31. Julie

The weak early-morning light seeped through the curtains. I chewed on my already bitten thumbnail. It was almost down to the quick. The argument with Sophie had really thrown me.

‘Harry!’ I said. ‘Are you asleep?’ I poked him in the back.

‘Well, if I was, I bloody well amn’t now.’

‘Was I wrong not to tell Sophie about Jess?’

Harry groaned. ‘Julie, we went over this a million times last night, and my answer is still the same. You were trying to protect both Jess and Sophie. Your intentions were good but, unfortunately, because of the bloody photo, Sophie found out. Should you have told her? Maybe. It was a very tough one to call.’

‘You should have seen her face, Harry. She was absolutely devastated. I’m really worried about her. She has so much going on with Pippa and Robert, and now Jess.’

‘Sophie is stronger than she looks, you know that.’

‘Yes, but –’ My phone buzzed.

‘Leave it. It’s probably another snippy message from Victoria on the rugby WhatsApp.’

Ignoring Harry, I picked up my phone. It was too early for the rugby WhatsApp group. I was right. It was Louise on our Devlin sibling WhatsApp: Have a plan. Meet for coffee in Fresh and Green 9 sharp. I have a meeting at 9.30.

Then a text to me from Sophie: We need to talk. Meet me at 8.30, b4 Louise.

I quickly typed: I’ll be there .

I turned to Harry. ‘Sophie wants to meet for a chat. Then we’re meeting Louise, who has a plan.’

‘I hope it involves exonerating Liam and getting him back on the team,’ Harry grumbled.

‘Me too. If anyone can sort this mess out, Louise can. Okay, I’d better get moving.’

I hopped out of bed and had a long, hot shower, praying that Sophie had cooled down overnight and wasn’t going to rip my head off again. I hated falling out with my sisters, or anyone for that matter. I hated confrontation of any kind. I was the peacemaker in the family so this was new territory for me.

I arrived early. There was no way I’d be late for this meeting. I ordered a latte and a skinny oat milk cappuccino for Sophie. She slipped into the café and sat opposite me. She looked almost as exhausted as I did, even with her perfectly applied make-up.

‘I got you a coffee – don’t worry, it’s oat milk.’

‘Thanks.’

‘Look, Sophie, I’m sorry. I’m sorry you feel let down. I’m sorry you feel I hid something so monumental from you. I honestly thought I was helping Jess and not adding stress to your full plate.’

Sophie pursed her lips. ‘But you didn’t help me or Jess. If you’d told me, I could have had a proper conversation with Jess and she might have told me about the photo and we could have sorted it out. And I would have been vigilant about Sebastian and whether she was seeing him. Instead, you omitted to tell me and let me think that nothing had happened that night. Now there is a huge mess. I also think you didn’t tell me because you knew that you’d messed up by allowing an underage couple to go into a bedroom in your house where anything could have happened. He could have raped her, Julie. They could have had consensual sex and she could be pregnant. He could have filmed her … So many horrendous things could have happened on your watch.’

I put my cup down. ‘I know I said I’d keep an eye on her, but come on, Sophie, you saw how many guests I had. You knew it was chaos. I fully admit I took my eye off Jess and I feel absolutely terrible about it, but she made those choices herself.’

‘I trusted my only child with you. She’s all I have, Julie. She’s my world. If anything happened to Jess, I would literally die.’

I tried not to get upset. I needed to stay calm. ‘I know how much she means to you and all I can say is that I’m sorry. She was so upset and begged so hard for me not to upset you that I caved. I realize now that I shouldn’t have. How is she?’

Sophie wiped a tear from her eye. ‘She is absolutely devastated, mortified, ashamed and crushed. She feels so betrayed by that little shit. But we had an honest chat, and I think once we can get hold of that photo and control the story, she’ll be able to move on. But we have to stop the photo going viral.’

‘What did Jack say? I bet he wanted to go straight over and punch Sebastian.’

Sophie hesitated. ‘I haven’t told him.’

‘What?’

‘Jess begged me not to.’

Hang on. It was okay for her not to tell her husband because Jess begged her not to, but it wasn’t okay for me not to tell Sophie? I bit my tongue. Now was not the time to point it out.

As if reading my mind Sophie said, ‘That was why I asked to meet you. When I decided not to tell Jack, I realized it was for all the same reasons you didn’t tell me. Because she pleaded with me not to, to protect her from being ashamed in front of her dad, because she couldn’t bear him to think less of her, because he’s so stressed about Robert and Pippa … So I realized I was being hypocritical. I’m still furious you didn’t tell me, but I guess I understand your reasoning more now I’ve spoken to Jess.’

Relief flooded through me. Sophie was not going to hold this against me and she did see my point of view.

‘I’m also sorry about Liam. I should have said that yesterday. I really appreciate his loyalty. He put himself on the line for Jess and I’ll always be grateful.’

I was glad she’d said it because I’d been annoyed that she’d refused to acknowledge Liam’s huge sacrifice. My son was devastated to have been dropped, and if Jess had been more sensible, none of this would have happened. Again, I decided to keep that thought to myself. Sophie and I were on thin ice. Best to keep things cordial. But I wasn’t going to sugar-coat Liam’s upset either.

‘He’s a great kid and he’s crushed about missing the match. So are the other two. It’s just a big mess really.’

‘A big mess that I am going to resolve.’ Louise came up behind us and sat down. ‘I’m in shock that you’re here so early, even before me. Have you made up?’

We nodded.

‘Don’t start without me.’ Gavin rushed over with Lemon, thankfully asleep in her buggy.

When she had our attention, Louise told us the plan. She had spoken to fellow lawyers who specialized in criminal cases and they had given her the ammunition, terminology and lawyerly threats to use against Sebastian.

‘So what I’ve decided to do is call in to Victoria today at lunchtime. Julie, you said the triplets mentioned Sebastian goes home on a Wednesday at lunchtime for a private training session in his gym. I’m going to ambush them both at home and catch them on the back foot. I will blind Victoria with legalese and, hopefully, she’ll back down when she thinks her son is in danger of going to prison. If we give her time to get legal advice, she could turn on us. We need to act now.’

‘Please can I come?’ Sophie asked.

‘Absolutely not. I’ll be going alone, but you can listen in.’ She grinned mischievously. ‘Gavin?’

‘Louise and I spoke last night and I told her she can use Lemon’s baby monitor. Shania insisted we get the most high-tech one. Louise can stick the camera onto her briefcase.’ He showed it to us: it was the size of a thumbnail and looked like a badge. ‘We can watch and listen live while she takes Sebastian down.’ He showed us the image on his phone from the camera on Louise’s briefcase. It was crystal clear.

‘I mightn’t be able to angle it perfectly so you see her face, but you’ll get the gist of it,’ Louise said.

I’d gone from eating humble pie to being in a spy stake-out, and it was only ten past nine.

‘Give her hell,’ Sophie urged Louise.

‘Don’t you worry, I won’t hold back. Right, I have to dash. I’ll call you when I’m on my way to her house so we can connect up.’

Sophie hugged Louise tightly and thanked her.

I kissed her cheek and wished her luck. ‘I know the photo is top priority but, if you can, could you try to get Liam back on the team?’ I whispered in her ear.

She nodded. ‘I’ll do my best.’

Gavin high-fived her and made sure the camera was secure.

As she turned to go Louise said, ‘Just to be clear, this goes no further. Our methods are not strictly legal and I could lose my job. So, no one, not Dad or any of your spouses, gets to hear about this. This stays between us four. Understood?’

We all nodded. I crossed my fingers and prayed it would go well.

We sat in Gavin’s Mini, which was parked around the corner from Victoria’s house. We watched Louise get out of a taxi and march purposefully up the wide driveway and climb the steps.

I was holding my breath, and beside me, Sophie was shaking. Gavin was holding his phone screen up so we could see it.

The front door opened and a woman with an accent answered. ‘Can I ’elp you?’

‘Yes, I’m here to see Victoria Carter-Mills.’

‘Does she know you are coming?’

‘It’s a very urgent matter regarding her son, Sebastian.’

Moving past the housekeeper, Louise entered the hall and closed the door behind her. All we could see through the camera were the housekeeper’s knees and the marble tiles in the hallway.

‘I told Louise to put the briefcase on her lap or beside her on the chair when she sits down. We’ll see better then,’ Gavin said.

‘Who is it, Carmen?’ Victoria’s shrill voice rang out.

Her Lycra-clad legs appeared on screen.

‘I’m sorry – who are you and what are you doing here?’

‘I’m Louise Devlin, senior legal partner at Price Jackson, I’m here about a very serious matter involving your son, Sebastian, and an explicit photo of my client, a minor, that he has on his phone and was showing in the locker room. I’m sure you are aware that taking explicit photos of a minor without their consent with the possible intent of causing harm is a serious criminal offence, which your son has now been accused of.’

‘Excuse me?’ Victoria’s voice rose ten octaves.

‘I think we should talk in private. It would be better for you that no one else hears what I have to say.’

Gavin whistled. ‘Louise is such a badass.’

I could see Sophie was holding her breath. Her face was white. I nudged her. ‘Breathe or you’ll pass out.’

She exhaled. ‘I didn’t know I wasn’t.’

We could see more of the hallway, then a door, a plush carpet and a couch. Next, we heard rustling and Louise put her briefcase on the couch beside her so now we had full view of Victoria’s face.

‘What the hell is going on?’ She looked furious.

‘What’s going on, Mrs Carter-Mills,’ Louise’s voice dripped with disdain, ‘is that your son took a photo of my fifteen-year-old niece Jessica Wells when she was drunk and has been showing it around the locker room. Exposing this private photo to anyone is an offence. A serious one. The law has clamped down in recent years on this kind of morally reprehensible behaviour since several young girls committed suicide after similar incidents.’

‘Your niece?’

‘Yes. I’m Sophie Devlin’s sister. That’s why I’m here, making this courtesy call to you before we press charges. This is your one chance to keep Sebastian out of the police station and court, not to mention the press. I’m sure they’d love nothing better than a story about a private-school boy taking photos of a drunk underage girl and showing them off to his teammates.’

‘But – but hold on now, if it was consensual, why is Sebastian being blamed?’

‘A private consensual photo is not meant for public consumption, Mrs Carter-Mills. Surely you understand that. Jessica is distraught. We are extremely concerned about her. Sophie had to call in a doctor last night to sedate her. Her mental health is on the edge after finding out about Sebastian’s betrayal.’

‘Yes! Stick it to her.’ I clapped.

‘Thank God Jess is a lot more resilient than Louise is making out, but I’m loving this,’ Sophie said.

‘How do you know Sebastian showed the photo?’

‘My three nephews are on the team with him. He showed them the photo of their cousin in the locker room. That was why Liam punched him. He was trying to protect Jess. Your son was also accusing my niece of performing oral sex, which did not happen. So we have the photo and the slander. Those are two very serious accusations against him. I have the paperwork all drawn up here in my briefcase. I have asked my colleague and friend Darina Fitzsimmons to take the case. You may know her name from her recent high-profile case. She got justice for a nineteen-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted by three members of a professional rugby team. No one thought she’d win the case, but she did. She is a very skilled and capable barrister with a particular interest in cases where young women have been wronged.’

‘STOP!’ Victoria held up her hands. ‘I will not hear another word against my son. I want to see what Sebastian has to say about all of these vile accusations.’ She left the room.

‘If you can hear me,’ Louise whispered, ‘I think I have her on the back foot, but she’s a tough nut.’

‘Keep going,’ Sophie urged, even though Louise couldn’t hear us.

We heard a noise and then Victoria and Sebastian came into view. Sebastian was in training shorts and a T-shirt and was sweating.

‘Sebastian denies all of it.’ Victoria’s chin jutted out. They sat down opposite Louise.

‘Really, Sebastian? So you didn’t take a topless photo of a very drunk fifteen-year-old Jessica Wells on the night of the twentieth of February in the home of Mr and Mrs Hayes? You didn’t then show that photo to the triplets in the locker room last Friday? You didn’t also boast about Jessica Wells performing oral sex on you? Because I have a number of witnesses who say that you did all of those things.’

‘Yeah, who? Her cousins? They’re making it up,’ Sebastian said.

‘The little shit,’ Sophie hissed at the screen.

Louise laughed bitterly. ‘Yes, her cousins, but we will be interviewing everyone who was in the locker room that day. There were seventeen boys. I have a list of their names with me. It’s amazing how open boys are to telling the truth when they’re faced with interviews by the police, testifying in court and being shamed in the press. You see, Sebastian, this is a case against a minor . Jessica is fifteen years old. These cases are taken very seriously by the police, the legal system and the public. Jessica is in a very fragile mental state, and we are all very concerned about her.

‘As I’m sure you’re aware, the police can track phones, download deleted photos and messages and generally track back every move you have made. So you need to think very carefully about how you wish to proceed. As I explained to your mother, I am going straight from here to the police. I have hired the best criminal barrister in the country, and as this case involves my niece, whom I love like a daughter, I will not rest until justice is done. I have come here today to see if we can resolve the matter before all of that happens. We’d all like to avoid a media circus in court, and I’m worried it would push Jessica over the edge. I don’t think you’d want the death of a fifteen-year-old girl on your hands, would you, Sebastian?’

Victoria’s chin dropped and she gripped Sebastian’s arm. ‘Sebastian, Daddy and I do not want anything or anyone to tarnish our family’s reputation. Have you a photo of this girl?’

‘Yeah, but she knew I took it.’

‘Do you still have it on your phone?’ Louise asked.

‘Yeah.’

‘Have you forwarded it to anyone via any means?’ Louise kept up the questions. ‘Think carefully before you answer, because if I suspect you’re lying, I’ll leave right now and bring the case against you.’

‘Sebastian,’ Victoria snapped. ‘Your father and I can only help you if you tell the truth. What the hell happened? If this woman has her facts wrong, we will make her very sorry she ever darkened our door. But if she’s correct here …’

‘Christ, Mum! I didn’t share it! I’m not one of those guys. Jeez, I liked her.’

‘But you did show it in the locker room?’ Louise reminded him.

Sebastian went red and looked at his mother. ‘Well, yeah, but I only did it to wind the triplets up. I kind of knew Liam would lose it. He’s got a bit of a temper, and I reckoned if he punched me or whatever, it would get him kicked off the team, and I figured he wouldn’t say why he punched me because he’d want to protect his cousin.’

‘The bastard! He had it all planned out.’ I was shocked at his twisted manipulation. ‘What sixteen-year-old boy thinks like that?’

‘One with a mother like Victoria,’ Sophie said.

There was a silence then, as Louise and Victoria digested what Sebastian had just admitted. I could nearly hear the cogs in Victoria’s brain racing as she tried to figure out her next move. Louise let her stew and said nothing.

‘Liam should not have hit my son,’ Victoria said finally, but her voice was weak. She sounded as if she knew she was beaten.

‘Really, Mrs Carter-Mills, you’re going to talk about Liam behaving badly after your son has just admitted to using the topless photo of a minor to deliberately upset and entrap her cousin?’ Louise’s voice was cold and icy.

‘Well I – I’m –’

‘Let’s move on.’ Louise was in kick-ass lawyer mode. ‘Sebastian, I need to see your phone. I need you to delete the photo and show me that the iCloud Photos sync function is turned on. We want the photo deleted from all your devices.’

‘Do it,’ Victoria barked.

Sebastian’s hands shook as we watched him delete the photo, supervised by Louise looking over his shoulder.

‘Now to the slander. I have witnesses telling me you spread untrue and vile rumours that Jessica performed oral sex on you.’

Sebastian squirmed beside his mother, who sat rigid, clasping her hands together tightly.

‘Jesus, I feel sick.’ Sophie covered her face.

‘She has to get him to admit it,’ Gavin said.

Silence.

‘Sebastian,’ Louise’s voice had a threatening tone, ‘answer the question or I’ll leave and you can suffer the consequences of your actions.’

‘I … like … I … I just said it for a laugh.’

‘I see. So you think it’s funny to lie about a young girl giving you blow-jobs? You think it’s okay to slander a minor?’

Sebastian was sweating now from fear, not exercise. ‘No, like, I didn’t mean it. It was stupid.’

‘Stupid is one word for it. Defamation is another. If you utter another word about my client, I will slap you with a lawsuit so fast your head will spin off. Is that clear?’

He nodded.

Victoria cleared her throat. ‘Sebastian will not be mentioning the girl’s name again. Have we finished?’

‘Not quite. We still have the matter of Liam being dropped from the rugby team because of your son’s conniving and underhand behaviour.’

‘Well, violence is still unacceptable,’ Victoria said quickly.

‘I’m quite happy to head up to the school now. We can let the headmaster and coach decide what they want to do when they have the full story laid out in front of them. I believe the headmaster has a fourteen-year-old daughter. I’m sure he’d have a lot to say on the matter.’

‘Christ, Sebastian.’ Victoria held her head in her hands. ‘What have you done?’

Sebastian threw his hands into the air. ‘You and Dad keep banging on and on about how much you want me to play and how I should be on the team and not wasting my time on the bench. Dad is always going on about how he was the captain and star player and I need to work harder and get on the pitch and … I’m never good enough. Never. You keep pushing and pushing – you put so much bloody pressure on me all the time.’ Sebastian burst into tears.

‘Pathetic crocodile tears,’ Sophie said.

‘No sympathy for the little prick,’ Gavin agreed.

I felt a little bit sorry for him. He was only a sixteen-year-old kid after all, and his parents clearly did push him all the time. Still, his actions had made my Liam cry, so ultimately my sympathy was short-lived.

Louise was clearly unmoved too. ‘Right. In that case I suggest you contact Coach Long, tell him you’re injured – you can figure out what injury you have – and that you’re not fit to play.’

‘Okay, we’ll do that.’ Victoria actually looked relieved. Louise had really done a number on her.

‘Oh, I haven’t finished,’ Louise said. ‘You will also inform Coach Long that you said something to Liam that was truly awful and that you deserved to be punched. You will not divulge what you said, obviously, but you will tell him that Liam deserves to be back on the team and that you, Sebastian, take full responsibility for what happened and are deeply sorry.’

‘Fine,’ Sebastian said, rubbing his eyes hard with his hands.

‘When I receive notice from my sister that Liam has been reinstated in the team, I will shred the legal papers I drew up against you. Until then, they will stay on my desk. I recommend you head up to the school now and sort this out.’

Louise got up to leave, and Sebastian and Victoria’s pale, shocked faces left the screen. We were back to looking at their knees.

‘One final thing, Sebastian. Not only will Jessica’s name never come out of your mouth again, you will never speak to her again or look in her direction. And going forward, I advise you very strongly to think before you act. This could have ended very badly for you.’

‘I think you’ve said enough,’ Victoria said, moving to stand in front of her son. ‘Sebastian will speak to his coach immediately and this sorry episode will be over.’

We watched as Louise’s feet walked back across the tiled hallway. In the background we heard Victoria scream, ‘How could you be so stupid? You’ve ruined everything!’ Then Louise’s feet walked out through the front door and down the stone steps. We heard the door slammed shut behind her.

Louise came around the corner. Sophie darted out of the car and threw her arms around her. I followed with Gavin.

‘Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,’ Sophie gushed. ‘You were magnificent.’

I leaned in for a hug. ‘You were incredible, Louise. Honestly, I’m in awe.’

‘The baddest badass in town!’ Gavin high-fived her.

Louise grinned. ‘I need a drink. It’s a lot harder when you’re emotionally involved. I wanted to do my best by Jess.’

‘You did, you so, so did. I am for ever in your debt.’ Sophie began to cry.

‘Hey, you’ve all been amazing to me with Clara and Marco. I owe you all.’

‘You were awesome, Louise, just … Wow.’ I struggled to find the words and choked up.

‘Ah, come on, no crying. I’ll drive you to the pub and then I’ve to go home to Lemon, Shania has a meeting at three.’

I sat in the back of Gavin’s Mini and breathed a huge sigh of relief. Jess was protected, Sophie didn’t hate me any more and, hopefully, by the end of the day Liam would be back on the team. And it was all down to our eldest and finest sister.