‘Wise choice,’ she said. ‘But why are you telling me all of this?’ she asked. ‘Aren’t I a risk?’
‘No, because I can trust you. I know you didn’t talk to McAllister about me.’
She gasped. ‘Oh my God, you’re telling me you hacked the Metropolitan Police computer systems.’
He smiled. ‘I’m merely demonstrating that like Anonymous, I can gain access pretty much wherever I want, to get whatever information I want.’
‘Well, the access to my medical records now makes sense, if still a little shocking,’ she mused. ‘But why would you do this, Ethan?’
‘I provide a service,’ he said. ‘There’s plenty of dodgy celebrities, politicians or high-ranking officials with many, many secrets or bad deeds to hide. But they also have enough money and the right people to help bury their little indiscretions. We all know it goes on but the good people of the world and the media don’t like that, so that’s where I come in. One of my contacts might pass me data I can work with, or I might find these hidden misdeeds myself. Once I’m sure of what I’ve got, I let the guilty party know and then it becomes a game of how much that person wants to protect their ‘brand’, and how much they’re prepared to pay for it. It’s as simple as that.’
‘So, you’re on the freedom fighter side of the fence,’ she said, clinging to the positives of this conversation.
‘I suppose, but that doesn’t make me a good person, Elena. I have the power to ruin people’s lives with the information I can obtain. Information people go to great lengths to hide from the world. No one wants their reputation tarnished over the internet, but some try and play the game, thinking it’ll never happen. Those people soon find out I’m a man of my word. But most of them pay up, and it’s made me a lot of money.’
‘But what if it’s something so bad that it shouldn’t be allowed to stay hidden, whatever the price?’
‘Then it’s non-negotiable and released immediately,’ he replied. ‘And anything to do with kids ends up in the inboxes of the authorities.’
‘So not a completely bad person, then,’ she said with a faint smile.
He didn’t reply.
Her mind buzzed as she processed this information. ‘Ethan, this is huge,’ she said after a moment. ‘And such a drastic way to make money.’
He shrugged. ‘Secrets are a valuable commodity.’
‘Even so,’ she said. ‘Nine-to-five too boring for you?’
He laughed and ran his hand through his hair. ‘I found out very early on that life likes to throw a curveball or two on occasion, and because of that, things changed very quickly for me.’
‘What do you mean?’ she asked. ‘What happened to you?’
‘Ah, well, that’s a story for another time,’ he said, ending that line of enquiry.
‘But surely there must have been other options for you?’ she asked, tucking the unanswered question into her memory.
‘I’m sure there were. I had a good education and found school a breeze, but I was sixteen and damn good on a computer. I learned the basics of system programming and began writing code. Pretty soon I was getting into sites that should have been unavailable to me. It was only a game then, a bit of cat and mouse.’
She opened her mouth to speak and closed it again.
‘This is a lot to take in. I get it,’ he said with amusement. ‘It’s not all bad, I did have a legitimate career too.’
‘Really?’ she said, relived. ‘Doing what?’
‘Royal Marines. Loyally serving Queen and country.’
‘Figures,’ she said, her eyes scanning over his strong, muscular frame.
‘I paid my dues and learned more tech along the way.’
‘But what made you want to go from legitimate to… well, I don’t know what this is.’
He shrugged. ‘After a decade of service, I needed something else; freedom to do what I want, when I want, and living like that costs money. So, from there it just kind of spiralled and I’ve never looked back. Complete independence. Who doesn’t want that? And as far as anyone else is concerned, I’ve got a nice little property business that keeps prying eyes away from what I really do.’
She shook her head and blew out a long breath. ‘I don’t know what to say.’
He sat back in his chair, unbothered by her reaction. ‘We’ve all got to make a living.’
‘But this doesn’t explain why you were involved in my abduction?’ she said, a dull ache of tension blooming in her chest as they steered towards the root of the conversation. ‘You told me that you had to be there, back at the house. Why was that? What happened?’
He scanned her face for what she was not saying, astutely picking up the change in mood.
‘Elena, my work is very questionable, I know that, but I am not in the habit of abducting young women from the street. I was pulled in as punishment for hacking someone I shouldn’t have; stepping on the toes of a prominent career criminal, here in London. Things got nasty when he discovered he’d been hacked and he didn’t take kindly to the information I’d found on him. It was my own fault. These people were “no-go” zones, but I got greedy. I was also well aware of the resources these people would have to intercept me as I was hacking their system, but I thought I was smarter. No, scrub that, I am smarter, but I was unlucky. And I paid for it. Some heavies came for me, caught me off guard and roughed me up a bit. Then they gave me a choice – I could meet my maker sooner than expected, or I could do a job for their boss. An offer I couldn’t refuse, so to speak,’ he said, smiling at the reference.
‘So who is this nasty piece of work?’
‘You really want to know?’
She nodded.
‘Maxim Antonovich.’
‘What the Maxim Antonovich? Charity advocate and all-round ‘good guy’?’
‘The very same.’
She looked away. ‘Wow. I can’t believe it. His daughter, Zina, went to my school. He hosted a couple of major charity fundraisers there.’
‘They’re the worst, Elena, you know that.’
She nodded. ‘I guess, but Zina was really sweet. We were friends for a while until she left for the Royal Ballet. We lost touch after that but I’ve followed her career over the years,’ she said, letting the information sink in. ‘But why would he want my father’s money?’
‘He didn’t. He’s got plenty of his own, believe me. No, someone had approached him, the one who did want your father’s money, and because Maxim was controlling the job, he said he had just the person to run it. Me. I just had to lead it, keep things tidy. Keep everyone in check. And keep the transaction safe from prying eyes. Not that there was any transaction to protect in the end.’
‘Tell me about it,’ Elena scoffed.
‘The other men and the venue? Nothing to do with me.’
‘And you never met the person who wanted the money?’
‘No, I didn’t. No names were ever exchanged, with anyone. Only Maxim had all the details. He said it was cleaner that way, but it was just a way of keeping himself in complete control. Do you want me to stop?’ he asked, sensing her growing unease.
‘No, I’m fine,’ she said unconvincingly. ‘So you’re saying that because my father didn’t pay, some random unknown person is still out there. Likely to be very angry that it didn’t go to plan, that they didn’t get their money.’
He nodded. ‘Perhaps.’
The creeping sense of unease changed into a surge of panic. Still, she wasn’t safe. Still, she could be taken – at the mercy of another version of Cigarettes. It overwhelmed her, and she craved more air.
‘What if they come back for me? And what if Maxim demands you finish the job you started, or sends someone else to do it?’
‘I’m not going to let that happen,’ he said as he moved closer to her. ‘You’re right. He wasn’t happy with the outcome but we managed to hash out a mutual agreement, and stuff like that means something to guys like him. I’ll keep quiet with the information I have on him, on the c
ondition that he leaves me alone. He won’t come for me, and he won’t get involved again.’
His assurance calmed her and sent her mind back to something he’d said before.
‘Yesterday, you said you’d seen how I was struggling since my release.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Have you been watching over me? Making sure I was safe?’
He smiled, and reached out to gently cup her cheek, brushing a thumb over her skin. ‘As I said, I’m not going to let anything happen to you.’
A warmth rushed through her body at his touch and his words. She should be cautious, still wary to trust, but she finally felt safe, protected, and couldn’t fight the feeling that this man was going to wrap himself around her, never to let her go.
‘It’s been nearly a month since your release,’ he continued. ‘I’m not saying that puts you in the clear, but if this person wants to come back for you, they’re going to have to be very careful. It’s a much riskier proposition this time.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, I’m here now for a start, but they’re also not going to know if you’ll have some sort of tracking device with you or something that links you to the police. Do you have anything like that?’
She sighed. ‘Well, my building is like Fort Knox, panic buttons everywhere, but I don’t have anything portable that I can keep with me.’
He nodded. ‘We’ll have to figure that out then, but in the meantime, we’ll just have to be vigilant.’
‘Okay,’ she said as she processed her chaotic thoughts.
‘This was a lot for you to deal with,’ he said, watching her. ‘We should take a break.’
‘No, not yet. There’s something I want to ask.’
His eyes narrowed as he watched her, a knowing smile on his lips. ‘Let me guess. You want me to find the person who did this to you? You want a window into my world.’
She nodded and leant forwards in the chair. ‘Well? Will you help me?’
‘Already one step ahead of you,’ he answered. ‘It was always my intention to find who was responsible, but you want to be part of this too?’
‘Yes, I really do.’
He nodded. ‘Okay well, we’ll be going into this blind and that means no one is off the table as far as suspicion is concerned. We’ll be looking into everyone’s private lives. Everyone you know too. All of their secrets. Can you handle that?’
‘I think so.’
‘Even if you discover something you’d rather not know.’
‘I’m a grown-up, I’ll handle it,’ she said. ‘I have no choice. I need to know who would want to do this to me, and I need to make sure I never, ever go through anything like that again.’
He sat back in his chair, happy with her answer. ‘Well then, looks like I’ve found my new job,’ he said with a satisfied glint in his eye. ‘Now, come here.’
She relaxed a little and rose from the chair, taking hold of his outstretched hand. She’d had enough information for the time being, and decided a distraction from her problems was what she needed now.
He pulled her down into his lap. ‘That’s better. So, how are we going to seal this new deal of ours?’
She wrapped her arms around his neck and felt the sparks ignite within her. ‘I’m sure we’ll think of something.’
‘Already have,’ he said as he slid his arm under her legs and stood, carrying her out of the room.
Chapter 19
Elena stepped off the treadmill, reached for her bottle and downed the cool water. She’d slept well, and late, and had managed a few weights and an acceptable run but hadn’t pushed herself to the limit, giving her a pleasant post-workout buzz.
She did a couple of body stretches, wrapped a towel around her shoulders, and wandered to Ethan’s office, to the sound of him talking on the phone. He glanced around to her as he finished up the call and let his eyes linger.
‘Good morning,’ he said as he tossed his phone on the desk and reached out to grab another chair. ‘Good workout?’
‘Perfect,’ she replied. ‘I should go and shower.’
‘That can wait,’ he said. ‘First, we need to talk. Come here.’
She walked to him and made herself comfortable on the chair. She knew what he’d want to discuss, she had asked for his help, after all. But now that it was happening, she wasn’t sure how ready she was for any of this.
‘I’ve been doing some initial digging around, checking out your social media mainly, and your followers, but can you think of anyone who may hold a grudge or might want some sort of revenge? A bitter work colleague? An ex?’
‘Well, I mean, I’ve had run-ins with people in the past, obviously. Who hasn’t?’ she answered. ‘But nothing that would cause this kind of grudge. Nothing so sinister. My parents certainly made sure of that.’
‘Your parents?’
‘Yes, the Dumont household is full of rules, very strict rules, and high-profile incidents which could damage reputations, namely my father’s, are not tolerated. My parents expect only the best behaviour, a rule my brother somehow manages to defy, regularly. And just in case you’re wondering, I’m not the kind to go around flaunting my family’s wealth like Instagram’s richest either.’
‘I can see that,’ he said with a smile.
‘Yeah, well, I leave all that to my brother.’
He nodded. ‘I noticed that too. Women, cars and Cristal champagne seem to be the favourites.’
‘And private planes,’ she said. ‘But those images were removed by my father. Too pretentious.’
‘It just gets better and better,’ Ethan said, sarcasm etched in his tone. ‘So, back to this. Was there anything unusual that happened in the weeks leading up to your abduction? Or even longer. A year or so before?’
‘No, nothing. Only that awful man lingering outside my building a couple of times, and we all know how that turned out.’
He nodded. ‘Yeah, we do.’
‘But my life is what it is,’ she said with a shrug. ‘Maybe it was simply my family’s wealth that attracted this person. Who knows? But there were no nasty emails or phone calls or anything suspicious.’
The weight of the task that lay ahead of them rested heavy on her shoulders, like finding that elusive needle in a haystack. She hoped she had the strength for it. ‘Okay, what else?’ she asked, wanting to power through.
‘Well, without any real leads, we’ll start with everyone you know and work outwards.’
She looked at him. ‘You’ll start with my people?’ she asked. ‘My friends?’
He stopped what he was doing and focused on her. ‘Elena, we have nothing to go on, no clues. We have to start somewhere.’
‘Jesus,’ she whispered. ‘But how?’
‘Email addresses will be fine to begin with. I’ll take it from there.’
‘But no one opens dodgy emails these days. We all know the rules.’
‘Yes, but my blank email sent to a device through a mail app doesn’t even need to be opened to force a crash and reset. Just receiving it is enough. And that little process creates enough of a window for me to get in and access all sorts of data. Simple.’
‘But that’s terrible.’
‘Yeah, but that’s the game. I bet you take all the necessary security steps to protect your laptop, don’t you?’
She shrugged. ‘I suppose.’
‘Yeah, of course you do. But people just don’t look at their devices in the same way, and the reality is that anything connected to the internet is still a mini processor and just as vulnerable of being hacked: phones, car keys, security cameras, smart speakers, even thermostats. You name it.’
‘Well I’m never going to see my phone in the same light again.’
‘No, maybe not,’ he said. ‘Updates help, but they’re not bullet proof and hackers just find new weaknesses. It’s what we do and it’s exactly what you need right now.’
‘Wow.’
‘This is it, Elena. You asked for my help, and this is
what I do. But like I said before, it’s a murky world.’ He reached out and took her hand in his, a moment of gentleness that surprised her. ‘So you need to prepare because my search will trigger a sequence of events that will change everything. I will target everyone you know. I have to. Everyone you’ve ever interacted with: people close to you – your family, your friends, friends of friends, work colleagues – Joe Bloggs on Facebook who liked a picture you posted two years ago. Everyone, in the hope that there might be something we can find that’ll pin down who was responsible. The list is endless, and I will be violating every civil liberty you can think of too. You have to let me do what I need to do. Can you do that?’
She nodded.
‘Good. I know this is hard for you, but you have to trust me.’
‘Am I right to trust you though?’ she asked. ‘Or are you about to throw a bomb into my world?’
‘You know you can trust me,’ he said. ‘But I can’t guarantee anything else at this stage. The answer is wrapped up somewhere in the threads of your life, and I’m determined to find it.’
‘My life,’ she said with a sigh. ‘Well, maybe now is a good time to discuss some of the other aspects of this life of mine.’
‘And what aspects are we talking about, exactly?’
‘My parents. The frosty texts from my mother, daily, asking when they are going to see me. Because, suddenly, I’m very important to them.’
He nodded in agreement. ‘Standard parental bullshit.’
‘Indeed, but unavoidable in my case. They won’t shut up, and it’s time I dealt with them.’
‘Understood. And what else?’
She glanced at him, avoiding for the moment the real reason for this conversation; the elephant in the room that was Adam. ‘Well, I should at least call Charlotte. She’s been so good to me. I know it’s only been a couple of days, but I can’t shut her out.’
‘Again, understood.’
She cleared her throat. ‘There’s also Adam …’
‘Oh yes, Adam.’
‘You know about him?’ she exclaimed.
When I Know Your Name Page 16