dartmoor for a whole long weekend? Because you wanted your family to get on and thought that a break together would mend fences. Well, instead of bringing them all closer, this holiday had just exposed secrets. Secrets that had blown everyone’s life apart. And shown Mary that she couldn’t trust any of her children. She closed her eyes, fighting back the tears. How she had yearned to find Hope over the years. And now she had, and brought her long-lost daughter back into the family fold, hoping to make up for the awful thing she had done, it had all gone dreadfully wrong. Her dreams of a united happy family were shattered. And on top of that Mary had to face it: the thing she had dreaded for years was actually happening. She had early-onset dementia, like her mother had had before her. She was losing her mind. There was no other reasonable explanation for everything that had happened. Creak. She glanced nervously over at the bushes as they swayed in the wind. The garden was secure but it was getting dark and it was a big garden. She was out of sight of the cottage here. No one would hear me scream. She shivered as the words seared into her mind. The hairs prickled on the back of her neck as another creak echoed through the deserted garden. She told herself that it was only the wind blowing through the trees but even so, she felt uneasy and decided to go back inside and join the others. Maybe the atmosphere had settled down now. She stood up, buttoned her jacket and took a deep breath, bracing herself to re-join her fractured family. Then her ears pricked up as suddenly the gate creaked open. One of the others must have gone out for a stroll, also keen to get away from the strained atmosphere. She waited to see who it was as a figure stepped through the gate and the spotlight from the house shone on a man’s face. ‘Mary.’ She stared at him, puzzled. Who was he? How did he know her name? What was he doing here? She stiffened, her heart pounding. Had he followed her? What did he want? The man raised his left hand to shield his eyes from the light and a scream rose up in Mary’s throat, her heart thudding even faster. She would recognise that snake tattoo winding around his wrist, the head and tongue sliding down his hand, anywhere. She had seen it in her nightmares for years. How had he found her? Every instinct told her to run but her feet wouldn’t move, it was as if they were rooted to the spot. She stifled the scream, her hand flying over her mouth as she stared at him in terror, her eyes fixed on his face. Older now, but yes, the same eyes, the same easy smile. He’d hunted her down, just as she had feared he would. Icicles of fear shot up her spine. Run! Run! Her mind urged her on but still her legs wouldn’t move. ‘Mary… at last.’ His voice was soft as he started walking towards her. He’d always used a soft voice with her, she remembered. She’d thought he was gentle, kind, until she’d seen the other side of him. Seen what violence he was capable of. ‘Get away!’ she yelled, trembling with fear. ‘Don’t you dare come near me.’ ‘I know it’s a shock, Mary, but…’ Somehow, she unlocked her legs, backed away from the menacing figure approaching her, turned and