Page 212 of Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt

‘You kept this from us...’ breathed Star. ‘How could you be so cruel?’

‘Chérie, I...’

‘Is he still on Delos?’ asked Maia.

Georg nodded. ‘Yes, Maia. But he is so very weak.’

‘The telephone calls...’ CeCe whispered. ‘Have you been talking to him, Georg?’

‘Not exactly. Claudia has been with him these past few weeks. It is why she has not been present at Atlantis. She updates me regularly. He is fading fast.’

‘Oh my God!’ cried CeCe.

‘It all makes sense now...’ Star said.

‘There was no way anyone could have foreseen he would survive this long, girls. We assumed that he would only be on Delos for a short number of weeks. But he has outlived every doctor’s predictions.’

‘How Pa,’ stumbled Ally.

Georg continued. ‘He has refused all medical intervention. He won’t take pills or agree to any tests – he has not even been using an IV drip.’

‘How is he still alive?’ Electra wondered.

Georg looked to Ma, who smiled at Merry. ‘I think... no, Iknowthat the thought of finding the missing sister has kept him on earth.’

‘The power of belief.’ Tiggy nodded in understanding.

Star looked at Ally. ‘How long have you known about all this?’

‘Since this afternoon. I insisted that Georg tell everyone and provide Pa’s final pages, which were supposed to be withheld until after his death.’

Georg’s hands shook as he sipped on a glass of water. ‘Believe me, girls, I have longed to share the truth with you. But you know what your father did for me. I vowed to be loyal to him until my final breath.’

‘There’s a difference between loyalty and cruelty, Georg,’ CeCe protested.

The lawyer nodded. ‘Deep down in my heart I knew that I should tell you the truth,’ Georg admitted, through tears. ‘And how much it would mean to him to see you all before the end.’

Nobody knew what to say.

‘Why the hell aren’t we moving?’ Electra demanded. ‘If he’s dying, there’s no time to lose. Get Captain Hans. I’m not waiting until morning if there’s a chance we can see him again. Does everyone agree?’

‘Yes. Absolutely,’ said Maia, standing up. ‘We have two choices now. The first is that we become angry and embittered. That is the easy choice. The second is that we accept all that has happened. We proceed with love and kindness, despite the wrongs which we might feel have been done to us. Now,’ Maia asked, ‘which would Pa choose?’ She reached out a hand to Tiggy, who took it. Then Tiggy reached her hand across to Ally, until the Seven Sisters were joined as one.

‘Georg,’ said Ally. ‘You heard what Electra said. Get Hans. We’re going to see Pa. Now.’

Georg hurried from the dining table.

Everyone at the table was shell-shocked. The partners, in particular, were empty of words. Nothing they could say would assuage the typhoon of emotions that the sisters were currently experiencing. Eventually, it was Ally who spoke.

‘Does anyone remember that I thought I heard Pa on the phone when I answered a call in his office?’ she asked the others. ‘Well, maybe I really did.’

This spurred a thought in Electra’s mind. ‘Ma?’ she asked. ‘When I bumped into Christian in Paris, was he doing something for Pa?’

She nodded. ‘Yes,chérie. He was seeking out Manon Landowski – Paul’s granddaughter.’

‘Why was that?’

‘He simply wished to thank the family that had saved him at the start of his life one final time before his death. So that their act of kindness was not forgotten as the generations continued.’