Perfect Strangers

Lana nodded. ‘And she put me through my paces at the gym.’

‘So it was a set-up,’ said Sophie bitterly. ‘You put those invitations on the mantelpiece deliberately.’

Lana smiled. ‘I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist going to the parties, although I was surprised you went the very first night. Still, it meant Nick could get to work as quickly as possible.’

‘To work?’ yelled Sophie, all her frustrations spilling over. ‘I’m not some bloody dog to be trained! What the hell do you want from me, Lana?’

‘You really don’t know, do you?’ said Lana, her voice as soft as the evening breeze. ‘Sophie Ellis, you are the key to a fortune.’

Sophie felt goose bumps prickle up her arms.

‘But I don’t have any money,’ she said. ‘You knew that. That was why I started the personal training.’

Lana stubbed her cigarette out in an onyx ashtray.

‘How much do you know about your father’s professional life, Sophie?’

‘I’m not here to answer your damn questions,’ shouted Sophie. ‘You should be answering mine!’

Josh touched her arm.

?

?It’s okay,’ he said. ‘Let her talk.’

‘No, Josh!’ said Sophie, her voice cracking. ‘She lied to me from the very start; why should I listen to her now?’

‘Because it’s the only way we’ll find out what’s going on.’

‘Your friend Josh is right, Sophie,’ said Lana. ‘I know you have no reason to trust me, but believe me, I do want to help.’

Sophie looked at Josh again, then sighed.

‘My dad was a good accountant, is that what you want to know? He made one bad investment, but he was clever, he’d have made it back . . . Look, what’s he got to do with any of this?’

Lana was nodding.

‘You’re right about that, Sophie. Peter Ellis was a clever accountant, very clever indeed. So clever in fact that no one, not even those closest to him, suspected that he was involved in one of the biggest financial scams of all time.’

‘Involved in a scam? Are you talking about Michael Asner here?’ demanded Sophie.

‘Michael Asner the Ponzi scheme fraudster?’ said Josh, sitting forward. ‘But I thought your dad lost all your money to that guy.’

‘He did. Our family was ruined because of Asner. My dad invested everything with him and lost it when the scheme collapsed.’

Lana gave a small tinkling laugh.

‘That’s what your father wanted people to believe, but in fact Peter was very much involved in the scheme. He was the bag man.’

‘Bag man?’ asked Sophie.

‘Someone who collects dirty money,’ explained Josh softly. ‘I think she’s suggesting that your father buried the cash for Asner so that if the pyramid scheme went down, there was still some squirrelled away.’

‘Very good,’ said Lana, giving Josh a thin smile. ‘Your friend is shrewd as well as good looking.’

Sophie looked at Josh desperately, hoping he would tell her it was all a lie, but his expression told her otherwise. She put her head in her hands, rubbing her temples. It was all so fantastic, her head was starting to pound. Could it be true? She had known her dad and Asner had been at uni together, but why would Peter Ellis let his family suffer such hardship and humiliation if he had access to the missing Asner millions?

‘I just can’t believe it,’ she said quietly. ‘He was a small-time City accountant. He did people’s taxes and sorted out their pensions.’