‘What are you doing?’ Sergey yelled, but it was too late. The man was locked inside – at least until the police found a way in.

  ‘Mum,’ Caprice yelled as she sped into the kitchen to find her mother, who had just pulled a tray of baked potatoes from the oven.

  ‘Caprice!’ the woman shouted as the tray clattered onto the bench and she tore off the oven mitts she was wearing. ‘What are you doing here?’

  The girl quickly told her what had happened and how the police were on their way.

  ‘Where’s Bronson?’ Venetia asked, worried that the threats she’d heard the men making earlier may already have been delivered. She’d expected to end up locked away herself, but Bronson had convinced Sergey that she knew nothing. Given his guests had already begun to arrive, she was expected to carry out her contract and Sergey would think about what came next. She’d been feeling sick to the stomach for the past hour.

  ‘He’s gone to find Sergey – the police are on their way, but we have to get out of here,’ Millie said.

  ‘Where is everyone?’ Caprice asked.

  ‘The guests are upstairs in the sitting room with Mr Koloff. I’m not sure where all the guards have gone – I’m sure there was one lurking around just a few minutes ago.’

  But they didn’t have to wait long to find him. When they headed out into the hallway, he was slumped down unconscious against the wall. Millie and Caprice recognised the rope that bound his hands and legs. Bronson was good. Moments later, the man reappeared with Griffin Hendrix and guided Millie, Venetia and Caprice towards the entrance doors.

  Outside, Sep and the others watched, mouths open, as what looked like an entire tactical response unit surrounded the building, having arrived on foot from who knows where. Suddenly, the mansion door opened and Bronson Byers emerged with his hands up, yelling out who he was and that Griffin Hendrix was with him. Much to Sep’s relief, they were soon followed by Venetia, Caprice and Millie.

  Sep took off towards them, hugging Millie tightly as soon as he reached her. Millie smiled at him and he kissed her cheek, which turned bright red.

  ‘I was so worried,’ he said, then embraced Caprice and Venetia as well.

  Griffin’s children hurried to see him too, though he was in the middle of being handcuffed by one of the officers.

  ‘Dad, what’s happening?’ Hazel asked, hugging him before he was helped into the back of the police car that had just sped into the driveway.

  ‘Do what I told you, okay?’ he said. ‘And go back and help find that missing boy first.’

  Hazel, Jake, Kane and Liam nodded.

  ‘Who’s missing?’ Millie asked.

  ‘Ellie’s little brother, Myles,’ Hazel said. ‘Her mum said they think he walked all the way out here to Hoxton Manor in the snow.’

  At the mention of his son’s name, Bronson Byers’ ears pricked up.

  He looked at Detective Inspector Freeman who nodded.

  ‘Go. I’ll deal with this lot,’ Fenella said. But it looked like her team had things well in hand with a veritable parade of thugs being marched outside in handcuffs.

  ‘Sergey’s upstairs in his study,’ Bronson said. ‘It’s a safe room, so you’ll need some experts to get in. You might want to go a little bit easy on Griffin. I think he might finally have found his conscience.’

  Millie turned to Caprice. ‘I’m going back to help look for Myles too. You stay here and help your mum.’

  Caprice nodded, then hugged Millie again. ‘Thank you, my friend.’

  Millie grinned and took off with Sep – Bronson Byers and the Bauble Bandits behind them.

  Alice-Miranda, Britt and Miss Wickham walked upstairs together. They’d agreed not to say anything to Mr Turner until tomorrow – let him enjoy his Christmas party tonight.

  But sometimes life had a habit of foiling the best-laid plans.

  ‘I need to check on the band,’ Delia said and hurried away to the ballroom, where she hoped the group was set up. They had called earlier to say they were running late because of congestion on the motorway.

  ‘And I need to go to the loo,’ Britt said. She dashed down the hall.

  Alice-Miranda wandered into a large sitting room. At the end of it, a pair of sliding doors leading to what looked like Mr Turner’s study was slightly ajar. When she walked towards them, she was stunned to see Myles, Ellie’s little brother, standing in the room. He was staring at something on the desk. It was a photograph of a woman.

  ‘Hello,’ she said, letting herself into the room. ‘Does your mummy know you’re here?’

  She could see that his clothes were wet and his shoes looked to be soaked too. He must have been freezing but surprisingly he wasn’t shivering.

  The boy turned and looked at her, his eyes wary. He was holding a tin in his hands about the size of a shoebox and put it down on the desk.

  There was a noise outside the room and the doors opened wider.

  ‘I was told I had a visitor who couldn’t wait,’ Elliot Turner said as he walked inside and realised who was there. ‘Good heavens, how did you get here?’ the man asked.

  Myles stared at him and held out his hand, unfurling his fingers to reveal the silver bauble Elliot had given him the night before. ‘You said you’d give me another bubble, so I came,’ Myles said. ‘It was a long way, but I can remember places – I see them in my mind.’

  Delia Wickham arrived in the room too – the band was still stuck, and she’d gone to find her boss to see if he had any ideas about an alternative.

  ‘Oh – who’s this?’ the woman asked.

  ‘Myles,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘Juliette’s son.’

  A small gasp escaped Elliot’s lips.

  ‘My daughter’s name was Juliette,’ he said.

  ‘I know,’ the girl replied.

  ‘She’s my mummy,’ Myles said. ‘There.’

  He pointed at the photograph on the desk.

  Elliot Turner frowned and looked at Delia and Alice-Miranda. ‘No, that’s my wife, Inez.’

  Delia nodded and Alice-Miranda reached into her bag and pulled out the tiny bottle.

  ‘You need to read this, sir, but it’s probably best if you sit down first,’ Delia said.

  The man did as he was bid, before Alice-Miranda handed over the note which she had removed from the bottle.

  ‘What is it?’ Elliot asked.

  Myles had begun to shiver. ‘Does your mother know that you’re here?’ Alice-Miranda asked the boy. She grabbed a throw rug from a chair in the corner and wrapped it around him.

  But before he could answer there was a commotion outside. A woman was shouting.

  ‘Is my son here?’ she called. ‘Myles!’

  Alice-Miranda hurried out into the sitting room as Juliette and Ellie charged towards her.

  ‘He’s here!’ she called.

  Juliette ran into the study. She grabbed Myles and scooped him into her arms then hugged the boy tightly. Seconds later he was wriggling from her embrace.

  Ellie followed her and hugged Myles again.

  ‘Thank goodness, you’re okay,’ Ellie said, tears streaming down her face.

  Juliette looked across at Elliot Turner.

  There were tears streaming down his face too.

  ‘Look, Mummy, there’s a picture of you,’ Myles said, pointing at the framed photograph on the desk.

  Juliette gasped. ‘What?’

  Ellie stared at the photograph, then at her mother.

  Alice-Miranda walked over and pulled the doors closed then spun back around.

  ‘There’s some things you need to know,’ the child said. ‘I’m not sure how you’re going to feel about it all – but I think it’s something of a Christmas miracle. You should probably all sit down.’

  And with that, Alice-Miranda began to explain everything.

  ‘My sister did a terrible thing,’ Delia Wickham said, shaking her head. ‘I can’t believe that she stole your baby, Mr Turner – swapped her own sickly babe for Juliette. Do you think my brother-in-law knew too and he came that day to tell Mrs Turner? Maybe it was the shock of it all that caused her to fall down the stairs. And then he was killed in the car accident – the whole thing is horrific.’

  ‘I’m not sure that we’ll ever know,’ Alice-Miranda said.

  Delia took a deep breath. ‘I’ll pack my things tonight and be gone first thing in the morning.’

  Elliot Turner looked at his housekeeper. ‘No – of course, you won’t. You didn’t do anything wrong, Delia. You are not your sister and, goodness, you’ve lost so much too. Maggie took your family away from you as well.’

  A tear slid down Delia’s face. ‘Sir, I don’t deserve your kindness.’

  Juliette looked at the man she now knew to be her father. ‘Well,’ she said, an air of pragmatism in her voice. ‘I never thought we’d be getting a whole new family for Christmas – and the chance to be reunited with my aunt. I was just hoping for a hot lunch.’

  ‘But I’m not your –’ Delia began but Juliette cut her off.

  ‘You’ll always be my aunt, Delia,’ the woman said, tears shining in her eyes. She stood up and walked over to hug the woman.

  ‘Myles,’ Ellie said. ‘Do you understand? This man is our grandpa and that lady over there is our great-aunt.’

  Myles walked over to Elliot. ‘You said I could have another Christmas bubble.’

  Elliot Turner looked at his grandson, his chest expanding with a love he never thought he would know. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a tiny crystal Christmas tree and handed it to the boy, who gasped with delight.

  Alice-Miranda smiled. ‘I’m sorry – this must be such a shock to you all,’ she said.

  Elliot’s eyes glistened with tears but there was a sparkle in them too. ‘Alice-Miranda, I don’t know how we can ever thank you for finding out the truth. And yes, it will take time for us all to get to know each other but I’m sure we will. The fact that Aster became Juliette when that was her real name in the first place and my eldest grandchild has a name so close to my own – some things aren’t mere coincidences.’

  Ellie looked over at the man, wondering if he was right.

  Juliette nodded. ‘I saw something one day when I was snooping in my mother’s things. There was a card with the name Juliette on it. I don’t know why, but when I ran away and changed my name from Aster, it felt like that’s who I should have always been. I can’t explain it – I know it sounds ridiculous but it’s the truth.

  Suddenly the study doors slid open and a man stood in the entryway – Millie and Sep beside him.

  Everyone turned to look at them.

  Myles frowned before he shouted, ‘Daddy!’ and ran into his arms.

  Juliette’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘Bronson!’ she cried and ran to him too.

  The man clung to his wife and son but only seconds later he looked over at Ellie and beckoned for her to come to them.

  She began to cry, then rushed to hug the only father she’d ever known.

  Minutes later, Juliette introduced her husband to her newfound father. To say Bronson was shocked was something of an understatement. And though he had a hundred questions, right now he just wanted to be with his wife and son and daughter.

  Elliot Turner looked at Alice-Miranda. ‘Well, this is cause for celebration, don’t you think, young lady?’

  Alice-Miranda looked up at him and smiled. ‘What do you have in mind?’

  ‘Why don’t we leave this wonderful family of mine to get reacquainted and I think you and I should go and have a ride on that merry-go-round, shall we?’

  Alice-Miranda nodded. Elliot Turner held out his hand and she slipped hers inside.

  The fire crackled in the giant hearth as the family and friends gathered in the front sitting room at Highton Hall. Despite an abundance of antique furnishings and Persian rugs, somehow the room was still both grand and cosy at the same time, with enough overstuffed couches, cushions and comfortable armchairs for everyone to find a seat.

  Mugs of hot chocolate had just been passed out by Mrs Oliver and Shilly, while Cecelia, Jacinta, Britt and Venetia handed around plates of homemade gingernut biscuits, rum balls, Christmas tree cupcakes, slices of hazelnut log and mince pies.

  Dressed casually in jeans and a pale blue cashmere jumper with a snowflake motif (that was as close to an ugly Christmas sweater as the woman would go), Charlotte Highton-Smith sat on the floor with her daughter Imogen on her lap, while the girl’s twin, Marcus, sat beside his brother, Lucas, on the couch, babbling about Santa. Their grandmother, Valentina, surveyed the scene from a high-backed armchair, smiling contentedly to herself. Or perhaps she was also amused by the array of terrible Christmas jumpers everyone was now wearing, herself included.

  Alice-Miranda took a sip of hot chocolate, unaware of the milk moustache that now decorated her upper lip. ‘Who knew that our pre-Christmas celebrations would be so eventful?’ she said, frowning at Britt who was miming the need to wipe her face.

  Alice-Miranda realised what the girl was getting at and dabbed her mouth with a paper napkin.

  Lawrence Ridley grinned at his niece. ‘I’m not surprised at all. Your life is full of adventures, Alice-Miranda.’

  ‘Not all the time,’ she protested.

  Millie looked at her friend and raised her eyebrows. ‘Are you kidding? There’s never a dull moment when you’re around. I’ve lost count of all the mysteries you’ve solved and that I’ve had the pleasure of being part of, as well. Maybe you’re destined to be a detective. Maybe we both are. We could set up our own business. Although we might have to think of a simpler name than the Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones-McLoughlin-McTavish-McNoughton-McGill Agency.’

  ‘Good grief – please don’t offer me a job as your receptionist,’ Britt said to guffaws of laughter.

  Alice-Miranda smiled. ‘That could be an interesting life.’

  ‘Maybe you could work out why Miss Wickham’s sister thought it was okay to steal the Turners’ baby and swap her with her own. I mean, who does that?’ Caprice said.

  ‘Clearly the woman wasn’t well,’ Millie said. ‘Though that’s still no excuse – poor Juliette has had a really tough life. She’s a wonderful mother, despite how she was raised.’

  ‘And what about poor baby Aster? The real Aster, who was such a sick little girl? I can’t imagine losing my baby,’ Cecelia said, casting a loving gaze in Alice-Miranda’s direction.

  Jacinta hopped up to get a cupcake and plonked back down on the sofa on the other side of Marcus, who immediately put his finger in the middle of the chocolate icing.

  ‘I couldn’t agree more. It’s all ghastly but thanks to you, Alice-Miranda, the story has a happy ending,’ Charlotte remarked. ‘A family reunited for Christmas. It feels rather like the plot of a movie, wouldn’t you say, Lawrence?’

  The man turned to look at his wife. ‘Actually, I think it would make a great screenplay. Perhaps I’ll have a go at writing it.’

  ‘And I’ll play the role of the lead character, because you’ll need someone who can sing,’ Caprice said, giving a sly wink.

  ‘But Alice-Miranda is the lead character and she doesn’t sing . . .’ Neville said, then realised that Caprice was kidding.

  The others chuckled. Not so long ago, Caprice would have been deadly serious and they’d all be in big trouble for laughing. It was wonderful to see the change in the girl.

  ‘Make sure that you add the Bauble Bandits into the story,’ Lucas said.

  ‘Silly misguided kids,’ Hugh said with a shake of his head. ‘I can see why they thought they were doing something noble, but stealing is never a good idea. And at least it sounds like their father gained a conscience after he realised what his kids were up to.’

  ‘Don’t you think they should be in trouble with the police too?’ Neville said.

  ‘They’re kids – they made a mistake and it sounds like they’re going to put everything to rights. That would be far more constructive than dragging them through the courts and I’m fairly sure that Detective Inspector Freeman has given them a jolly good talking to. Hopefully that’s enough to keep them all on the straight and narrow from now on,’ Hugh said.

  Sep looked over at Venetia Baldini who was sitting quietly beside her daughter. ‘How are you feeling, Ms Baldini?’ the boy asked. ‘It must have been a shock finding out what Sergey was up to.’

  Venetia smiled at the boy. ‘Thank you for asking, Sep. I’m fine. It was probably for the best that I had no idea I was working for a monster. But I must say that I was stunned when poor Bronson Byers appeared in the kitchen. Strangely, though, I trusted him almost immediately and knew I had to help him somehow. I just didn’t imagine it was all so complicated.’

  ‘Did you get paid, Mummy?’ Caprice asked. Although her voice was light, Millie could see that it was a serious question, given what she knew about the family’s current circumstances.

  The woman nodded. ‘I’m pleased to say that Sergey transferred my full fee up front. I’m sure I wouldn’t have seen a cent otherwise – not now that his assets have all been frozen by the police.’

  ‘Yes, I suspect he won’t be around for quite a long time to come,’ Hugh said.

  After last night’s party with all its incredible revelations, the children had slept in this morning and then taken themselves off for a walk after breakfast to see the Greenings, before going down to the farm to play with Poppy and Jasper. Granny Valentina had arrived just after lunch, closely followed by Charlotte and Lawrence and the twins. This afternoon, the children had split up, with Caprice, Britt, Millie and Sep keeping Mrs Oliver and Venetia Baldini company in the kitchen, baking all the treats they were enjoying now, while the others spent the afternoon outside with the twins building a huge snowman. Dinner had been a casual affair of cottage pie and steamed vegetables. Cecelia had forbidden Dolly to do anything fancier, given it was only a couple of days until Christmas.

  ‘I can’t believe Sep and Neville and I will be home in Spain by tomorrow night,’ Sloane said. ‘The week’s gone so fast.’