‘I’m coming with you.’
Ella was already pulling on a pair of trousers. ‘That’s not a good idea.’
His handsome features were grim. ‘I’m not leaving you to handle this alone. Your stepfather left my house in a rage this evening, and I was to blame for that.’
‘You’re not to blame for anything. Theo is the baddie here. I warn you: Mum won’t report him to the police. I’ve tried a dozen times to persuade her to have him charged, but she won’t, so he gets away with it every time. She’s like an addict,’ Ella muttered heavily. ‘She won’t give him up.’
‘Are you planning to call your brothers?’
‘I’ll do what Mum wants me to do. I notice she phoned me rather than either of her sons.’
Twenty minutes later, Ella was approaching the park bench where her mother was huddled like an old discarded rug, her shoulders hunched, her head bent, so that even in the street light her face couldn’t be seen. When Ella got her first proper look at her, she had to bite back an exclamation. Her face swollen and puffy with one eye almost sealed shut, Jane Sardelos was almost unrecognisable. Her lip was cut and distended, and she was cradling one arm as though it was hurting her.
‘What’s up with your arm?’ Ella asked.
‘Let’s get her into the car first,’ Aristandros urged.
‘You brought him with you?’ the older woman gasped in horror.
‘I couldn’t shake him off.’ Ella helped her mother stand up and guided her towards the waiting limo. Once they were safe in the passenger seat, she bent to examine the arm and realised that the older woman’s wrist was badly broken. ‘We’ll have to go to the hospital.’
‘No hospital…I’ll go to a hotel or something.’
‘You don’t have a choice,’ Ella broke in. ‘I think your wrist needs surgery, and the sooner it’s done the better. Do you want me to call the boys?’
Jane shook her head in an urgent negative. ‘No point in upsetting them as well.’
Aristandros raised a brow but made no comment. During the drive to the hospital and then their subsequent arrival, after he had called in advance, she was surprised by how gentle he was with her battered mother, who had never been one of his biggest fans. She was wryly amused when his natural charm began to draw the older woman out of her shell.
It was a very long night. After the x-rays had been carried out, Jane was given a thorough examination, and Ella was appalled by the bruising she saw on her parent’s thin body. It was obvious to her that, if anything, her stepfather’s attacks had become even more violent over the years. Surgery was immediately scheduled for her wrist. The police arrived beforehand, and Ella braced herself for her mother’s usual evasive efforts to shield her husband from arrest and prosecution. Aristandros asked if he could speak to Jane privately for a moment and Ella stepped outside the room, curious as to his motive, but so sleepy that she was grateful for the chance to move around and wake up a bit.
She was shocked when she realised on her return that her mother was finally willing to give a true statement of events and press charges against Theo. She also seemed stronger, steadier and less afraid than she had been. While she was in the operating theatre, Aristandros made a series of phone calls.
‘What did you talk about with Mum?’ Ella asked.
‘She wants a fresh start, and I pointed out that she can’t have it without having Sardelos charged with assault, because only that will make him leave her alone. I also pointed out that she could well die during one of his assaults. I asked her to accompany us to Lykos to recuperate, but she wants to stay with your brothers until she’s feeling better. I called them. They should be here soon.’
Ella was disappointed that Jane wouldn’t be coming to the island, but she knew that her mother would very much enjoy fussing over her adult sons for a few weeks. She was amazed that Aristandros had triumphed where she had so often tried and failed. Her stepfather was finally going to be taken to court, and that was a source of tremendous relief to Ella. But perhaps it wasn’t so strange, she conceded. Jane was always more easily impressed by a strong man than she was by a strong woman, and Ari’s intervention and advice had been warmly appreciated and respected.
They remained at the hospital until Jane emerged from the operating theatre and had regained consciousness in the recovery room. The surgery had been long and complicated but successful. Ella fell asleep in the limousine, and wakened only when Aristandros settled her down on the bed.
‘You were really great tonight with Mum,’ she mumbled drowsily. ‘I wasn’t expecting that.’