Betrayed: The heartbreaking true story of a struggle to escape a cruel life defined by family honour

Chit turned sharply, fixing a serene half-smile on his face, but there was something frozen in his eyes, as if he was flicking back in his head, trying to figure out what he had been saying and whether he might have been overheard. Zadie said a sombre ‘OK’, and they turned in unison, heading towards the gift shop and way out.

‘Well, it was nice to meet you, Chit,’ I said when we reached the car park.

He smiled and made a noise in his throat that I, giving him the benefit of the doubt, took to mean ‘likewise’.

‘OK, well, we’ll see you soon I expect,’ I said cheerily.

‘I doubt it. Zadie will be home soon.’ He bobbed his head in the same habitual way as his sister, although with Zadie it was usually accompanied by an endearingly shy smile. Chit wasn’t in the least bit rude but there was an element of arrogance to his manner and a barb in his tone.

Chit waited in the car park, watching as we pulled away. Zadie sat in the back of the car, silent and withdrawn. I thought about what her brother had said about her returning home. There was no sign that going back to her family was something she wanted. Strolling beside him, she had seemed fragile and lost. But unless she could find the courage to tell me why, she might soon have no choice but to leave her foster placement. I worried about it all the way home; her unsettled sadness, her reluctance to trust. How could possibly it work itself out? I wondered, and just where was it all going to end?

Looking back, there were already clues to what the future held. If only I had been more alert. Instead of fretting over the small things, like rejected handshakes and clipped tones, I should have been looking for something far more sinister.