belly-hugging grey knickers and regimented-looking maternity bras. I checked the crumpled label on a maternity dress. Was this even new?
It was bad enough that I had to give my clothes to Juanita to wash. But for Sheridan to come in here and remove my underwear . . . it was beyond belief. This was the real reason for my sightseeing trip. She must have come back from lunch early to snoop through my things.
My heart faltered. My phone. What if Sheridan found my phone? I had broken the rules by having it in my room.
I pushed aside the hangers, searching for my suitcase at the back and feverishly pulling it out.
‘No,’ I whispered aloud.
The phone had gone.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
SHERIDAN
‘Are you looking for this?’ Sheridan held up the mobile phone as she stood a few feet away from Roz.
‘Oh!’ Roz exclaimed, almost jumping out of her skin. Littered at her feet were items of underwear next to the open suitcase on the floor.
Taking the clothes had been an act of punishment and Sheridan observed her with the morbid curiosity of a cat playing with a mouse.
‘You lied,’ she said, ‘for a second time. There will be consequences.’
But it seemed this little mouse had had enough of being pushed around.
‘Give me back my phone,’ Roz spat, her apparent nervousness giving way to anger. ‘You had no right to touch my stuff.’
Sheridan had anticipated her annoyance. After all, you can only bend a branch so far until it snaps. She had learned that with Kelly. She would not make the same mistake again.
‘Here, have it. It’s fully charged. Unlike you, I own a travel plug.’ She threw the phone towards her and it skittered across the wooden floor. She watched with some satisfaction as Roz frantically tried to turn it on.
‘You’ve taken out the SIM.’
‘Of course.’ Sheridan folded her arms. ‘I presume Dympna was the girl pictured with you in the nightclub – the one with the red hair?’
Roz stared, her eyes flicking from her phone to Sheridan. ‘I . . . I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ But her face relayed a different story.
‘I have to admit – you reeled me in with that good-girl act.’ Sheridan’s face hardened. ‘Who else knows you’re here?’
‘Nobody. I’ve stuck to my side of the agreement. But you’ll know that because you’ve read my texts.’
Sheridan delivered a wry smile. Roz was getting to know her well.
‘What have you done with my passport? And my clothes . . .’ A sob rose in Roz’s throat. ‘I’ve had enough. I want to go home.’
‘I locked your passport away for safe keeping,’ Sheridan replied, unmoved by her outburst.
‘I’m going.’ Roz slipped back on her shoes. ‘With or without my passport. You owe me money. I’ll go to the Irish embassy if you don’t pay up.’
‘Honey, until you give me my baby, you’re not getting a dime.’
‘She’s not your baby, she’s mine!’ Roz screamed.
A sharp laugh escaped Sheridan’s lips. ‘Oh, you poor deluded thing. You really think you can be a mother to your child?’ Shaking her head, she observed Roz with disdain. ‘You’re a loser. A pitiful nobody without a penny to your name.’
Tears brimmed in Roz’s eyes as her words hit home.
‘Your mother’s an alcoholic. Your father doesn’t want to know you . . .’
‘Don’t . . .’ Roz clutched her belly, as if to shield the baby from her tirade. But Sheridan continued, each word as sharp as a knife.
‘You had a job cleaning hotel rooms and you couldn’t even keep that. You’re talentless – your pictures are mediocre at best. Face it, Roz, this is as good as it gets. I wouldn’t trust you with a hamster.’
Sheridan’s eyes locked on to Roz. Sliding her hand into her pocket, she carefully palmed the item within. She had guessed Roz could react badly and there was no way she was letting her leave. But the last thing she wanted was a physical altercation with the pregnant woman in her care.
Sheridan tilted her head, giving an ice-cold smile. ‘You came from such humble beginnings, yet you demand so much. What more do you want?’
‘My freedom,’ Roz sniffled, edging towards the lift. ‘I can’t stand it down here. You’ve got to let me out.’
Sheridan side-stepped in front of her. ‘And risk you bumping into Leo? I don’t think so. What if he tells his schoolfriends?’
‘Then, please, let me stay somewhere nearby. You don’t need to keep me here.’