'I'm sorry,' she said again. It seemed the only thing she could say.
'Are you?' There was something very strange in his voice. 'So am I.'
Well, of course he was. Andrea knew. Of course he wished he'd known from the start just how tainted she was! As if it wasn't bad enough to discover she was crippled—she was common as well...
Nikos's eyes had slid past her, lingering briefly on the tense, anxious figure of her mother, and then out, out through the window.
He wants to get out of here, Andrea thought. Get back to his own world. Where she had no place. Nor ever could have.
Through the window Nikos saw the other tower blocks of the estate and, far below, the world beneath. The sun was setting, starting to turn everything to gold. He stared down. All the kingdoms of the world spread before him.
He thought of the journey he had made—the long, hard journey from the streets of Athens—with only one focus, only one goal. Making money. More and more of it. Acquiring Coustakis Industries would have been the pinnacle of his achievement.
And he was a young man still. Who knew what kingdoms he could buy and sell before his time was up? Who knew what souls he could buy and sell with all his riches?
A face stole into his mind's eye. An old man's face, whose eyes knew well the price of a man's soul.
What is mine worth? thought Nikos. And the answer came clear. Clarion-clear.
Too much for Yiorgos Coustakis to pay.
He stepped away from the window and looked back at the two women in the shabby room. The kingdoms of the earth disappeared from view.
His hand slipped inside his jacket, taking out his mobile. He punched in a number. His voice, when he spoke, was curt. 'This is Nikos Vassilis. I have a message for Yiorgos Coustakis. Tell him I am standing in front of Kim Fraser and her daughter in their home—the merger is off.'
Then he disconnected.
As he slipped the phone back in his pocket his eyes met
Andrea's.
She reeled.
The blaze of emotion in them was like a flash-flame.
'I will make him pay,' he said softly. 'If it takes me the rest of my life I will make him pay for what he has done to you.'
Andrea stared. His mouth twisted at her expression and he forged on. 'I knew the man was ruthless—all the world knew that! But that he would stoop so low... Christos, he has behaved like an animal!'
She couldn't speak—couldn't do anything but stare at him, disbelieving.
Nikos's eyes raced around the room again. 'To make you live like this,' he grated. 'To turn his back on his own flesh and blood—to leave you to struggle on your own all these years. Not even—' His voice hardened like the edge of a knife. 'Not even to lift a finger when his own granddaughter faced a lifetime in a wheelchair...' He shut his eyes. 'Dear God in heaven, what kind of scum is he?'
His eyes snapped open. They glinted like steel. He reached for his phone again. 'Well,' he said grimly, 'the world will soon know.' Before Andrea's very eyes she saw him speak in English again. 'Demetrios? Prepare a press-release. The Coustakis merger is off. Yes, you heard me. And I shall be making my reasons for pulling out very, very clear. The stink will reach heaven, I assure you! I'll phone again in an hour, when you've had time to contact the board.'
He snapped the phone off again.
'Mr Vassilis.' Kim spoke, her voice agitated and perturbed. 'Please—I don't understand any of this! What is happening?'
'What is happening...' Nikos's voice softened as he saw how disturbed Kim was '...is that I have decided not to take over Coustakis Industries. I refuse, absolutely—' his voice hardened again '—to have anything to do with a man who could behave in such a way to you and your daughter! I refuse, absolutely,' he finished, 'to do business of any kind with him!'
'But—but...' stammered Andrea. 'But the merger means so much to you—'
A hand slashed through the air. 'No. Only one thing means anything to me, Andrea.' His voice changed. 'Only one thing.'
He took a step towards her. She wanted to step back, but she couldn't. She was rooted to the spot.
'Don't you know what it is, Andrea mou?’ His voice had softened. 'Surely you must know?' His hand reached out to touch the flaming aureole of her hair. Her breath caught. 'Surely?'