Silver Tears(56)

“Did you just try to bribe me?” said Yvonne.

“No, all I did was buy a house in Greece for someone I think deserves a break in life. Consider it a thank-you for your long and faithful service from a grateful citizen.”

Yvonne stared at her. Faye smiled. She understood people like Yvonne. She was petty and jealous of Faye, and had become hell-bent on destroying her. But now that Faye had offered her the chance for a new life, Faye knew that Yvonne’s sense of self-preservation would win out. What Faye was offering was far more than she could ever expect from taking Faye down. One crisis averted. Now she had to deal with the crisis at Revenge.



* * *



—

When Faye got home, Kerstin was waiting for her in the apartment. Although they had keys for each other’s places, they rarely made use of the opportunity to let themselves in except to check up on the apartments when the other was away.

She had spoken to David about the fact that she would be sharing their home for only half the year, but he didn’t understand why she had to spend so much time in Italy. She had offered him the same reasons she’d given to the press—that she needed another base too, a home and a country where not everything reminded her of Julienne. He hadn’t completely bought that and had tried to persuade her that now she could make her base in Sweden with him, with new memories. She knew that in the not-too-distant future she would be forced to tell him the whole truth. Then he would understand. But for some reason she was dragging her heels. She trusted him—it wasn’t that—but she was afraid of how he would see her once he found out who she really was.



“Hello! What are you doing here?”

Kerstin had opened a bottle of wine and set out two glasses. She patted the space on the sofa beside her.

“I’ve got a flight to Mumbai booked tomorrow, but I just wanted to check whether I should postpone. There’s a lot going on right now and I’m worried about you. It feels like I’m abandoning you just when you need me most.”

Faye sat down and held out her glass so that Kerstin could pour the wine. It was true that Faye had a lot of things on her mind. She had decided in the end not to worry her mother with the news of G?sta’s escape, and for a moment she wondered whether she should confide in Kerstin. But there was nothing that Kerstin could do, and she had already burdened her friend enough. She took a sip and then let out a long sigh.

“There is a lot going on, Kerstin, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. You’ve done all you can—you’ve brought us to this point. Now it’s Ylva’s and Alice’s turn to take over. Ylva’s going to look after the register of shareholders while you’re in India. And David has given me the energy to carry on. He’s becoming so much more important to me.”

Kerstin raised her eyebrows.

“You’ve gotten very close in a short space of time. How much do you really know about him? More than I found out?”

Faye placed a hand on Kerstin’s.

“I know you’ve had bad experiences with men. Well, one man. And God knows I have too. But this feels right. I feel safe with him.”

“Mmm.” Kerstin looked skeptical and sipped her wine slowly, without meeting Faye’s gaze.

Faye shook her head and changed the subject. They talked about Julienne and about that slimeball Jaime. Before long, they were laughing like they always did—but they didn’t quite manage to re-create that feeling of closeness.





Ylva and Faye were in Faye’s office. Stockholm was visible through the window in all its splendor. The sky outside was veiled in a thin layer of cloud, but the sun broke through occasionally, revealing the spots the window cleaners had missed.

“Do you feel safe at Alice’s?” Faye asked.

“Yes. And I think Alice is grateful for the company, like you said.”

“Good. We’ve got to stick together. Have you heard anything from Jack?”

Ylva shuddered, just as she did whenever Jack was mentioned.

“No, nothing,” she said.

“Hopefully they’ll arrest him any day now.”

Ylva nodded. She turned her laptop around so that Faye could see her presentation.

“I’ve done everything I can to stop the buyout. But far too many people are selling their shares. We’re very close to a takeover. We may have to put Amsterdam into operation.”

Faye shook her head with concern.

“I don’t know, Ylva. I really don’t know. With Jack in prison and Revenge taking off, I thought the battle was over, I could finally sit back and enjoy life. But now it feels like a game of whack-a-mole down at Gr?na Lund, with enemies constantly popping up from different holes. Each time I whack one, a new one appears. I don’t know how much more fight I’ve got left in me. Is it even worth it?”

She pushed the laptop away.



“I’ve got enough money to get by. Putting it mildly. I don’t really need to work again. I could spend more time on other things, apart from business. Like David. Who knows where that might go? And Amsterdam…Amsterdam is a risk. It might blow up in our faces.”

Ylva looked at her and pursed her lips.

“I barely recognize you when you talk like that. There are things we can do. You could buy up shares yourself. You’ve got the capital. You can fight. You seem to have given up in advance. This isn’t the Faye I’ve come to know. Are you really going to let Henrik win?”