Blood Ties: Part 1 of 3: Family is not always a place of safety

Blood Ties: Part 1 of 3: Family is not always a place of safety
Julie Shaw

Family is not always a place of safety.Kathleen was just eight years old when her mother was tragically killed in a car accident. And when her father remarries it is to the bitter and resentful Irene who has two children of her own and no space in her heart for another. Irene goes out of her way to make Kathleen's life as miserable as possible and will stop at nothing to get her out of their lives…When Kathleen is sixteen, a shocking incident rocks the family, and life takes a darker turn.Among this darkness, Kathleen finds a glimmer of hope in an older man, but Irene is ruthless in her mission to destroy her

(#ueeef2ef5-a1c0-51cc-98f9-7468fbfe2620)

Copyright (#ueeef2ef5-a1c0-51cc-98f9-7468fbfe2620)

Certain details in this story, including names, places and dates, have been changed to protect the family’s privacy.

HarperElement

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published by HarperElement 2016

FIRST EDITION

© Julie Shaw and Lynne Barrett-Lee 2016

Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2016

Front cover photograph © Sarah Monrose/Gallery Stock

A catalogue record of this book is

available from the British Library

Julie Shaw and Lynne Barrett-Lee assert the moral

right to be identified as the authors of this work

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, 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 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-books.

Find out about HarperCollins and the environment at

www.harpercollins.co.uk/green (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/green)

Source ISBN: 9780008142919

Ebook Edition © January 2016 ISBN: 9780008142889

Version: 2015-12-04

Dedication (#ueeef2ef5-a1c0-51cc-98f9-7468fbfe2620)

Family is everything. It is the be all and end all, and I have the very best. My husband, my kids, my parents, siblings and all the rest of the clan, I love them all so much. However, the bond between a mum and her daughter is very special. The cord that once bound daughter to mum before birth never really breaks. No matter how far apart they might be, that invisible tether just gets stronger and I’d like to dedicate this book to my beautiful, brave cousin, Tanya Jagger, who is currently fighting the battle of her life, and her equally brave mam, Pauline Jagger, who has endured far more than she could ever deserve.

Contents

Cover (#ucad1ef50-afa0-51b4-887c-349a047ad34a)

Title Page (#ulink_541c9eee-cf60-568c-b516-745211113df2)

Copyright (#ulink_cc4047a6-43c2-5872-b0a8-2d8e0e8c66de)

Dedication (#ulink_b4b60986-7084-503e-b1a7-388b7eecf624)

My Girl (#ulink_3ec54ea2-e5f6-548a-8fb6-8fd867902698)

Chapter 1 (#ulink_8d3680e7-aa98-546b-a0ee-b74eca90e2ef)

Chapter 2 (#ulink_4e97fe3f-1ff9-595e-a561-d0f29293de1b)

Chapter 3 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 4 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 5 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 6 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)

Moving Memoirs eNewsletter (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

My Girl (#ueeef2ef5-a1c0-51cc-98f9-7468fbfe2620)

My darling daughter, don’t you grieve.

I have not really gone,

It’s hard right now, but please believe,

I’ve been here all along.

I’ve watched with pride, how much you’ve grown,

I’ve shared your smiles and laughter,

I’ve felt your pain when you’ve been alone,