Chapter 61

It takes several seconds for me to process what Tina has just said. What the actual fuck? The temp can't be our sister. I look from Daisy to Tina. Their faces are stolid. A feeling of unreality sweeps over me.

‘God,' I say, tugging at the neck of my black cashmere jumper. ‘It's so hot in here.' Inhaling a fug of perfume in my hair and fried food on someone's clothing (Tina's, I'm guessing), I glance at the bay window longingly, wishing someone would open it and let some oxygen in before I die of suffocation. But no one is moving. Everything is still.

‘Are you okay, lovey?' Tina asks Daisy, breaking the silence. ‘I'm sorry I put my foot in it, but they needed telling. It's what we agreed.' Jesus Christ, who are these people that've tricked their way into our homes, our lives?

‘Is this some kind of sick joke?' Zelda explodes. Mum stays silent, face incredulous.

‘It's okay, Mum,' I say tiredly. ‘Don't worry. This is all my fault. I'll get it sorted.' I look at Tina. A drill goes off next door. Georgia demands to know what's going on. ‘There's obviously been some sort of mix-up.'

‘No mix-up, Bella. We've got evidence.' Tina says, and I feel the floor beneath me move like a wave in the sea. What kind of evidence? Proof that Dad had another affair? God, I'm surprised Mum stayed in the marriage for as long as she did. I collapse onto the two-seater brown leather sofa next to a confused looking Georgia, the croissant we had earlier swimming in my stomach.

Zelda, who is now occupying the three-seater opposite me like an empress, narrows her eyes at Daisy, face ablaze. ‘How old are you again?'

‘I'm thirty-seven.'

‘Right. I see.' Zelda looks at Mum, but Mum is staring at Daisy agape, which doesn't sit well with me at all. ‘Listen, you two, Dad fucked off to Australia years ago. We're practically estranged. So, if you were banking on having a stake in this house, of our mother having dementia and falling for your scam, you're out of luck.' Mum shoots Zelda a look and adjusts the collar of her yellow blouse in protest. Mum prides herself on being a young seventy-eight-year-old – walks daily, swims every Saturday morning, plays Wordle, paints, travels, and is always splashing out on the latest lotions and potions from QVC. ‘Sorry to disappoint, ladies, but you've had a wasted trip.'

‘Will someone please tell me what happened?' Georgia yells. The room falls silent. The drilling has now been replaced by constant tapping. ‘Why has everyone suddenly turned against Daisy? She didn't hurt Nan on purpose, Mum. I told you it was an accident.'

‘It's not that, Georgie.' I clear my throat. ‘The thing is, sweetheart. Daisy is claiming to be our sister.'

Georgia's eyes glimmer. ‘You're shitting me.' I shake my head. ‘Seriously? Oh, my fucking God.'

‘Stop blaspheming,' Mum cries, making a small sign of the cross against her chest.

‘Sorry, Nan, but this is mega.'

‘Claiming, to be our sister,' Zelda reminds Georgia. ‘Not is.'

‘I always knew there was something special between us – a link – a vibe.' Georgia leaps to her feet. ‘OMG. I've got a new cool aunt.' Jumping up and down on the spot, Georgia starts scrolling through her phone. ‘Let's take a selfie to celebrate.'

‘Georgia,' I warn, but she ignores me, takes a pew next to Daisy on the armrest, forcing Tina to get up and sit next to Zelda. A phone pings, not mine. A loud sneeze filters through the walls, one of those noisy achoo ones. Georgia is now holding her phone aloft, pouting at the screen, head pressed against Daisy, and that's when I see it - the chin, the nose, the way their right eyebrow arches slightly. I feel sick. Is it possible that Daisy is telling the truth?

‘This'll go viral on Insta,' Georgia beams. I watch as they both grin at the phone camera, Daisy's smile not quite reaching her eyes, while Tina looks on like a proud mother. The scene plays out like a horror movie. I look at Zelda who is busy texting then at Mum, who is gazing at them dubiously.

‘Say cheese.' Oh, God. Oh, no. Georgia's got over seven thousand followers on Instagram. All her school friends will see it. Their parents will have a field day at our expense. Ralf from across the road will show his mother, Anna, and she will tell her neighbours Amber from number seventeen, the legal secretary who loves a good old gossip, and her miserable husband, Dave, who can't sparkle without a drink, she might even drop it into conversation to Julie and Charlie who've just moved in at number twenty-one – I often see them chatting outside. We'll be the talk of the neighbourhood, especially once Mr Stanhope gets wind of it. My face burns. I can't let that happen. I've got to stop her. I hear the click of a camera.

‘Give me that!' Powered with adrenalin, I shoot to my feet and slap the phone out of Georgia's hand. It almost topples out of her grasp but she manages to snatch it before it hits the carpet – reflexes like a feline, inherited from me. ‘Put that thing away,' I yell, hot and ruffled. She doesn't move. ‘Now,' I holler, throat raw from the strain.

For a moment, Georgia looks at me challengingly, but then slips her phone into the pocket of her bright green hoodie. ‘All right, Mother, don't get your knickers in a twist,' she says, skulking back to her seat. ‘But you've got to admit, it is cool, isn't it, Daisy?' Daisy smiles. ‘I knew there was a bond between us. I just KNEW IT! Wait until I tell Ira and Mazi. Man, I'm so gassed right now.'

‘Gassed?' Mum croaks from the corner of the room, as Zelda slips her phone into her pocket. I hope she wasn't texting bloody Chris. She always turns to him in a crisis.

‘It means excited, Nan.'

Mum rolls her eyes. ‘Give me strength.'

Daisy goes to move. ‘I shouldn't have come.'

‘Sit down,' Mum orders, wearily.

Zelda and I give each other a look that says what is she doing? Daisy hesitates, glances at Tina, and when Tina gives her a small nod, she sits down on the edge of her seat, almost as if it'll collapse beneath her weight. ‘Right.' Mum takes a breath, straightens her lapel and holds it like a barrister. ‘Let's get some answers to this bullshit.'