Page 14

“Who?” The name sounded vaguely familiar but I couldn’t place him.

She gave a snarky laugh. “Please! Now you can’t even remember him? You’re too much!”

Then she told me how she had been tasked with assassinating me after I’d been found guilty of killing this man Albarellos in the Caribbean. Apparently he was the head of a consortium opposing a takeover by Topaz. Witnesses had seen me talking to the henchmen and the State Court had investigated and found me guilty. I was to be eliminated. All of this was news to me. She was not able to fulfill the assignment because of a car accident but as far as she knew, the hit was still out on me.

“This is the first I’ve heard of it,” I said to her. “We did have a takeover with Las Capitas in the Caribbean and I signed the deal but I wasn’t part of the negotiations. I didn’t meet with this man, Albarellos.”

She stared at me, unconvinced.

“I’ll get to the bottom of this,” I promised her. “Someone is trying to set me up. But I won’t let it come between us. Give me some time, I will find out what is going on.”

She bit her lip, and I felt a glimmer of hope. This was the way to this girls’ heart, I saw.

There was a slight nod and then she was gone.

I went back to the castle, trying to remember the Las Capitas deal, which was over a year ago. As far as I could recall, there had been a group of us; Simon as well as my father. We had flown over to the Bahamas for a week of partying and indulgence, while sorting out the finer details of the deal. I didn’t recall any hitches, however.

There was no point talking to Simon. I decided to visit the chairman of the Topaz Group board. I knew he was at his wine farm in California, which meant taking the private jet.

I arrived just before sunrise, which didn’t give me a lot of time to get to his estate. I had my PA warn him of my arrival and the gates opened as my car entered the gated enclave. We drove up to the Italian-inspired villa on the slopes overlooking Napa Valley. The grounds were immaculate and I could see the vines were drooping with fruit.

Things were looking well for Marcello Montenegro.

The car proceeded along the driveway and then went round the back to the underground parking area. From here there were lifts to the inside of the fortress, which echoed medieval castles from Europe, where Marcello was from, originally, of course.

“Jack!” he greeted me warmly, once the elevator door opened into the foyer.

“What a lovely surprise!” He was dressed in a cravat and embroidered slippers, looking like a member of the old aristocracy rather than a modern businessman.

“Would you care for a refreshment?” He nodded at a servant in the distance. “Let’s go into my study.”

I had never liked the man and didn’t trust him.

The study was a beautiful, oak-paneled room with heavy bookshelves and expensive carpets. There was a fire for effect, as we of course, didn’t feel the heat.

A beautiful woman came to hand us a drink in crystal glasses, and I took a sip, immediately feeling a rush to the head.

“What is this?” I asked, holding the glass at a distance. “Is this human?”

Marcello laughed. “That would be illegal, dear chap, no, of course not! Just a very fine blend of synthetic substitute with a drop of dopamine, a truly rare and expensive product.”

I nodded, not believing him for an instant.

I put the glass down and leaned forward.

“I need to talk to you about the Las Capitas deal. Do you remember Juan Marco Albarellos? He was killed right before we inked the deal. He was opposed to the takeover and threatened to stop us.”

I had read up on the deal on the plane. After the only opposition to our deal had conveniently disappeared, the takeover had proceeded smoothly.

“I recall it vaguely,” Marcello said, looking at me with calculating eyes.

“Did you know that I was accused and tried of the murder by the State? There were even witnesses? There was an order I be eliminated!”

Marcello licked his thin lips. “I believe that order was rescinded. Your father intervened.”

“My father?”

I could see Marcello was trying to buy time.