by Angel Sefer
"Nothing," Helena lied. "Goodbye, Alex. I’ll miss you," she added. She felt like hugging him, but on second thought, she wouldn’t risk it.
She climbed up the steps, feeling his eyes watching her. She’d made up her mind… she was leaving. She didn’t know what to tell her aunt and Dimitris' mother, but she didn’t care. She was hurting too much to worry about anyone else right now. This whole thing had gone far enough.
Chapter Sixteen
LATER ON THAT NIGHT, Dimitris was still in his office on the top floor of his company’s tower in Piraeus. Staring at the paperwork in front of him, he ran his fingers through his hair. He just couldn’t believe it... he’d had his suspicions, but couldn’t believe things had gone that far...
He sprang to his feet and walked over to the windows overlooking the harbor. Sticking his hands in his pockets, he took some deep breaths to calm down the turmoil of his emotions. He had to make some very serious decisions…
A knock on the door brought him back to reality. “Come in,” he said and turned to see his secretary, Dina, walk in the room.
“Mr. Venieris is here to see you,” she said and stepped aside to let Michael come in.
“Where have you been?” Dimitris asked, anxiously.
“I came as soon as I could,” Michael replied and walked inside, sinking into one of the two burgundy leather armchairs in front of Dimitris’ huge mahogany desk. “What’s going on?” He got straight to the point. “I just couldn’t believe everything you were saying over the phone.”
“It’s all true,” Dimitris confirmed and sunk into the armchair behind his desk. “I’ve been with the attorneys and the accountants all day. I’ve seen the evidence. There is no doubt anymore…”
“And what are going to do about it?”
“I’ve talked to the police chief already…”
“What about Sophie? Have you thought about her?” Michael asked, concerned.
“I know…” Dimitris said and let out a deep breath. “And Helena, as well… after all, he’s her uncle… But this is far more than embezzling money.”
“How did they pull this off?” Michael inquired, puzzled.
“It seems that one of the attorneys was involved, as well. He was the one who arranged all the paperwork and the off-shore bank accounts, so that the funds from Angelos’ life insurance went to Thomas and Katie.”
“I just can’t believe it,” Michael said. “I always knew they lived extravagantly, but had assumed it was Katie’s money.”
“I’d assumed the same thing until I found out about Katie’s background,” Dimitris said, and explained to his friend what he had discovered.
“Oh, my!” Michael cried out. “How on earth did you find all that out?”
“I have my sources,” Dimitris replied, and left it at that. He wasn’t ready to talk about his mother’s background with anyone, not even his best friend.
“And what about the trust fund?”
“Eleana had it set up so that Helena would get the money when she turned twenty-five. I suspect they were trying to find a way to get their hands on that money, as well.”
“At any cost?” Michael asked, shocked.
“I’m afraid so, yes,” Dimitris replied. He wasn’t sure about Thomas, but he was sure Katie would have no problem getting Helena out of the way to get her hands on the inheritance.
“I just can’t believe all that about Thomas…” Michael said. “He’s not that bright... How would he come up with such a plan and fool so many people?”
“I really don’t think it was Thomas who arranged everything,” Dimitris replied. “You’re right… he’s not capable of something like this. It was a very complicated plan, with off-shore companies and bank accounts through which the real beneficiaries couldn’t be easily tracked down. I believe it was Katie—she’s ruthless. She’s been using him, and Sophie, as well. I believe she was the one who made him ask Sophie to borrow the money from Christina.”
“Wow!” Michael cried out, astonished.
“Yes,” Dimitris went on. “I’ve found out in the past that Thomas had embezzled some funds from the company, but I left it at that, thinking that Sophie would be devastated if she found out. I just made sure he had no access to that kind of money anymore, and I thought the matter was settled.”
“And it was probably then that Katie came up with a more elaborate plan.”
“And there’s more…” Dimitris went on.
“What do you mean?
“I’m afraid Katie is responsible for far more than embezzlement…”
Michael kept silent, watching his friend get up and walk over to the windows.
“I’m afraid Katie had something to do with Angelos’ disappearance,” Dimitris confessed, leaving Michael speechless. “Not to mention, the attempts on Helena’s life and Asimina’s disappearance.”
“What?” Michael burst out and jumped right out of his chair. “What are you talking about?” he asked, outraged, and Dimitris could tell he’d lost his temper.
Dimitris walked to the bar at the corner of his office and poured a drink for his friend. He walked over, handed it to Michael, then went back and poured one for himself.
The whole time, Michael watched him like a hawk. Dimitris had never seen his friend is such a state of mind before… and of course, he had every right to be. After all, Asimina was his mother’s sister.
Dimitris sat in his armchair and explained to Michael everything Asimina had told him about her suspicions, leaving out the part that involved his mother.
“You mean Asimina suspected Katie about Eleana’s death, as well?” Michael asked and finished his drink bottom up.
“Yes,” Dimitris confirmed.
Silence stretched in the room, as both friends were lost in their thoughts.
The ringing of the phone brought them back to reality.
Dimitris answered it, and his face went white.
“She what?” he barked.
He listened for a couple of minutes, feeling his temper rising. This girl is going to be the death of me, he realized.
“Why did you let her go?” he asked his mother furiously.
“Dimitris, there was nothing we could do,” Mrs. Nikolaou reassured him. “She was determined to go, and to be honest, I think she needs a break. She’s been overwhelmed, exposed to a whole different way of life.”
“But I need her, Mother,” Dimitris admitted. “I love her, and I want her to be here with me.”
“When you love someone, you set her free,” his mother replied, quoting an old saying. “If she returns, keep her—she’s yours. If she doesn’t, she never was…”
***
On the ferry to Athens, Helena could still see the expression on her aunt's face when she told her she was leaving. Sophie was shocked, but could probably tell Helena had made up her mind. Mrs. Nikolaou just nodded her head, and Helena knew she understood a lot more than she was saying. She seemed reluctant to take back the engagement ring Helena gave her, but seeing Helena’s insistence, she gave in. Steve was also shocked to hear she was going back to England with him.
“Are you sure about this?’ he asked her, concerned.
“Yes,” Helena replied, and from the expression on his face, she could tell he understood she was falling apart inside. Helena knew he was no fool; he knew her decision to go back to England had nothing to do with him. Things between them would never be the same again.
Helena dreaded going back to England and living the rest of her life without Dimitris. Not to mention the fact, she hadn’t found out anything about her father. Then again, she had no other choice.
Steve and she had boarded the same ferry as Alex and Stella, and had a hard time avoiding them.
Helena wasn’t ready to talk to anyone or explain what she was doing. She wasn’t even sure herself. She just knew she couldn’t live with Dimitris, while she suspected he was in love with someone else.
She thought about her apartment and her job. She was going to g
o back and try to get her job back. She was gone way too long, a lot longer than she’d anticipated, and they must have replaced her by now. However, she was good at her job, and she was sure her boss would take her back.
They had approached Piraeus, and the loud whistle of the ship’s siren took Helena by surprise and brought her back to reality.
They waited for almost everybody to get off before they picked up their luggage and walked towards the gangway.
The harbor was overflowing with life. Hundreds of impressive cruise liners and colorful fishing and sailing boats were anchored everywhere. People were running back and forth, carrying suitcases and boxes off the ships.
Helena noticed taxis lined up as far as she could see, waiting to pick up the passengers from their ferry, and a big cruiser which was docked a little further down from them.
Steve grabbed her by the arm to help her get on the gangway. She walked carefully, as she hadn’t been feeling well all morning. By the time they stepped on the ground, she felt sick to her stomach. Steve saw how pale she was, and without a word, he took her suitcase from her hand. Helena was too weak to protest. She kept quiet and just followed Steve to where the taxis were waiting. They got in one, and she heard Steve asking the driver to take them to a hotel.
“Steve, our plane,” Helena protested.
“You’re in no condition to travel,” he said. “We’re going to spend the night in a hotel and see if we can catch a flight home tomorrow.”
“But, Steve, we’re going to lose our tickets,” Helena complained. “We scheduled them for today.”
“Then we’ll just have to reschedule,” he said stubbornly, and Helena realized she was just wasting her time.
Helena was astonished by the heavy traffic. She kept quiet all the way to their hotel, staring outside the window as they left the city of Piraeus and drove into the city of Athens. She wasn’t sure where one ended and the other one started, as they’d merged together into a huge city that spread between the Saronic gulf and the three mountains of Ymittos, Parnitha, and Penteli, and even beyond them, extending to the peninsula that reached up to Central Greece.
All of a sudden, Helena realized she had seen nothing of Athens— one of the world’s oldest cities, with a recorded history spanning around 3,400 years. She knew that the city—where cultural achievements during the 5th century BC laid the foundations of western civilization—was an amazing blend of different eras, with its Classical Era ancient monuments, works of art, museums, and Byzantine and Roman monuments, as well as medieval monasteries.
As they approached downtown Athens, she noticed the well-preserved neo-classical buildings blended in with brand new ones made of glass and steel, luxurious department stores, small intimate shops, restaurants, and traditional taverns.
She saw the hill of Acropolis overlooking the city with the Parthenon— considered a key landmark of early Western civilization—dominating the area.
When she came to Athens after all these years, she had taken the first ferry to the island and didn’t have a chance to see anything. Maybe if she felt better this afternoon, they could have a look around, she thought.
They went by the old palace gardens, turned into the National Gardens nowadays—a huge park that gave a breath of fresh air to this massive city of steel and concrete.
Then they drove by Syntagma Square and in front of the Parliament, which used to be the old palace. Hundreds of tourists were watching the national guards in their traditional uniforms marching in front of the parliament, and thousands of pigeons flew everywhere and landed on tourists’ hands and shoulders.
The taxi driver was taking them to Hilton, a luxury hotel in downtown Athens. In order to get there, they made a right after the Parliament, on a main street which was filled with flower shops all along one side. Helena was amazed staring at the beautiful flowers in vases and baskets displayed out on the pavement.
By the time they reached the hotel, Helena felt better and anxious to have a look at this mysterious and magical city.
As soon as they were taken to their rooms, Helena went to shower, and Steve got on the phone with British Airways, trying to reschedule their flight.
Helena finished her shower and dried her hair. She put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and went next door to Steve’s room.
“I’m starving,” she said, as soon as he answered the door.
“Give me a minute,” he said, “and we can go downstairs and have some lunch.”
Helena walked over to the windows at the end of the hallway and stared outside. Steve was next to her in a couple of minutes. They caught the elevator and went to the main lobby.
“Let me ask where the restaurant is,” Steve said and walked towards the reception desk.
“Oh! Steve,” Helena pleaded. “Let’s just take a walk outside. It’s such a beautiful day.”
Steve hesitated for a moment, probably astonished by the abrupt change in her mood.
“Are you feeling better?” he asked. “Maybe we should get something to eat here at the hotel, and then you can get some rest.”
“No, I’m feeling a lot better,” Helena reassured him. Actually, she was. She felt like a little girl ready to go on a field trip.
They grabbed a map from the little bookstore in the hotel and ventured off. They walked down the street to the Kallimarmaro— meaning the “beautifully marbled”—the ancient stadium of Athens, which was made completely out of fine marble. Then they sat and had some lunch at one of the restaurants outside the National Gardens, and afterwards, they took a walk through the gardens.
Helena really enjoyed the little zoo and the pools filled with goldfish and ducks. The trees were so thick she could hardly see the sky. It felt really good and refreshing. They sat on a bench, eating delicious donuts and watching little children feeding the ducks.
It was late in the afternoon when they got back to their hotel. Helena went to her room to freshen up for dinner. She couldn’t believe that during all this time, she hardly thought about her problems. Grateful, she realized she’d really needed this break.
She put on a sleeveless dress and a pair of sandals and went to sit by the window, waiting for Steve. The noise of the street couldn’t reach up here, and she felt relaxed.
She got up as soon as she heard a knock on the door and went to answer it. It was Steve, who seemed a little worried.
“What’s wrong?” Helena asked.
“It’s our tickets,” he said. “We can’t leave until the day after tomorrow.”
“That’s okay,” Helena said. “This way we’ll have a chance to see Acropolis, after all.”
Steve appeared relieved she wasn’t upset about the delay. He was happy to see her enjoying something so much. It had been such a long time since he had seen her excited about something.
They had dinner at the beautiful Acropolis museum restaurant, enjoying delicious traditional recipes from different parts of Greece and a panoramic view of Acropolis lit up at night.
When they arrived back at the hotel, they decided to go to sleep, in order to get up early in the morning. They wanted to visit Acropolis, as well as the museum, and then stroll through the backstreets of Plaka, the old part of the city built right underneath the sacred hill.
Helena was really excited and thought she wouldn’t be able to sleep. However, she fell asleep the moment she laid her head on the pillow.
***
The ringing of the phone woke her up. “Are you still sleeping?” Steve laughed. “I thought you wanted to get up early. It’s almost ten-thirty,” he said.
“Oh! My!” Helena cried out and jumped out of bed. “I’ll be ready in ten minutes,” she promised and slammed the phone down.
She rushed to the bathroom and got ready in a flash. She didn’t want to miss another minute of the day. It was her last day in Greece, and she might never come back. She would treasure this day forever.
They took a taxi to Acropolis and climbed up the hill. When they finally made it to th
e top, Helena held her breath. The beauty left her ecstatic. The white marbles of Erechtheion—an ancient temple on the north side of the Acropolis, dedicated to both Goddess Athena and God Poseidon—and the Parthenon, the temple of Goddess Athena—were shining in the sun.
Steve and Helena walked around, fascinated by the architecture and the sculptures. They took a lot of pictures and visited the museum.
Then they walked down the hill to Plaka and had some lunch at a traditional tavern, sitting outside under the shade of perennial trees. Afterwards, they walked up and down the backstreets, visiting almost every other store, searching through beautiful antiques, hand painted icons, wood carvings, paintings, postcards, and handmade jewelry.
When they finally made it back to the hotel, they were exhausted, and their arms were aching from carrying all the stuff they had bought.
Helena went to her room and had a quick shower. Then she put on a pair of pants and a short-sleeve shirt and went to meet Steve. He was waiting for her downstairs at the lobby. They had decided to go and have dinner at Kifissia, one of the most beautiful suburbs of Athens. They were told that there were some excellent restaurants there, and they could then enjoy some coffee and ice cream at the main square, or go for a ride on a horse-drawn carriage.
Dinner was really exquisite, and then they walked to the main square and sat at a café that had tables spread underneath the trees of the square. They ordered fire ice cream, which the waiter told them was the best. Helena couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the waiter holding a tray with two huge, flaming ice cream balls. He explained to them that they poured liquor over the ice cream and then set it on fire. Helena enjoyed her ice cream, and after that, they decided to go for a ride on a horse-drawn carriage.
The carriage took them around the older and most traditional neighborhoods of Kifissia, and they had a chance to enjoy some of the most beautiful houses they had ever seen, lit up at night.
An hour later, they were back at the main square and decided to head back to the hotel.
They were crossing the street to find a taxi when Helena stopped dead in her tracks… Dimitris was sitting at a café with Stella who was leaning forward, touching his hand and talking to him.