He gave Cheryl two days to herself, leaving her entirely to the nurse and to the doctor, requesting them to check her as often as possible, despite being told it wasn’t necessary. The doctor was blunt. “The trauma was hit her pretty hard, but she mustn’t be allowed to sink into depression. I can prescribe pills, but it best would be to give her a change of scene. Somewhere where she can recover fully. She may not want to, may want only to go on lying in that darkened room of hers, wishing for something that can never now be. But it’s not good for her. Though it will take time, she really must move on.”           Nikolas nodded, glad to have the doctor back up his thoughts and plans. “When will she be up to traveling?” “Cheryl’s young and strong. If the journey is in Europe, I would say at any time.”        &nbs

          That voice came out of nowhere, from the pool of darkness at the far end of the terrace. A familiar voice, one he didn’t want to hear ever again. Demetrios strolled out of the darkness, like a snake slithering towards a possible prey. His voice was taunting, grating.“Are you already missing her, big brother?” Demetrios continued with a grin on his lips.“What the hell are you doing here?” Nikolas asked and his voice was terse, demanding.          A new emotion was taking over, fueled by a rush of adrenaline that had come the moment he’d heard his brother’s taunting voice. An emotion that tensed and coiled in every muscle of his body.“Oh, come on, Niko! Don’t tell me I’m trespassing?” Demetrios responded drawlingly. “Are you going to call your security guys and ask them to throw me ou

         His mother’s expression changed. He couldn’t tell what she thought, but he couldn’t care less.“Oh, Niko… I’m so very sorry,” she whispered.          Mixed emotion speared in Nikolas. His mother would be happy now… Happy to think she’d saved herself five million euros! Happier to think her precious son had been saved from the hideous fate of having to marry a woman he’d got pregnant and who would be the worst wife for him.“Celebrate, mother,” Nikolas said.          His tone was harsh and cruel. His eyes lasered into hers, and her face paled.“Celebrate?”          Calista said the word as if it had no meaning. But of course, it had meaning for her! It meant her precious son was safe. Blin

          That question was burning inside him, frustrating and nerve-racking. His team of investigators was worse than useless, it seemed. There were, so they had informed him, a very large number of people with her surname, and with no indication of even what part of the country she might be in, the search would inevitably be extremely long and maybe fruitless.            Frustratingly, Nikolas had realized he knew nothing about her… not even her date of birth. Did she have other forenames? Nikolas had been asked, politely but pressingly, by the investigators. He had no information to give them.           Did he know where she came from? Where she grew up? Where she went to school? Anything like that? Did he know people who knew her, like friends, relatives, former employers… anyone at all? No, no, and no.   &

          She wasn’t sure what she said to the sales assistant, didn’t register that the woman had nodded and gone through to the storeroom. Registered only that a hand like steel had gripped around her wrist.“What did that woman just call you?”          Cheryl rested her eyes on Nikolas’s face, where all she could see was blank stupefaction and disbelief.“Um… She called me ‘Dr. Richards’,” she replied in an expressionless voice. “Because that’s who I am, Nikolas. I got my Ph.D. last year… the year my father died. He was a senior research fellow at the university, and I’ve just taken up a research post in his former department, guided now by my old colleague, Dr. Maria Shell.”          His eyes were on her, quite blank.