It’s an unusually warm day for this time of year. I am wearing tight jeans and a white cotton shirt. It is the most casual thing in the closet, but it still screams money and class.

I tell Anabel that I’ll be calling an Uber to take me to London and to please inform the security staff to expect my driver, but she immediately tells me that no such action will be necessary. Ralph, the driver, will take me.

“It’s not necessary, Anabel,” I protest.

“It is Mr. Thorne’s wish that you should be taken by Ralph wherever you need to go.”

“Fine. Please tell Ralph that I’d like to go about ten thirty.” To be honest, I’m relieved to find out I’m not actually a prisoner in this house. Even though I was putting on a brave face while telling her about my Uber arrangement I was worried that she would turn around and say that I am not allowed to leave the premises.

“He will be waiting for you outside at ten thirty,” she says.

At ten thirty I go downstairs and a dark green Bentley is already waiting for me with Ralph standing outside and talking to someone. When he sees me he quickly goes to open the rear door for me.

“Morning, Miss.”

“Good morning, Ralph,” I say as I slide inside.

When he gets behind the wheel I give him my mother’s address. Ralph nods and says he knows the area, then he falls silent for the ride, which is fine by me since I am too nervous to spark up any conversation or ask him questions. I don’t know why I always get like this when it is time to see my mother. I mean, I always think of her and I want to see her, but when the moment arrives to actually come into her presence I start to feel insecure, as if I am still a child.

Grandma looks a lot like Mama, only her eyes are not fierce and wild. She looks at me with great sadness. Granddad is tall with a straight stern line for a mouth. He has blue eyes like me, but his nose is like an eagle’s beak.

“Pleased to meet you, Chelsea,” he says.

I step back in fear.

My grandmother crouches in front of me. “We’re your family, honey. We’re not going to hurt you. That’s your granddad and I’m your nan, and you’re going to come and stay with us.”

“Can’t I wait here for Mama to come back?”

“No, sweetheart. Your mama will not be coming back for a long time.”

I looked in her eyes and I wanted to burst into tears. I didn’t want to go with them. I wanted to stay in our little flat until Mama came back from the police station. “How long will Mama be gone?”

She shakes her head. “It’ll be a long time, I’m afraid. But you know what. You’ll love our house. We have a garden and you can have your mother’s old room. It’s very pretty.”

“You have a garden?” I ask.

She nods and smiles. “Yes, we do. You can play there. Some of your mother’s toys are still in the attic.”

But I was not thinking of the toys or playing in the garden, I was thinking of Momo. Maybe I could bring him back from France and keep him with me at my grandparents’ house.

I go with them. We take a taxi and I sit in between Grandma and Granddad. It is a strange journey. Granddad doesn’t smile at all and Nan smiles too much. Their house is in Kennington. It is an upstairs downstairs house.

Grandma shows me to Mama’s old room. It is a beautiful room. The walls are pink. There are dolls on the shelves still in their packaging. On the bed there is a Cinderella bedspread. Cinderella is my second favorite Disney princess. The first one is Belle from Beauty and the Beast. I love Belle best. I wish I could wander into a big old castle and meet a kind Beast, but I am happy with Cinderella too. I always liked her blue dress and she has gold hair like me.

That night Grandma makes spaghetti with mushrooms for dinner. I tell Grandma that I cannot eat mushrooms.

“Why not?” Granddad asks sternly.

“I just can’t,” I reply in a small voice.

“Well, in this house we eat what the good Lord puts on our table. So you will finish what is on your plate.”

“Maybe she can just eat around the mushrooms,” Nan suggests timidly.

“No, she will eat it all. There is no reason to waste perfectly good food.”

I sneak a glance at Granddad. He is staring at me with anger.

I start to eat the mushrooms, but my stomach begins to feel funny.

Suddenly, I throw up on the dining room floor and granddad crashes his hand on the table. All the plates jump and I wet myself with terror. Nan takes me upstairs as I sob my eyes out. She helps me to undress, cleans me up, and gets me into bed.

“Don’t worry,” she says. “It will all work out. You’ll be happy here.”

She was wrong. I wasn’t.