She put a finger on his dark-pink lips with an adoring look on her face. “Are you going to cry?”
Smart, Wife. He rolled with her, caging her in his forearms. With a crooked smile, he stated, unashamedly, “Probably. Much more than you will.”
“Don’t worry, then. I don’t cry when I’m happy.”
He shook his head, amazed, kissed her once more before turning her and spooning behind her. “I love you, mo chridhe, mo gràdh, mo bheatha.”
She adored it when he said she was his heart, his love, his life. She snuggled against him, whispering, “I love you too. You’re my everything.”
Ashford Steel Industries, The Greek Meeting Room
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
10:55 a.m.
“Do you know why you’re going to meet all our demands? Because you have a good fucking reason to. If you fail, I’m going to making the photos and both birth certificates public,” said Calista in her flawed English, fed up by Ethan not transferring a single pound to their account since December. Plus, they had not been able to contact Eve again. She thought it had been a mistake not acting immediately and securing the woman’s confession. Calista and George had tried to contact Ethan, but their calls were not answered and their cards were returned unopened. So, this morning they were already waiting for their son in the Ashford Steel reception hall.
In his already drink-induced, numb state of mind, Ethan considered asking security to throw them out on the street. However, to avoid a scene he had agreed to talk to them. Nonetheless, he was hardly listening to their harsh threats as he drank from a tall glass of neat whisky. At his mother’s threat, he just shrugged. Do it. I don’t care anymore.
Calista was tapping her nails on the photograph of Demetrius’s face with so much anger that they were leaving marks on it. “You’re going to winding up eating this, you little motherfucker.”
Motherfucker? You wish, you pervert.
“We want the wire transfer done now,” George sneered at him, “or you will be unmasked as a pedophile. How about that for a man that supports abused women and children, you bastard?”
“I didn’t know I was a bastard.” Ethan laughed humorlessly and gulped his whisky. His eyes were burning with contained hatred. It’s time to be a man, Ashford. Stop running from your past. “Do you know, Calista, who Demetrius’s father really is?”
She looked at him surprised.
“Go on, mum. Gueeess,” he slurred. “Doesn’t he remind you of someone else from a long time ago?”
Calista didn’t understand for a minute. Then she whipped her head to look at George and back at the photo. Her jaw slacked and a gurgled sound came out from her throat.
“Say goodbye to your wealthy lifestyle. If you ever give this to the press, say goodbye to your fine reputation, too. She was sixteen when she was with you in one of your orgies.”
George’s and Calista’s eyes widened involuntarily when he mentioned Eve’s age.
“Bullshit,” she laughed nervously. “It’s not fucking possible.”
“Holy fucking shit!” George hissed at the same time. “How the fuck do you know that?”
“STOP!” Ethan shouted. Calm yourself, Ashford. Draining the rest of his whisky, he said in a lower tone, “Stop cursing. You will talk properly in front of me. Understand?”
They nodded, speechless.
“One more thing. If you ever touch another under-aged girl, or boy, for that matter, and it doesn’t matter if they’re supposedly there of their own free will, I’ll turn you over to the police. How about a few months in jail?”
When they just nodded again, Ethan banged his fist on the table. “Answer me.”
“Yes.” The word came out of their mouths in unison.
“Right now you should be congratulating yourselves that I’m letting you keep my grandmother’s house.”
George was so scared that he decided he had to mollify Ethan. “Thank you, Ethan.”
Thank you? “You’re welcome. Let me tell you the best part of our meeting.” I want to see you thanking me. Ethan leaned back on his tall chair and glared at them. “I would never give you another pound. You would only be allowed to stay in Grandma’s house if you behave. I don’t care if you debase yourselves but you’re not debauching any child or teenager, or forcing yourselves on poor women. To make sure of this, I’ll be checking up on you. Cameras will be put in the house and I’ll be informed daily of your activities. You’ll have to report your coming and going. If you ever, just once, step out of the boundaries, I will exert my right and evict you from the house, besides reporting you to the police. Understood?”
They listened to every syllable Ethan was saying with incredulity and terror descending over them. All they could do was nod.
“Now, go. Never come back again. Enjoy the rest of my life.” Ethan laughed when he finished.
The sound rushed over his parents like a rumble that announced a tempest.
Leibowitz Oil Building, In the garage
Inside Sophia’s Jaguar
4:05 p.m.
“Home, Mrs. MacCraig?” Through the intercom, Zareb’s voice cut into Sophia’s thoughts.
She had just scrolled down her messages and found one from Scott. It had arrived when she was getting into the car and didn’t hear it.
Scott Mulberry. 3:44 p.m. - Mr. Ashford needs your help. Pls, come. I don’t know what to do anymore.
“Hold on a sec, Zareb.” Sophia bit her lip, unsure of what to do. She was a married woman. She should not be going to apartments, much less to hotel suites of single men. Worse, a single man who had been her lover.
She called Alistair but he didn’t answer.
She called Scott.
When he told her what was happening, she informed Zareb she was heading to The Dorchester. She picked up her iPhone to send a message to Alistair, but decided against it as she didn’t know what his reaction would be. It’d be better if she explained everything to him afterward at home.
The Harlequin Suite
4:28 p.m.
“Wake up, please, Ethan!” Sophia tightened her grip on his arms, shaking him.
He responded to gentle nudging with a snort and a slap on one of her hands, without opening his eyes. “Go away.”
Ethan was sprawled sideways on the ivory suede sofa; an empty bottle of Blue Label whisky was on the table. His tie was undone, hanging around his neck, and his white shirt was open and stained with whisky.
“God, Scott. Why didn’t you call me earlier? How long has he been like this?”
“He’s been having some terrible problems, Sophia. Private matters. According to the hotel, he came back around half past twelve. At a quarter past two, he ordered another bottle of whisky. I tried to contact him at around three. When he didn’t answer, I decided to see what was happening.”
“Shhhhh!” Ethan hissed and fell asleep again in a drunken stupor.
She sat on the floor near Ethan’s head, combing her fingers through his silky, sun-kissed hair, and whispered to Scott, “What kind of problems? His parents again?”
Scott didn’t know what he should say, but he always felt comfortable around Sophia and knew she liked Ethan a lot despite what had happened between them. He sat on the small ottoman next to her, and in a hushed tone, told her a lighter version of what had happened to Ethan since their break-up.
How he managed to tell Sophia everything, omitting the fact that Ethan had hired a hacker, had stalked her, paid a woman to pose as his girlfriend, and another to fulfill his sexual needs, not even Scott himself knew.
Dubai, In a dimly lit room
5:16 p.m.
Ghost thrived in creating havoc in other people’s lives.
Or, as he liked to think, he was just exposing sinful people’s flaws. The fact that he earned money with it made it even more pleasurable, but the most important piece of his game was a person who was demanding and difficult to please and to understand. Uóchington Silva said all his whims should be met becaus
e he was Uó, Aw of the Borogodó.
What that meant, Ghost couldn’t guess. Uó tried to explain himself but they were having serious communication issues.
He started to type quickly and his lips curled up as he sent an encrypted email.
_____________________________________________________
From:
[email protected] January 11, 2011 at 5:24 p.m.
To:
[email protected] Subject: communication issues!!
_____________________________________________________
I need a translator in London. Immediately. It’d better be you.
Chapter 13
The Harlequin Suite
5:26 p.m.
Sophia was sitting on the comfortable chaise upholstered in buttery leather, looking out to the cloudy sky as complete darkness descended over the room. She didn’t feel like getting up to turn on the lights or even moving from where she was. She could never have imagined seeing Ethan in such a state. It made her so very sad.
She had taken matters into her own hands after Scott had finished the story.
The luxury of the master bathroom, with its black Nero Marquina marble floors and white Arabescato Oro on the walls, was lost to her as she drew a cool bath while Scott called two butlers to carry Ethan in.
She asked Scott to make Ethan drink some tomato juice, even if he didn’t feel like it, and to dress him and put him in bed, before calling her to talk to him.
The lights came on softly and Scott touched her shoulder. “Sophia.”
She sighed and pushed a lock behind her ear. “How is he?”
“Better. Sober. But in a faraway land.” Scott shrugged. “He doesn’t want to see you.”
“But I want to see him.” She crossed the living room in deep thought, knocked gently on the bedroom door and pushed it slowly, afraid of scaring him. “Ethan, I’m coming in.”
Ethan was sitting in bed, leaning on pillows, wearing a white linen shirt, with the covers pulled up to his lap. His beautiful hair was neatly combed back and he had shaved.
Instead of Sophia, she should have been named Charity. She gives away her kindness while asking for nothing in return. He didn’t say a word, or even look at her, his eyes fixed on his hands on his lap.
She sat in the armchair Scott had placed near the bed and noticed he was trembling. “Ethan, please. Talk to me.”
He faced her. I wish I could bring you inside my dark room. I would lock the door and throw away the key.
Those azure eyes she’d always found appealing were dim and the shadows under them made him look sick.
His lips curled down; seeing her as she was now, sitting next to him, taking care of him, with such a different love from the one he thought he needed and wanted, it hurt even more.
Oh, God, Ethan. What has happened to you? She sat on the edge of the bed, with one leg under the other, close to him. “Ethan, look. I will not be coming ‘round here, again and again, leading you on in a merry chase after what you think your heart wants. You don’t need me to fool yourself, and you don’t need yourself to be such a fool. If you keep confusing things, it will not make it easier for you.”
He didn’t say a word.
Fate robbed every little good thing Ethan had or could have. Every scrap of happiness. It left him with nothing. He bent and always adjusted. It pained him, but he melted and molded another soul within his own, starting all over again, forging in his own fire a new Ethan. But he had never buried and grieved the Ethans that were murdered before.
“I don’t want to watch you drink yourself into oblivion and destroy your life, but I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me. I don’t know what your parents said to you, and anyway, you shouldn’t care. They don’t deserve a second of your precious time or an ounce of your sanity. You’re better than them.” Sophia wanted to hold him in her arms and say she would always be there for him, but she wouldn’t be, and false hope was not what he needed. “You’re better and you’re essential, because you understand, Ethan. You understand it and you have the responsibility to help. No one can replace you. I can’t travel without you, Ethan. Are you listening to me?”
“Yes, Sophia.” He was too ashamed to have been found in such a compromising position and he didn’t know how to ask for her help or what to say. “But you know what? I wish I didn’t understand, darling. I wish it had never happened.”
“Oh, my dear, I know. It’s not easy, but you can help others. You can do for other children what no one did for you.” It was breaking Sophia’s heart, but she knew she had to give him new goals to look forward to and not let him sulk in his despair. “I need you by my side in our project. We’ve done a wonderful job so far together, and we can do a lot more. You’re not going to let me down, are you?”
I don’t know if I can face all this. I did it to keep you by my side, but it blew up. He closed his eyes and his tears spilled inside his body, drowning him in self-pity. I don’t want to buy anyone anymore. “I don’t know how.”
“I’m sure you do. You are such an intelligent man. Try to move forward and understand everything that has been ingrained in your soul for years and years; try to put what your uncaring parents did to you in the past.” Sophia grasped in her heart for the right words. Ethan is your friend, try to be less professional and more understandable.
“How, Sophia?” His baritone voice was devoid of all the charm it usually had; despondent and subdued. “How?”
“You know I’ve suffered a lot too. Not the same things as you did, but still…I was despaired when I met you at the airport. Unbalanced. I was not seeing the world around me. I could not see the beauty of a sunset anymore. Life had lost its appeal. I lived because of Gabriela. She was the only thread that linked me to life.”
He looked at her, surprised. “But you were vibrant. You had a…sparkling flame inside you. An incredible force.”
That’s it. Show him your flaws. “Perhaps I had, but I couldn’t see it anymore. However, you showed me that living in the present and looking around for new opportunities was the best thing I could do. It was—is difficult. But I realized the future wouldn’t wait for me to wake up and say: ‘Hey, I have not lived these past years. Give them back to me.’ I had to search for that tiny flame that was still burning inside my heart. The tiny flame that has never let me down.” She put her hand over his. “Ethan, you are a very dear friend. You helped me in your own way. Remember my dedication on our photo? I wrote: ‘Thank you for bringing me back to life.’ I was not living anymore, and what we had together, it was not the love that unites a woman and a man, but a different sort of love. It is very special.”
He went silent for a minute. Then he blinked, coming out from his dark room and he repeated the words in wonder, whispering, “It is very special…”
Somehow, he understood in that moment he had never loved her as a normal man loved a woman. It had been the way she had always been available to him, a true friend, that had made him hunger for her touch. First as a lover, then as an obsessed, discarded man; now he wanted to keep her friendship. “Is it, Sophia? Is it really special?”
She nodded. “Yes, Ethan. I think…I think it’s a deep friendship connection; souls recognizing a mutual need and a special bond. That is why I yield to the fire that burned—that burns inside you. Search for that passion that makes you admire how Maria Callas sang; the way you deal with your businesses; the charm that makes you draw all eyes to you when you walk by. It’s all inside you. You have not lost it.”
“And if I can’t find it anymore? Or if it has already been extinguished?”
His sigh was so painful that she pitied him and it made her want to cry. Sophia loved Ethan as a very dear friend. She knew that if he had been more forthcoming with Gabriela and if she had not met Alistair, she would probably still be with him.
Help him see his own force, Sophia. Show him he has always had it and it has not been lost. “Remember when you said you like to play with fire?” He nodded. “Search for the burnin
g ashes inside you and kindle them. Play with it until you can burn away the pain and discover the fire again. Find the pride you have always had of yourself.”
His laughter was sad. “And what do I have to pride myself on?” I have done nothing worth being proud of.
“Oh, Ethan. You have come so far. There was always something that made you put one step in front of the other; maybe compassion for the other, love for a special friend, not for everyone, for the special ones. I’ve always noticed the way you treat Scott, not as an employee, but almost as a friend, as a confidant. You help him. As you do with Imelda, your housekeeper, and I’m sure you have other special friends around you. Alexander, Leonard, myself.”
“I buy Scott, Sophia. As I do everyone else. My parents have kept everyone away from me; I pay to have them around me as I want.”
A sudden rage for Calista and George made Sophia’s eyes flash. “What you just said is not true. Scott was dead worried about you, not because you pay his salary and give him gifts; not because you buy him; but because he likes you as a kind and fair human being. You have to put your parents’ abuse in the past.”
I don’t have the courage to face them anymore. He wanted to shout, to break things apart. Ethan wanted to cry as he never had before. “I don’t know how.”
“I’m not saying you do know how. I’m saying you have to do it. I can help you with this. Scott can. Or even our psychologists at the Foundation. It takes a different type of courage to accept what you cannot change and try to make the best of it. Channel your discontent into an immediate positive action.” You need the right words, Sophia. But she didn’t know what the right words were. He would have to discover them for himself.
His lips curled in distaste and he crossed his arms over his chest as if protecting himself from what she was proposing because deep inside he knew it was going to hurt and he was so tired of the pain. You’re imagining an Ethan that doesn’t exist. Stop trying to make me better than I really am. “I’m not that good. I’m not that strong.”