‘And they won’t be here for at least twenty minutes. And by that time you may be dead and there would be nothing for them to find. And if I am lying and I want to harm you, you don’t have enough time to do anything and the police won’t be here soon enough to do anything about it. And, besides, I would have harmed you by now. So you have no choice but to trust me.’
Konstantinos Palantis thought about what this man was saying and realised the sense in it. His expression changed and his demeanour indicated to Aristo that he had got through to the man.
Aristo relaxed but only briefly. They were still in danger. ‘Come on let’s get inside.’
This was no time to be polite and Aristo went in first with Palantis following behind. At the moment Aristo entered the entrance hall he heard a shot and he turned to see Palantis collapsing to the floor with half of his head torn off and Aristo found himself staring straight into the eyes of the man he had tied and straight into the barrel of the gun he held in his hand. And there was another man behind him.
Aristo was holding a gun as well, but he knew he did not have enough time to use it. He knew he was a dead man walking.
CHAPTER 40
Elli’s private island retreat, Mount Ellothon Aegean Sea, Greece
The scene could not be more contrasting. One of the most powerful women in the world next to one of the most powerful men in Australia. They were sitting at a wooden table that wouldn’t have been out of place in a monastery with its Spartan air and what you would call minimalistic luxury.
They were luxuriating in the creature comforts of Elli’s compound in the paradise of Mount Ellothon, both pityingly oblivious to their impressive surroundings that were changing as their conversation was developing to show the images of what they were talking about. To the untrained eye it was a surreal roll of film.
Andrew barely gave it a glance, and yet it kept distracting him and irresistibly drawing him in. He tried to shut it out and concentrated on what Elli was talking about.
‘Anyway, it’s good to have you here. You made it at last. I’ll be honest with you. I had my reservations. I know you are a busy man, Andrew, and I didn’t really think that you would bother to make an appearance. You do understand why I wanted you here. I wanted us to have a few days alone before we launched you back into the family bosom.’
‘I agree with the wisdom of that decision.’ Andrew paused. When he continued the tone of his voice was soft and nostalgic. ‘Elli, there’s been so much history between us. Why don’t we give it another go and try to recapture the magic of our first years together?’
Elli was not amused by the wave of nostalgic sentiment that seemed to have overcome Andrew. His sudden show of emotion took her by surprise and, if it was a seductive technique, it was not working. ‘Andrew, there’s been too much water under the bridge for grudges or animosity and for anything more than friendship. I didn’t ask you here to revisit a romantic liaison.’
‘Liaison? Is that how you see it now? You could fool me. If my memory serves me right, it didn’t feel like that at the time. It was deeper and more special than a simple romantic affair.’
Andrew, you know as well as I do that the honeymoon did not last long before the problems and your drinking started. What’s surprising is how we held it together for as long as we did. In retrospect we shouldn’t have let it reach the stage that it did. Every room we were in together became a battleground. Being tired from the constant rows led us to end up hating each other for turning everything into a battle.’ Elli’s tone became gentler. ‘But that’s all in the past. Life is too short for regrets and ‘what ifs’ and journeys into the past. Now, though we are here alone, except for the staff of course, I’m sure we can behave as adults and find something other than a romantic liaison to amuse ourselves. Do you fancy a swim before lunch?’
‘I’d love to.’
‘Good. I’ve asked Marios to get the boat out.’
‘The boat? I was thinking of something simpler, here. What do you have in mind?’
‘We will be sailing to Ikaria and having lunch on board. It’s only about an hour to get there.’
‘That sounds like a fantastic idea. You never cease to surprise me even after all these years.’
‘Well, you haven’t seen me for quite a few, at least not properly. Distant glimpses at various events and meetings don’t count.’
CHAPTER 41
Valchern Corporation Headquarters Limassol, Cyprus
Andrew left after a four-day stay to go to Cyprus and Elli planned to enjoy the rest of the week alone in peace. She was dozing by the pool when her mobile rang.
‘Hello?’
‘Mum, it’s Vasilis. I think you have to get back here. Manoukios has called an extraordinary board meeting.’
‘He what? When?’
‘Tomorrow at ten o’clock in the morning.’
‘He is in a hurry. Do you know why?’
‘No, he didn’t say.’
‘But he is obliged by law to give warning of the reason of such a meeting. I’ll be back in Limassol tonight. In the meantime try and find out as much as you can.’
She had been waiting for this for sometime. She was wondering when Manoukios would declare his hand. She had not believed Andrew. She had had a cold feeling about him since their discussion a few days ago. But she didn’t show him anything to indicate that she had been suspicious.
Let him be lulled into a false sense of security. In the meantime, she had been doing her preparation and had unearthed some interesting information about Manoukios.
Elli landed at Larnaca International Airport at midnight. A car took her straight to her house in Limassol where she had a meeting with her son Vasilis.
‘Vasilis, have you studied the information I have had collected on Manoukios and his family?
‘Yes.’
‘Do you understand what’s going to happen at that meeting tomorrow?’
‘Yes. I think Manoukios and the others are going to have a fit.’
‘Good. You know, if they do, that would make it easier and spare them the embarrassment that I have in store for them.’
The set was the boardroom of the Valchern Corporation headquarters in Limassol, Cyprus.
‘I call this meeting to order.’ Elli called out to silence those present and let proceedings roll.
‘Elli why are we here? Why all this formality? And it’s Sunday of all things. Why the urgency?’
‘The impatient Dekon.’ She looked across the table. ‘Maybe Manoukios should tell us. He was the one who called this meeting after all.’
Manoukios hesitated. He was suddenly afraid of Elli. Up to that moment he felt confident and cocky of having the upper hand, of turning the tables on Elli and her domination of the company that he despised for so long. He could not wait to finally settle the score with her once and for all.
He felt that with allies like he had now, this was the moment to strike, when she was at her most vulnerable, her moment of weakness, seemingly distracted by other matters, or so he thought. He was determined to press his advantage.
But Elli had other plans and he did not have the vaguest idea of what was in store for him. Her authoritative manner shocked him. His courage evaporated. His bullying demeanour was surprisingly mute.
Elli decided to encourage him and perhaps intimidate him a bit more. ‘Well? Are you going to enlighten us?’