Silver Tears(40)

Faye nodded slowly.

A police helicopter passed over their heads, going south.

She got up and went to the balustrade. Ylva joined her.

“I don’t think he ever really stopped loving you, Faye. Not even during the most, uh, passionate points in our affair. Not when we moved in together, not when I fell pregnant with Nora. That was something that was always in the back of my mind, and it bothered me constantly. I was just a substitute. For you. I think all the women he was with were a sort of attempt to find you. What you had. You were the prototype for Jack’s concept of love. That’s the ironic thing in all this mess.”



Faye had been holding her breath while Ylva spoke, and now she cleared her throat. Her chest had tightened. She didn’t know why what Ylva had said affected her so strongly. Perhaps it was because she had already understood it but never dared to express it—not to herself or to anyone else. Now it had been confirmed to her for the first time by another person. And the other person wasn’t just anybody—it was the one person on earth who best knew Jack, second only to Faye.

The dream returned to her again. About Jack. Him mocking her. Her weight, her weakness. But also the way he could smile at her and make her feel loved. In the dream, she still missed him, and that was the worst thing of all. She hated herself for that. But right now she couldn’t afford to think about it.

They sat down again and Faye turned to Ylva.

“Tell me your thinking. Is there anything to be done, or is it all too late?”

Ylva put her feet up on the balustrade. She cracked her neck gently—an unpleasant sound that made Faye shiver.

“Sorry, family habit,” Ylva said and laughed.

She took her legs down and looked at Faye.

“I’ve got some ideas. Nothing totally concrete as yet, but I need to know more first. There are still some pieces of the puzzle missing. But I’ve got one major advantage. I’ve worked with Henrik. I know how he operates. And as you know, it wasn’t Henrik who was the brain behind Compare.”

Faye snorted loudly and resoundingly. Ylva grinned.

“Yes, now I know that it was actually you. I didn’t know that then. At the time, I thought it was Jack. It was clearly not Henrik. The fact that he’s managed to get back on his feet—and then some—is nothing less than a miracle in my eyes. But there are lots of successful companies and fortunes that are built by people who aren’t all that gifted. Networking and luck and timing can take you a long way…”



“Oh yes,” said Faye, sipping her wine as she listened with interest to what Ylva had to say.

She realized she was starting to like her. And that everyone deserved a second chance. Well, maybe not everyone. But Ylva most certainly did.

“What I know about Henrik, among other things, is that he’s sloppy. He’s got no eye for detail, which means he’s got no eye for the bigger picture. He misses stuff. Jack flew off the handle at him for that, often. We had to do a lot of damage limitation around Henrik because of all the balls he kept dropping. Don’t get me wrong, Henrik isn’t a dummy, that’s not what I’m saying. We shouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating him. And he’s got no scruples when it comes to achieving his goals. That makes him a dangerous adversary. But if there’s anywhere we can find a weak spot it’s his carelessness. I’ve skimmed the contracts for Revenge, but I’d like to take twenty-four hours to go through them line by line. And I’d like to check a few details with my uncle, who is a contract lawyer. One of the best. The bits I can’t make out he should be able to help me with.”

“Kerstin and I have read the contracts too and I’ve had lawyers review them. What are you going to find that we missed?”

“That remains to be seen,” said Ylva.

She had stood up and was pacing back and forth on the terrace as she spoke.

“There will be something in this entire affair that Henrik has overlooked. There are a thousand things—a thousand clauses that might throw a wrench in the works for him if he hasn’t thought of them. Or we’ll just have to…”

“What?” said Faye smiling slyly.

Ylva had come to life while she was talking. The grayness was gone, the fine veneer of depression had been vanquished, her eyes were sparkling, and her entire body was speaking.

“What do you have in mind?” Faye repeated.



Ylva stopped. She leaned against the balustrade. The wind caught her hair and swept it around her head. She smiled. A big grin.

“I was thinking that otherwise we’ll have to make certain that Henrik has missed something…”

Faye smiled back at her like a Cheshire cat. For the first time in ages, she felt as if she could relax. She took a deep breath. And then slowly exhaled. She realized she had forgiven Ylva. It was time to turn over a new leaf.





It was dark inside the restaurant, but when David smiled at her, she could still see the twinkle in his eyes. Far too many days had passed since they had last seen each other. Faye’s problems with Revenge and his problems with Johanna were getting in their way.

“You have to tell me more about the American expansion,” said David. “We’ve barely had time to discuss it.”

He took a piece of beef tataki with his chopsticks and proffered it to her.