Yvonne watched her with a frown.
The lawyer picked up on the fourth ring and Faye greeted him briefly before getting straight to the point.
“I want to buy a house in Greece. On an island. Think Mamma Mia! When it’s all sorted, I want the contract signed over into the name of a friend of mine.”
Yvonne’s eyes opened wide and her mouth gaped, but she shut it again. Faye recognized that she had her and relaxed.
“I want you to do this as soon as possible—it’s a very dear friend of mine, George.”
“Of course.”
Yvonne began to pace back and forth across the living room floor. It looked as if she was wrestling with herself, but Faye had seen her look and sensed the changed mood. She understood she had already won.
“And just to make sure you understand quite how dear this friend is to me, I’d like you to transfer three million kronor to an account associated with the transaction. For unforeseen expenses.”
Yvonne stopped and stared at Faye. The hostility in her gaze was gone. Now she just looked downright shocked.
“From the account in the Caymans?” George asked. Despite the rather peculiar conversation, he sounded calm and collected. Almost amused.
“Yes, that’ll be fine. I’ll send the details later. Thanks, George. Let me know when it’s done.”
Faye stood up and put the phone back in her bag.
“Did you just try to bribe me?” said Yvonne.
“No, all I did was buy a house in Greece for someone I think deserves a break in life. Consider it a thank-you for your long and faithful service from a grateful citizen.”
Yvonne stared at her. Faye smiled. She understood people like Yvonne. She was petty and jealous of Faye, and had become hell-bent on destroying her. But now that Faye had offered her the chance for a new life, Faye knew that Yvonne’s sense of self-preservation would win out. What Faye was offering was far more than she could ever expect from taking Faye down. One crisis averted. Now she had to deal with the crisis at Revenge.
* * *
—
When Faye got home, Kerstin was waiting for her in the apartment. Although they had keys for each other’s places, they rarely made use of the opportunity to let themselves in except to check up on the apartments when the other was away.
She had spoken to David about the fact that she would be sharing their home for only half the year, but he didn’t understand why she had to spend so much time in Italy. She had offered him the same reasons she’d given to the press—that she needed another base too, a home and a country where not everything reminded her of Julienne. He hadn’t completely bought that and had tried to persuade her that now she could make her base in Sweden with him, with new memories. She knew that in the not-too-distant future she would be forced to tell him the whole truth. Then he would understand. But for some reason she was dragging her heels. She trusted him—it wasn’t that—but she was afraid of how he would see her once he found out who she really was.
“Hello! What are you doing here?”
Kerstin had opened a bottle of wine and set out two glasses. She patted the space on the sofa beside her.
“I’ve got a flight to Mumbai booked tomorrow, but I just wanted to check whether I should postpone. There’s a lot going on right now and I’m worried about you. It feels like I’m abandoning you just when you need me most.”
Faye sat down and held out her glass so that Kerstin could pour the wine. It was true that Faye had a lot of things on her mind. She had decided in the end not to worry her mother with the news of Gösta’s escape, and for a moment she wondered whether she should confide in Kerstin. But there was nothing that Kerstin could do, and she had already burdened her friend enough. She took a sip and then let out a long sigh.
“There is a lot going on, Kerstin, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. You’ve done all you can—you’ve brought us to this point. Now it’s Ylva’s and Alice’s turn to take over. Ylva’s going to look after the register of shareholders while you’re in India. And David has given me the energy to carry on. He’s becoming so much more important to me.”
Kerstin raised her eyebrows.
“You’ve gotten very close in a short space of time. How much do you really know about him? More than I found out?”
Faye placed a hand on Kerstin’s.
“I know you’ve had bad experiences with men. Well, one man. And God knows I have too. But this feels right. I feel safe with him.”
“Mmm.” Kerstin looked skeptical and sipped her wine slowly, without meeting Faye’s gaze.
Faye shook her head and changed the subject. They talked about Julienne and about that slimeball Jaime. Before long, they were laughing like they always did—but they didn’t quite manage to re-create that feeling of closeness.
Ylva and Faye were in Faye’s office. Stockholm was visible through the window in all its splendor. The sky outside was veiled in a thin layer of cloud, but the sun broke through occasionally, revealing the spots the window cleaners had missed.
“Do you feel safe at Alice’s?” Faye asked.
“Yes. And I think Alice is grateful for the company, like you said.”
“Good. We’ve got to stick together. Have you heard anything from Jack?”
Ylva shuddered, just as she did whenever Jack was mentioned.
“No, nothing,” she said.
“Hopefully they’ll arrest him any day now.”
Ylva nodded. She turned her laptop around so that Faye could see her presentation.
“I’ve done everything I can to stop the buyout. But far too many people are selling their shares. We’re very close to a takeover. We may have to put Amsterdam into operation.”
Faye shook her head with concern.
“I don’t know, Ylva. I really don’t know. With Jack in prison and Revenge taking off, I thought the battle was over, I could finally sit back and enjoy life. But now it feels like a game of whack-a-mole down at Gröna Lund, with enemies constantly popping up from different holes. Each time I whack one, a new one appears. I don’t know how much more fight I’ve got left in me. Is it even worth it?”
She pushed the laptop away.
“I’ve got enough money to get by. Putting it mildly. I don’t really need to work again. I could spend more time on other things, apart from business. Like David. Who knows where that might go? And Amsterdam…Amsterdam is a risk. It might blow up in our faces.”
Ylva looked at her and pursed her lips.
“I barely recognize you when you talk like that. There are things we can do. You could buy up shares yourself. You’ve got the capital. You can fight. You seem to have given up in advance. This isn’t the Faye I’ve come to know. Are you really going to let Henrik win?”
She sighed.
“I’ll follow your instructions. You’re the boss.” Ylva shrugged. “But I have to say I think you’ll regret it if you don’t act more forcefully.”
Faye didn’t reply. She was drawing figures on the desk with the tip of her finger. Her mobile buzzed. A text from David. Faye couldn’t contain her smile.
Ylva leaned toward her.
“You look happy.”
Faye nodded.
“I’ve never been happier with a man. I think I’m in love—I’m acting like a teenager. We both are.”
“Good. You of all people deserve it. I hope I get to meet him soon.”
“We’ll arrange it. He’s got a lot going on, what with his soon-to-be ex-wife.”
Faye squirmed a little. What she was about to ask Ylva made her uneasy. Especially after the discussion they’d just had. She knew her former rival well enough to know that she would think it was unprofessional to let her feelings for a person give him an edge in the process. On the other hand, Revenge was Faye’s company. Ylva was an employee. Faye could do as she pleased. All
the same, doubt was gnawing away at her.
Asking for something like this was exposing herself, showing a crack. She looked across the office, through the glass doors she had insisted on when they had renovated, so that the staff could always see her when she was there. As CEO and chairman, she had personally recruited many of the staff. She had invested time and money in them—she wanted to see them develop and gain wind beneath their wings. She couldn’t let them down.
Fuck it, Faye thought to herself.
“Speaking of David, he wants to become one of our investors,” she said in as neutral a voice as she could.
Ylva nodded unsmilingly, not looking at Faye.
“That’s nice.” Her voice was cautious.
“I’d like you to go through his proposal and finances as soon as possible.”
“So I should prioritize him?”
Faye nodded.
“Okay. No problem. Like I said, you’re the boss.”
There was silence for a while. Faye leaned back in her chair and contemplated Ylva, who was determinedly staring down at her laptop.
She took a deep breath. “You think I’ll bring David on board regardless of how good his proposal is?”
Ylva looked up.
“No, you’re way too professional to do that. I admire you and I think you know what’s best for Revenge. I’ve only been here for a few weeks. Does it really matter what I think?”
“Yes, it matters to me.”
Ylva sighed and folded the screen of her laptop down. She ran a hand across her brow.
“You’ve been seeing each other for, what? A month? You’re in love. You’re moving in together. That’s wonderful. But getting him involved in Revenge? I don’t know, but I think it’s paving the way for trouble. Don’t make the same mistakes you’ve made previously. What’s more, you don’t seem all that worried about making sure there’s a company left to invest in. So, to be honest, your question is pretty much rhetorical. Tomorrow you might not even be at the helm any longer.”
Faye felt her irritation rising.
“He’s going to be a passive investor. He’s got a lot of money and he happens to believe that Revenge will take the USA by storm. He believes in me. And he’s the best man I’ve ever met. He’s not like other people.”
Ylva raised the palms of her hands toward Faye.
“As I said, do what you like.”
“But?”
“No but.”
“Well, there’s something.”
Faye was pissed off. With herself for getting angry and being unable to stop herself from asking for Ylva’s opinion. And with Ylva for sticking her nose in, even though it had been Faye who had insisted she speak up.
“I can’t say that I know Johanna Schiller,” said Ylva. “But I have been to several dinners with her. She seems a pretty decent person. Not at all crazy and aggressive like you describe her. Perhaps you should hear her side of the story too. At least if you and David are moving in together.”
Faye snorted and shook her head. She leaned toward Ylva, who calmly met her eye.
“People change. Once upon a time, Jack was a pretty decent person too. But both you and I are painfully aware that he changed. Johanna Schiller is fighting tooth and nail to keep David in her life. She’s even using his daughters against him—making sudden changes to plans and taking them abroad. Refusing to sign divorce papers.”
“How do you know that?”
“How…”
Faye stopped herself.
Ylva, for whom she had done so much, despite everything that had happened, despite all the betrayal, was sitting there accusing David of lying. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and steady her voice.
“Because he’s told me. Because I can see how this situation is close to destroying him. She’s trying to crush him using their children.”
Ylva held out her arms.
“You’re probably right,” she said in a low voice.
Faye continued to stare at Ylva, who looked down at the table. She didn’t feel as though she was done, but she regretted it before the next words even came out.
“I of all people know. The fact is, it’s not completely dissimilar to the way you tried to break me by becoming Julienne’s best friend. Because that’s what you did, right? Played moms and dads with Jack while I’d lost everything. To crush me.”
“That’s not fair,” Ylva said in a low voice. “And you know it.”
Faye’s hands were shaking.
“From here on, keep your opinions on my private life to yourself. Focus on your job. And update me if there’s any movement on the shares.”
She grabbed her handbag and stood up so quickly that her chair fell over onto the floor. She threw a final, icy stare at Ylva before turning on her heel and leaving. She slammed the door hard behind her. The staff looked up before quickly returning their gazes to their screens.
Faye drove aimlessly along the narrow streets on Lidingö. Picturesque suburbs, trees, and small cafés all drifted past outside the window. It was all perfect. Intentionally designed and impersonal.
She could never live here.
Faye regretted her outburst at Ylva. After all, she was the one who’d asked for the woman’s opinion. Demanded it. Put her friend in an impossible position. But Ylva had gone too far. Accusing David of lying. Why would he do that? Faye had seen for herself how crushed he had been after every conversation with Johanna. How she was doing everything to ruin his life. Had it been a mistake to hire Ylva at Revenge after all? Had Faye misread her? Perhaps she was jealous? What if she still secretly blamed Faye for her own misfortunes, for the separation from Jack, for being forced out of the industry?
Faye had picked her up out of the gutter despite the scars that Ylva had inflicted on her soul, scars that were still there. Like an invisible patchwork of lost dreams. And now, when Faye had finally begun to heal and finally found love, Ylva couldn’t let her enjoy it. Ylva didn’t appreciate how good things were for her. Thanks to Faye, she was staying with Alice. Thanks to Faye, she had a good job. And most important of all: she could have her daughter with her. Not like Faye, who was forced to be apart from Julienne. She missed her so much she was going to pieces.
Faye passed the Lidingö shopping precinct and narrowly avoided running over a ginger cat hurrying across the street. She pulled out her phone and called David. She needed to hear his voice. The phone rang but he didn’t pick up.
“Fuck.”
When it went to voicemail, she threw the mobile phone onto the passenger seat in frustration. She took a deep breath and drove onto the Lidingö Bridge.
She accelerated, zigzagging through the traffic. The speedometer was at one hundred and twenty kilometers per hour. She took delight in the speed. Instead of taking the new tunnel into the city, she turned off and headed toward Gärdet. She soon eased her foot off the accelerator and slowly passed the spot where—almost twenty years ago—she had kissed Jack for the first time. A quick, fleeting kiss. Then he’d turned on his heel and left. Left her behind. That kiss, that night—they had changed her life. Given her Julienne.
Her throat tightened. Tears stung behind her eyelids.
“Pull yourself together,” she muttered.
She carried on, heading toward Djurgården. She felt calmer now.
Faye pulled off onto a small track through the woods, not far from the Kaknäs Tower. She switched off the engine. Savored the tranquility. Then she reached for her mobile. She thought for a while, then made up a name, stole a couple of pictures from an American woman’s Facebook page, and created a fake Instagram account.
She followed a dozen strangers at random from the new account and then she entered Johanna Schiller’s name into the search field. Her profile was set to private. 1,489 followers. “Petra Karlsson” was hopefully going to be follower 1,490.
FJÄLLBACKA—THEN
The islets and skerries that we glided past were dark and shapeless shadows in the twilight. This was Tjurpannan, a region made up of marshes, rocky shorelines, and heath. The unsheltered location made the waters around here treacherous.
Mariners had feared Tjurpannan since the dawn of time. The absence of any outer archipelago meant it was completely exposed to the elements.
Tomas had emerged from the cabin and rubbed his eyes sleepily. He exchanged a few words with Roger, and I assumed they were talking about me. Perhaps they were worried I was going to talk when we got back. Sebastian was nowhere to be seen. If they decided to throw me overboard, would he protest? No, I knew my brother. He was afraid of a thrashing—all he respected were strength and fear.
The dinghy was at the stern. I went back to it. The wind tore and tugged at my clothing. There were bubbles whirling to the surface, created by the blades of the engine. The oars were lying inside the boat.
Roger and Tomas watched me suspiciously as I went over to it and sat down not far from them.
“Be careful,” said Tomas. “It’s blowing pretty hard and you know what they say about Tjurpannan.”
“No,” I said, despite knowing full well what they said. What was more, I was surprised at his sudden consideration for me.
“If you fall in here they will never find you. It’s the currents, you know.”
He turned to Roger, took the last beer from the crate, and opened it.
I slowly and imperceptibly began to reach out my hand for one of the oars. A trough in the waves made the boat lurch. I braced myself against the rail. After a couple of seconds, I made another attempt.
Farther out to sea, there was an illuminated freighter passing by, looking like a prostrate skyscraper.
I felt the coarse surface of the wood under my fingers and drew the oar toward me. I placed it gently at my feet and glanced across at Tomas and Roger. They were standing hunched over the sea chart, examining it with looks of concern.
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