THE FAITHLESS Martina Cole Copyright © 2011 Martina Cole The right of Martina Cole to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. First published as an Ebook by Headline Publishing Group in 2011 All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library eISBN: 9780755375561 HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP An Hachette UK Company 338 Euston Road London NW1 3BH www.headline.co.uk www.hachette.co.uk Contents Title Page Copyright Page By Martina Cole Dedication Prologue Book One Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three 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 Chapter Thirty-Nine Book Two Chapter Forty Chapter Forty-One Chapter Forty-Two Chapter Forty-Three Chapter Forty-Four Chapter Forty-Five Chapter Forty-Six Chapter Forty-Seven Chapter Forty-Eight Chapter Forty-Nine Chapter Fifty Chapter Fifty-One Chapter Fifty-Two Chapter Fifty-Three Chapter Fifty-Four Chapter Fifty-Five Chapter Fifty-Six Chapter Fifty-Seven Chapter Fifty-Eight Chapter Fifty-Nine Chapter Sixty Chapter Sixty-One Chapter Sixty-Two Chapter Sixty-Three Chapter Sixty-Four Chapter Sixty-Five Chapter Sixty-Six Chapter Sixty-Seven Chapter Sixty-Eight Chapter Sixty-Nine Chapter Seventy Chapter Seventy-One Chapter Seventy-Two Chapter Seventy-Three Chapter Seventy-Four Book Three Chapter Seventy-Five Chapter Seventy-Six Chapter Seventy-Seven Chapter Seventy-Eight Chapter Seventy-Nine Chapter Eighty Chapter Eighty-One Chapter Eighty-Two Chapter Eighty-Three Chapter Eighty-Four Chapter Eighty-Five Chapter Eighty-Six Chapter Eighty-Seven Chapter Eighty-Eight Chapter Eighty-Nine Chapter Ninety Chapter Ninety-One Chapter Ninety-Two Chapter Ninety-Three Chapter Ninety-Four Chapter Ninety-Five Chapter Ninety-Six Chapter Ninety-Seven Chapter Ninety-Eight Chapter Ninety-Nine Chapter One Hundred Chapter One Hundred and One Chapter One Hundred and Two Chapter One Hundred and Three Chapter One Hundred and Four Chapter One Hundred and Five Chapter One Hundred and Six Chapter One Hundred and Seven Chapter One Hundred and Eight Chapter One Hundred and Nine Chapter One Hundred and Ten Chapter One Hundred and Eleven Chapter One Hundred and Twelve Chapter One Hundred and Thirteen Chapter One Hundred and Fourteen Chapter One Hundred and Fifteen Chapter One Hundred and Sixteen Chapter One Hundred and Seventeen Chapter One Hundred and Eighteen Chapter one Hundred and Nineteen Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-One Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Two Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Three Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Four Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Five Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Six Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Seven Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Nine Chapter One Hundred and Thirty Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-One Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Two Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Three Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Four Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Five Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Six Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Seven Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Eight Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Nine Chapter One Hundred and Forty Chapter One Hundred and Forty-One Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Two Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Three Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Four Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Five Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Six Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Seven Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Eight Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Nine Chapter One Hundred and Fifty Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-One Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Two Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Three Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Four Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Five Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Six Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Seven Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Eight Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Nine Chapter One Hundred and Sixty Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-One Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Two Epilogue By Martina Cole and available from Headline Dangerous Lady The Ladykiller Goodnight Lady The Jump The Runaway Two Women Broken Faceless Maura’s Game The Know The Graft The Take Close Faces The Business Hard Girls The Family The Faithless For my Freddie Fling Flang. Love you, darling Dolly R . . . xx Prologue ‘Ain’t It Grand To Be Bloomin’ Well Dead’ Leslie Sarony Song title 2009 ‘You are not going to make me listen to this shit, Gabriella. You are wrong, very wrong. Use your bloody head, girl! I loved that little boy with all my heart . . . and, as for your brother . . . I don’t believe a word of it – they must have the wrong person.’ But Gabby could see the fear in her mother’s eyes, and she knew that it was true. Every word of it. ‘I met your old mate, Jeannie, today. That’s how I know everything – she told me all about the house in Ilford.’ She could see her mother’s head working, trying to figure out exactly what she was saying, could almost hear her brain whirring as she tried to lie her way out of what they both knew was the truth. ‘What the hell have you been taking this time, eh? What the fuck are you on, Gabriella, to make you come out with this shit?’ Gabby found she’d picked up a large bronze statue of a cat. As she held it in her scarred hands she felt the weight of it. Her mother kept talking. The world according to Cynthia Tailor who, along with God Himself, was almost omnipotent in the lives of her family, who ruled everyone around her with a rod of iron. She could see her mother’s mouth moving constantly, but she couldn’t hear what she was saying any more; all she was conscious of was a rushing noise in her ears. Then she struck her. She lifted the bronze statue back over her head and hit her mother across the face with it, using all the force she could muster, and enjoying the feeling of total retaliation. She was determined now, determined to shut her mother up once and for all. Cynthia fell sideways on to the white leather sofa. The spray of blood that came from her mother’s face was like a crimson mist. Gabby hit her again and again, each blow easing the knot inside her, each blow seeming to calm the erratic beating of her heart. She looked down at the bloodied form and, for the first time in years, she felt almost at peace. Her mother’s face was unrecognisable, a deep red gash that was pumping out blood at an alarming rate. Gabby looked at the woman she had hated nearly all her life. Then she sat down on the ladderbacked chair her mother was convinced was an antique, put her face into her bloodied hands and cried. Book One Long is the way And hard, that out of Hell leads up to light Paradise Lost (1667) John Milton, 1608–74 For the love of money is the root of all evil 1 Timothy 6:10
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