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‘So is Callie!’ Sarah had gasped in outrage. ‘And she is also pregnant.’
‘I don’t believe that. I don’t think either of you is that stupid,’ he had dismissed without hesitation.
‘Callie is expecting your brother’s child—’
‘I cannot see where you imagine this claim could possibly lead,’ he had interrupted very drily. ‘And I had hoped that you would have the intelligence to know when you are beaten. The bird that lays the golden eggs has flown, Miss Hartwell. He’s back in Greece and he’s staying there. His affair with your sister is finished.’
‘Because you threatened him!’
‘I have never threatened my brother in his life. Damon knows what is expected of him,’ he had asserted grimly, subjecting her to a contemptuous appraisal. ‘And a calculating little bimbo with her eye firmly fixed to his wallet never had any hope of turning Damon from what he knows to be his duty.’
Shocked by his insults, Sarah had burst into speech in defence of her sister’s character and reputation. And Alex Terzakis had thrown back his dark head and laughed scornfully.
‘Your sister, young though she may be, was no virgin. Indeed I understand that she was rather free with her favours long before Damon met her, and not noticeably faithful while he was with her either.’
‘How...dare...you?’ Sarah had leapt to her feet, affronted beyond belief by his attack on Callie’s morals.
‘I’m calling your bluff, Miss Hartwell. If we are to talk of daring, I marvel that you had the impertinence to come here. A word of advice,’ he had purred silkily, indolently amused by her distress. ‘The next time you help your sister to get her claws into a rich Greek, tell her to keep her mouth shut about her previous lovers. Greek men are notoriously backward when it comes to female liberation. They always like to be the first with a woman, or at least to be allowed to pretend they are.’
Dumbstruck by his insolence, she had simply stood there until she’d finally unpeeled her tongue from the roof of her mouth. ‘You foul-mouthed—’
‘And if she wants that wedding-ring, tell her to keep her legs firmly locked together until she gets to the church. Moving in with Damon was her second mistake.’ Glittering golden eyes had dwelt on her shattered face with cruel satisfaction. ‘You can get out now. I’ve said all I want to say.’
Callie had been sitting in tears in the reception area, trembling and equally shaken, clutching a cheque for an enormous sum of money. Sarah had torn it up and thrown it in the bin and it had been hours before she was able to get the full story out of Callie. But one thing Callie had said was, ‘They made me feel dirty, Sarah...they made me feel like a blackmailer!’
That tremulous confession was engraved on Sarah’s soul like an acid burn. Her sister had been faced with two lawyers, who had proceeded to threaten her with nebulous but, to a teenager, terrifying repercussions should she ever feel tempted to talk about Damon to the Press.
Callie might have bounced back relatively fast from that day. Sarah hadn’t. Callie had continued to write to Damon, angry when she got no replies but amazingly not losing hope. ‘I bet my letters are being stopped before he gets them,’ she had decided. ‘I wouldn’t put anything past Alex Terzakis. Just wait until my son is born. It’ll be a different story then. Nothing will keep Damon away from me.’
The loathsome memory of that day lived for Sarah again now. The hatred came back, borne on a seething tidal wave of bitterness. She paused on the threshold of Nicky’s bedroom.
An unexpected scene met her eyes. Alex was reclining on her single bed with her nephew closely cradled against him. He was talking to him in Greek and Nicky was no longer crying. In fact he was making those endearing little snuffling sounds that signified that his attention was being fully engaged. Sarah’s stomach heaved at the deceptive imagery.
Alex looked so human. But his treatment of Callie had been inhuman. And now he wanted her child, simply expected him to be handed over like a parcel. Why? Nicky was also Nikos, with all that that implied. He was a Terzakis. Incredibly, Callie had correctly estimated the worth of her unborn child to the Terzakis family.
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