The Power of the Legendary Greek - By Catherine George Page 0,22
he considered suitable. In time he remarried and presented her with Melina, the archetypal wicked stepmother. She,’ he added harshly, ‘made life a living hell for the young Olympia.’
‘So that’s why you hated her!’
‘There was worse to come. Coaxed by her friend to break out and go to a party, Olympia met a man there. Afterwards, having tasted freedom, Olympia stole out of the house at night to meet him as often as she could. Her absences went unnoticed, due to the discretion of loyal servants who adored Olympia. But I was the inevitable result of these secret meetings. When Melina found out about the pregnancy, she urged Theodore Andreadis to throw his daughter out of the house for disgracing his name, as her mother had done before her. So he did,’ Luke added harshly.
Isobel eyed him in horror. ‘How did your mother survive?’
‘With the help of her faithful friend Chloe, she managed to get to her old nurse, here on Chyros, and begged a job from Basil Nikolaides in the kitchen of his taverna. After I was born she kept her job, saved everything she could for my education, and after school hours and at weekends I worked, too, usually as deck hand on one of the fishing boats. The jewels left to her by my erring grandmother were all my mother took with her from her home in Athens, and sales of these saw me through college and financed my MBA. But, to my great sorrow, my mother died before I began making money with my freighters.’ Luke’s mouth tightened. ‘So you see why I have no love for Theo Andreadis; even less for his harpy of a wife.’
Isobel was silent for a while. ‘When did you start thinking about revenge?’
His lips tightened. ‘From the day I heard what happened to my mother.’
‘It must have been hard for her to tell you.’
Luke shook his head. ‘She did not. I had it all from old Sofia, who would have murdered Theo Andreadis with her own bare hands if she could, and Melina with him. I swore I would one day take my revenge. But not with murder, as Sofia thirsted for. I had something more subtle and painful in mind. Taking over the airline was the perfect revenge on Melina because it was the ultimate humiliation for her. She was so incandescent with fury it is no surprise that she had a stroke afterwards. Nor am I hypocrite enough to pretend regret that she is dead.’
Isobel was silent as she stared out into the starlit night, feeling chilled to the bone.
‘You are shocked?’ he asked.
‘Stunned, rather. It’s like a Sophocles tragedy.’ She turned to him. ‘You’ve had your revenge on Melina, but what about your grandfather? Is his wife’s death enough revenge for you, or do you have something different planned for him?’
‘I did not plan Melina’s death—fate did that for me. And no doubt it will do the same for Theo Andreadis one day without my help. Even though I have no love for him, I will not seek revenge on someone of my own blood,’ Luke assured her and smiled faintly. ‘Isobel, you have not asked me the all important question.’
‘I wouldn’t dream of asking you any questions at all,’ she assured him. ‘I’m gratified that you told a stranger like me even this much.’
‘It is not normal dinner table conversation,’ he agreed. ‘But you must surely be curious about the identity of my natural father.’
‘I’m only human, so of course I am,’ she said frankly. ‘But only if you want to tell me.’
To his surprise, Luke found that he did. ‘Chloe, the friend who took Olympia to the party, had a brother who excelled at athletics. He introduced the shy Olympia to the gold medallist swimmer he brought home from college for the party. It was love at first sight for both of them. After a series of brief stolen meetings, arranged with help from the faithful Chloe, the secret lover left to train for his next championship, promising to return to marry Olympia straight afterwards.’
‘I’m not going to like the next bit,’ said Isobel with foreboding. ‘He didn’t come back, obviously.’
‘No. His plane crashed.’
‘Oh, Luke, that’s so sad!’
He nodded sombrely. ‘All she had of him were his gold medals and the son he gave her. Apparently, I resemble him very closely. And,’ he added with a smile, ‘I have always been a powerful swimmer.’
‘I saw you in the pool.’
‘I know, Isobel.’ He chuckled softly. ‘Were