‘I was one of Britain’s top lawyers – but I was terrified my husband would kill me’

He would drink a lot, but in her industry this was part and parcel of a successful career and didn’t raise any alarm bells.

However, after he stopped working in the early years of their marriage, he became increasingly resentful of her success and became more and more controlling.

“I couldn’t dance in the kitchen with my kids, because if I was seen to be relaxing or having fun then I’d pay the price,” she says.

“I had to be seen to be busy. If he saw me playing solitaire on an iPad while I was waiting for some pasta to cook, he would suggest I was being idle.”

A few years later, he became “physically very intimidating” by throwing things and slamming doors.

Lara is far from alone. Amy, who was a managing director at one of the biggest investment banks in the world, spent years hiding bruises and broken bones from her bosses.

She met her abusive partner online, and believes she was targeted because she was “financially attractive”.

The relationship moved fast, and when friends raised eyebrows about a wedding so soon after meeting her partner she said it was a “no brainer” because she had just landed a £200,000 bonus.

In the years that followed he took control of her finances, isolated her from her children and became physically abusive, breaking her nose, her back and two ribs.

“This is rife in our society and nobody talks about it. It’s the hidden horror of our society,” Amy says.

“I’m an educated woman who was very successful and able to retire early. The external me was formidable. There’s an attitude in banking that ‘this wouldn’t happen to our people, they’re way too smart’.

“We’re taught to be strong, articulate ambassadors to the company. It’s almost unthinkable that someone like me who was that ambassador was hiding bruises. I’ve got a big message to give to these companies: don’t think this isn’t happening to your people and your executives, because it is.”

Amy believes that high-paying companies such as banks deliberately “search out these alpha individuals who sweep into companies and look the part”, which can leave staff feeling pressure to appear a certain way – no matter the reality.

“Someone walking in with their face all beaten up, it’s not going to happen is it,” she said.

“The company’s image is almost encouraging a ‘paper over the cracks’ attitude.”

Amy’s abuse was so bad that the only way she could hide was by working from home and turning her camera off.

After her nose and facial bones were broken, a surgeon told her that he’d “only seen these injuries before on a dead person”.