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A Mother’s Sacrifice: A brand new psychological thriller with a gripping twist
Gemma Metcalfe
‘Thrilling, compelling and thought-provoking. This author has a very bright future ahead of her.’ Angela Marsons, author of the Detective Kim Stone series.‘A clever, tense read that deserves to do well. Gemma Metcalfe is a fresh new talent and A Mother’s Sacrifice will have you gripped from start to finish.’ Phoebe Morgan, author of The Doll HouseIt was fate that she crossed my path. And that is why I chose her.The day Louisa and James bring their newborn son home from the hospital marks a new beginning for all of them. To hold their child in their arms, makes all the stress and trauma of fertility treatment worth it. Little Cory is theirs and theirs alone. Or so they think…After her mother’s suicide when she was a child, Louisa’s life took an even darker turn. But meeting James changed everything. She can trust him to protect her, and to never leave her. Even if deep down, she worries that she has never told him the full truth about her past, or the truth about their baby.But someone knows all her secrets – and that person is watching and waiting, with a twisted game that will try to take everything Louisa holds dear.Perfect for fans of Louise Jensen.Praise for Gemma Metcalfe‘A brilliant debut, this tense and original story deserves to be read!’ B A Paris on Trust me, best-selling author of Behind Closed Doors‘Gemma Metcalfe turns the screw until the tension is almost unbearable. A fast-paced debut with a twist that made me gasp.’ Mark Edwards on Trust Me, best-selling author of The Devil’s Work ‘Trust Me is a brilliantly fast paced read, with a unique premise…add to that a spectacular twist, and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.’ Lisa Hall on Trust Me, author of Between You and Me
God ensured she crossed my path. And that is why I chose her.
The day Louisa and James bring their newborn son home from the hospital marks a new beginning for all of them. To hold their child in their arms makes all the stress and trauma of fertility treatment worth it. Little Cory is theirs and theirs alone. Or so they think…
After her mother’s suicide when she was a child, Louisa’s life took an even darker turn. But meeting James changed everything. She can trust him to protect her, and to never leave her. Even if, deep down, she worries that she has never told him the full truth about her past, or the truth about their baby.
But someone knows all her secrets – and that person is watching and waiting, playing a twisted game that will try to take everything Louisa holds dear.
Also by Gemma Metcalfe (#u87b7c72a-0275-540c-a9c3-8ea7b46f1d84)
Trust Me
A Mother’s Sacrifice
Gemma Metcalfe
ONE PLACE. MANY STORIES
Copyright (#ulink_c5dd2a46-b9e8-5d8e-aec7-c96c22a1939a)
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2018
Copyright © Gemma Metcalfe 2018
Gemma Metcalfe asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
E-book Edition © March 2018 ISBN: 9780008241209
Version: 2018-01-30
GEMMA METCALFE is a Manchester-born author who now lives in sunny Tenerife with her husband, Danny, and two crazy rescue dogs, Dora and Diego. By day, Gemma can be found working as a primary school teacher, but as the sun sets, she ditches the glitter and glue and becomes a writer of psychological thrillers. An established drama queen, she admits to having a rather warped imagination, and loves writing original plots with shocking twists. The plot for her debut novel, Trust Me, is loosely based on her experiences as a call-centre operative, where she was never quite sure who would answer the phone!
Dedication (#ulink_0093c0e5-56ea-566b-ac66-cb2cd342f882)
For Danny
Contents
Cover (#ud1a5ad32-57a6-56c3-a4a4-23381d65cfc5)
Blurb (#ud6747a82-68b7-5fd2-8669-6d9c032390f7)
Booklist (#u5014a172-d8b5-5aee-a565-bbe3cb370161)
Title Page (#uc80acaa0-f406-5cb2-addd-8982942941c6)
Copyright (#ulink_4f5603b4-d362-5844-851c-20ea08d376c5)
Author Bio (#uaf7861ee-2df0-5a56-87ce-7977897d4b07)
Dedication (#ulink_0114cde5-a803-5433-80ea-4ddf8aa6b052)
Prologue (#ulink_91202554-c72a-521f-ac02-831f9772fd63)
Chapter One (#ulink_2da71d29-9136-5756-8d9e-bb4507f9995e)
Chapter Two (#ulink_865e9af3-d725-51a5-a347-b02f1c698861)
Chapter Three (#ulink_b24691e6-811e-5de5-a11f-49821d610a12)
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Acknowledgements
Letter from the Author
Excerpt (#ue05eb4b0-e181-5649-97a3-059a4f21453b)
Endpages (#u47e37096-ee99-5fca-a7b5-71ddb53f65cc)
PROLOGUE (#ulink_6095e286-6c7c-5e9b-837b-180a25ef9571)
The woman’s nightdress blew against her bare legs as she made her way towards the bridge. The voices inside her head continued to taunt her; an acidic sewer of hate which, over the past four weeks, had eaten away at her sanity, grinding her down to nothing but flesh and bone.
She laughed out loud into the black abyss of the night sky, knowing that soon, their mocking words would die on their cruel lips; like the final smirk of a guilty prisoner on death row.
Outwardly, her body continued to play the game, her top and bottom teeth clamping together, the cold November night stiffening the muscles in her arms and legs. She blew out a knot of fear, watched in awe as it kissed the freezing air in front of her, physically morphing itself into something tangible, before slowly evaporating away to nothing.
The child in her arms began to stir. She responded by gently pushing him into the softness of her chest; his shock of red hair tickling the underbelly of her chin. He began to suckle her neck, hunger morphing his nasally snuffle into a raspy moan.
‘Shhh baby,’ she cooed into his ear. ‘Everything will be all right.’
As she stepped on to the bridge, the storm intensified, the force almost knocking her off her feet. Rain continued to hammer down on top of her, the wind cutting it through the sky at an odd angle. At 3 a.m., the bridge was deserted, the only sound coming from the angry outbursts of the swollen River Dee below, which threatened to burst its banks.
Climbing over the railings was somewhat fiddly, especially while trying to keep hold of the baby. He squirmed beneath her, his podgy fist grasping hold of her soaked auburn hair, yanking it down and almost pulling it from its roots. She held tightly hold of the railing as she leaned over the river, her arm twisted behind her at an uncomfortable angle. Her free hand rested itself on the baby’s back, his warm body heating her palm.
The voices inside her head began to intensify, a choir of heckles rising and falling in response to the conductor’s orders.
‘Death! Where is your sting?’ Lifting her head up to the night sky, she loosened her grip on the railing.
In a matter of seconds, it would all be over…
CHAPTER ONE (#ulink_2e8266ca-f0e9-5997-a462-3260d395b0ef)
Louisa
2014–Now
‘Oh God no, please no!’
I clamp my teeth together and squeeze my eyes shut as the all-too-familiar dull ache wraps itself around my abdomen and lower back, my uterus compressing under what can only be described as the steely jaws of a mechanical vice.
‘Come on, Louisa, you can do it!’ My husband, James, squeezes my hand at the exact same moment the ache gives way to a searing hot pain which slices my insides in half, bringing forth a scream which strips the skin from my throat. ‘No, really, I can’t, you’ll have to do it for me!’
A nasally snort flies out of his nose.
‘I’m glad you’re finding this amusing.’
‘Sorry,’ he says, peeling back his grin. ‘You know I would if I could.’
‘As if! You still think man flu’s a thing!’ Grabbing hold of the plastic mouthpiece from the gas and air, I shove it into my mouth and suck. Why did I want a baby so much? Why oh why oh why!
‘Come on now, Louisa.’ The familiar brusque tone of the midwife severs my thoughts. ‘The head’s almost out, another big push now, right into your bottom. You can do it.’
‘No, I can’t, why does everybody keep saying that?’ I bring the mouthpiece out of my mouth just long enough to try and make the midwife understand that I really am dying. It’s only now I realise she isn’t the same one who gave me the gas and air a few hours ago, nor is she the one who induced me yesterday morning. This one is short and stocky and, judging by her gravelly voice, smokes around sixty fags a day. ‘You need to make this stop!’ Fat tears roll down my cheeks as I ready myself for the next contraction. ‘I’m actually going to die, please don’t let me die!’
