The Diakos Baby Scandal

‘I’m not sure,’ Theo replied. ‘My PA is trying to find out more information. I’ll let you know when I hear anything.’

‘We must send something,’ Kerry said, feeling tears prick her eyes. Drakon loved his island home so much that the thought of him lying in a city hospital was awful. ‘Can we visit him?’

‘I’ll try to find out,’ Theo said.

Later that day they heard the good news that Drakon’s condition was improved. In fact he had asked for Theo to visit him in hospital, to discuss the sale of the island.

‘He must be feeling better,’ Kerry said, a smile of relief spreading across her pale face.

‘Yes,’ Theo agreed, although he wasn’t so hopeful as Kerry.

He leafed through the documents he had just thrust into his briefcase, trying to keep his expression bland. Kerry seemed to have become so attached to the old man that he didn’t want to risk her getting in a state. He had to leave for Athens as soon as possible.

He wasn’t as naive as Kerry. He had the feeling that Drakon was putting his affairs in order. That he wanted the sale to go through quickly so that his daughter was not left vulnerable to property sharks after his death.

‘You should tell Drakon why you want the island,’ Kerry said suddenly. ‘Then he would definitely sell to you.’

‘He is going to sell to me,’ Theo replied flatly, feeling a nasty jab of irritation at Kerry’s unexpected comment. ‘Mine is the best offer he’s received.’

‘But it’s not about the money,’ Kerry insisted. ‘You told me that. He cares about the island.’

‘Don’t give me business advice.’ Theo’s voice was bitingly cold. ‘Don’t think that because I took you to his island you are in any way qualified to offer me your opinion.’

He stared at her angrily. Why had she become so bold all of a sudden? The girl who’d shared his life before would never have started trying to tell him how to manage his business affairs.

‘I’m thinking about Drakon,’ Kerry said crossly.

She met his hostile stare square-on, unable to believe how cold he was being. Her eyes flashed over him, standing tall and stiff in his dark business suit, and once again she felt as distant from him as she’d ever been.

She’d never got involved in his work before, even when she’d been present at business dinners or overheard him discussing work matters. She’d always known that it was not her concern and that Theo would not welcome her input.

But that timid young girl had changed. Maybe it was the fact that she was a mother now, and had spent the last six months fending for herself and her baby, making decisions that impacted on another little person’s life as well as her own.

Or maybe it was because a year ago Theo had heartlessly severed their relationship and thrown her out onto the streets, making her realise how little respect he had for her.

Whatever the reason, she found she couldn’t stand by silently any more.

‘An old man is lying sick in a hospital bed,’ she said passionately. ‘And you have the power to make him feel good about the one thing that really matters to him—his island.’

‘It’s none of his business why I want the island,’ Theo replied.

‘He has devoted the last twenty-five years of his life to preserving that island,’ Kerry snapped. ‘If he knew that you wanted it for your aunt—so she could live simply, in harmony with the place—think how much that would mean to him.’

‘That’s not the way I do business,’ Theo snapped. ‘With rose-coloured idealistic drivel. I deal with hard financial business plans.’

‘Don’t be so hypocritical,’ she said hotly. ‘This isn’t normal business for you. You’re not looking for a profit. You told me yourself that you want the island to fulfil your mother’s dying wish—so that your aunt can have her home back.’

‘I’m not about to share my family’s past shame with a stranger,’ Theo snapped. ‘We don’t air our dirty linen in public.’

‘You don’t have to tell him everything,’ Kerry said in exasperation. ‘Just say your aunt wishes to live there quietly.’

‘I didn’t have to tell you everything—and I’m already regretting that I did,’ Theo said bitterly, slamming his briefcase shut and striding angrily towards the door. ‘By now, after everything that has happened, you of all people should understand that in this family we keep our personal problems private. We keep things in the family.’

Kerry stared at him as he stood in the doorway, glaring back at her. Suddenly the unmistakable sound of a helicopter approaching the island caught her attention—and her memory flashed back to the conversation she’d overheard on the night Theo had thrown her out.

He had told Corban to take Nicco away to the island by helicopter, without his mother’s knowledge. Then he’d said they’d deal with Hallie privately—no one outside the family needed to know.

‘Like Hallie,’ Kerry cried. ‘Hallie was a problem. So you planned to take her son and deal with her in private.’