Page 104

He pressed another button on a remote and the screen jumped to life. It was a collection of photographs and social media posts relating to Kostas Yennin – including a selection of the threatening messages Aaron had received. Seeing them in black and white – knowing what the person who sent them was truly capable of – made her throat close up.
‘Sergei had asked Stefan if there was any reason Aaron would be in danger, and he mentioned the threatening emails and message – these are just some of the tweets we found online. We tried to trace who was sending them, but it was almost all from anonymous accounts.
‘Still, I was at a dead end until Sergei came on board. So maybe it was a good thing she had you kicked off theVigil.’ Pierre threw a sidelong glance at his right-hand man. ‘When he embarked and saw this board, he recognized something. Or, rather, someone.’
Olivia stood up, approaching the television. Something stood out to her too: a photograph of Yennin in his studio, taken for a profile on him in theGuardian. In the background of the photograph someone was standing just off to one side, their phone up – maybe filming or taking a photo. A young woman with long dark hair. It was not immediately obvious. But when you looked closer, it became clear. It was the same person. Without the copper-dyed hair.
‘Janine,’ Olivia whispered, reaching out and touching the screen.
‘She went by Nina, but, yes, she was his social mediamanager, and his long-term girlfriend. She’d been on the scene too, the night he died.’
‘When I realized you would be on the continent with her, I knew I had to get back to the shore – or else she would kill you,’ said Sergei.
Olivia swallowed. ‘She almost managed it.’ She closed her eyes, still struggling to come to terms with everything she’d been through. ‘All this scandal, all this death … your deal with Pioneer must be over.’
‘I don’t care about that,’ scoffed Pierre. ‘It’s you I was concerned about.’
‘Me? You went through all of this to look out for me?’
‘I have been looking out for you for a long time,’ Pierre said. ‘Ever since what happened to your father.’
51
Olivia felt as numb as if she’d been plunged back into the water outside.
Pierre poured himself a dram of whisky, knocking it back before continuing. ‘Your father was one of the best sailors I’d ever met. I would have trusted him on any of my fleet. He helped choose this vessel too. He always talked about captaining a yacht capable of sailing in the most extreme environments – like the one we’re in now.’
‘I remember,’ said Olivia quietly. She didn’t sit back down on the sofa, but leaned against the wall, still feeling weak.
‘After the accident, we did a lengthy investigation into what happened. We had put in a new collision-avoidance system just before your voyage. State of the art. But it hadn’t been installed properly. There was no alert when that idiot speedboat driver fell asleep at the wheel. He had no lights on either. No way for your father to avoid it.’
She shook her head. ‘It wasn’t my father’s fault. It was mine. I was on watch that night. I missed it.’
‘Oh, child. I know you blame yourself. But I know, as your father did, that no system is truly foolproof. You didn’t see the boat coming, but the alarm should have sounded. It didn’t. I have never forgiven myself.’
‘You don’t understand. I fell asleep during my watch. It was only for a few seconds but it was long enough.’
‘But you weren’t the only one on watch. Your fatherwrote in his log that he was awake that night. He was doing circuits of the deck every few minutes, making sure you were OK. That’s why he wasn’t down below that night. Why he fell overboard when the boats collided. You both missed it, and the technology failed. You weren’t to blame. And you were far too young to lose your father. I felt it my duty to keep an eye on you and your mother.’
‘There was no secret savings account, was there? You helped us with the moving costs. And then later on with my university fees.’
‘Yes. Your father didn’t have life insurance and I knew you needed help to get on your feet. Up until you graduated, I took care of you. But then your mother abruptly cut contact with me. I got the sense my help was no longer welcome. But still, I kept an eye on you. When you started as an actuary, I was so proud. It was natural for my company to use your firm after that.’
‘And then all those years as my client, and you never said anything …’
‘I didn’t want to overstep or go against your mother’s wishes. I already felt so wracked with guilt that your father had been lost on my boat. Besides, you seemed to be doing so well. I ended up trusting you as I did your father.’
She sipped at her hot chocolate, the cup returning sensation to her fingers. Her mind struggled to turn over the implications of Pierre’s words. She’d asked to see the results of the inquest into her father’s death and the collision, but talk of it was always shut down quickly. If her mother had stopped refusing Pierre’s aid after university … that coincided with the start of herillness. Was that really what her mother had wanted or was it the disease?
Pierre had been their secret benefactor.
Then she had another realization. ‘Aaron knew,’ she said. ‘That you had a special connection to me.’
‘Well, I did specify that I would only come to his gallery at your recommendation. Your mother and I had once had long conversations about art, and like I said – I had come to trust you. And I’m glad I did. Once again, you didn’t let me down with your evaluation of this investment. Yennin was a wonderful, gifted artist and I am proud to own one of his originals.’
Olivia felt a chill return. She’d always wondered why Aaron had pursued her so persistently. Now she knew. It had never been aboutwhatOlivia could bring to the table. Only who. She was his key to Pierre. And Pierre was the missing mystery buyer in the Pioneer sale equation. Aaron needed to keep Olivia happy at least until that had closed.
Had their relationship even been real? The engagement ring hadn’t been for her. When she was back on theVigil, she’d return the ring to its rightful owner. Maybe the doubt that had niggled her stomach – that sense things had moved way too quickly, that it was all too good to be true, even Trish’s instinct that things might not be as they seemed – was what had been real.