Only the Strongest Survive (33 page)

She looked at
the clock again unintentionally. Time is not important for a
relaxed mind and the hands had hardly moved since she had looked at
it last.
Where the hell is
he?

Then she
closed her eyes again, telling herself that she was perfectly
calm.
I’m perfectly calm …
perfectly calm … perfectly calm ….

After a
couple minutes
she sat on the edge of the
bed, giving up. She said out loud, “How can I be calm when he
leaves me here waiting all day long? I’m going to go nutty. And
what am I supposed to do all this time?”

*

The alarm
woke her around eight in the evening, catapulting her out of bed.
Within seconds she arranged her hair and renewed her
makeup. Just as she was highlighting her
beautiful eyes, she heard the key in the lock and straightened
up.

Kitty greeted her first, jumping on her
happily.

“
Hi!” John
said.

“Hi.”

“
I’ve brought
us a Chinese takeout. Let’s all go upstairs.”

They were
silent during dinner. Emely could see that John was tense even
though he was trying to be nice. She decided to begin the planned
conversation after coffee.

Dessert was a
chocolate mousse with whipped cream and while she ate it, Emely
kept telling herself it was time to say everything she had spent
the afternoon planning to say.

Finally she plucked up the courage and began
talking in a quiet voice. “John, I’d like to talk to you.”

“So would I,” he said.

“What?” She looked into his eyes and forgot
her speech.

“
I’ve been
thinking about us a lot. You know I love you and I’m glad in a way
that you showed me something I didn’t know before.”

He lit
himself a cigarette and she saw that his hand was trembling. She
looked at
his face again.

“
For me,
there’ll always be only you. Wherever I go, I’ll dream about you.
No other woman will exist for me.”

She listened with her lips slightly parted.
His voice was serious, with a slight tremble.

“This is our last supper. Tonight, I’ll
travel far away and tomorrow I’ll inform the police and they’ll
come and set you free.”

Emely’s heart
went cold and began thumping.
What’s he saying … it can’t be … no, this can’t be true
….

“
I know you
don’t love me, Emely. I hoped you
’d
gradually grow fond of me, but ….” He looked away and then back at
her.

Tears began flowing, slowly sliding down her
face as she continued to listen.

“I know it’s not possible, I know you’ll
never love me. I realized this in the morning.”

She watched
the first tear slide from his eye and at that moment she wanted to
put her arms around him. But she didn’t, afraid he’d change his
mind, afraid to alter his decision in any way. Instead, she stared
at him, crying. Everything she had heard was too good to be
true.

“
The realtor
told me this morning that my apartment was sold. I’ve also sold all
my shares and I’m proud to be able to say that I got seven million,
seven hundred and sixty thousand dollars from my account.” He
stopped for a moment, giving her a gentle smile. “Congratulations,
Emely! You’ve managed to turn two million into nearly eight in four
months.” He pointed at a smallish red bag that was completely full.
“Just think, it’s all in there.”

She stared at the bag next to her, confused.
She was about to say something, but chose not to.

“I don’t want your money, Emely. I’ll leave
it here and you can do what you want with it.”

She couldn’t
believe her ears and the tears flowed even faster. She could never
have imagined anything like this. Only now she realized how strong
his love was for her. He was willing to give up all his money to
prove that he loved her. She was astonished and wanted to hug him,
to kiss those wonderful lips that had told her so many lovely
things, but all she did was to keep looking at him, swallowing the
tears pouring down her face. She was looking at his face that had
never before seemed so attractive to her.

“
But John,”
she said, sobbing
, “I’d like you to take
the money.”

“
No, that’s
why I sold the apartment. I’ve learned quite a bit while we traded
with all those shares. Maybe I’ll manage to earn something as
well.” He got up and kissed her forehead.

She didn’t
resist, didn’t move her head. She remained still and went on
looking at him.

He knelt next
to her and took her hands. “I’m sorry, Emely. I know that the words
with which I could justify the horrible deeds Ronald and I
committed do not exist. I had you shut in this house against your
will and I know how much you’ve suffered. I am so sorry for
everything.”

He put his head in her lap and only a few
moments later she felt his tears through her skirt.

She began
stroking his head. “I know, John, I know
,” she said, sobbing.

After a
while, he got up. He took the bag and accompanied her to her room,
and embraced her while she stood there helplessly, not knowing what
to say.

It was all
happening too fast. Only a few hours back she was a prisoner, but
now he was telling her she
’d be free in a
few hours, that he’d leave in a few moments and she’d never see him
again. She wanted to stop time, didn’t want him to leave her that
minute, wanted to think about it. But at the same time she couldn’t
believe that he’d really go, and leave her, free.
If what he says is true, I’ll be able
to fly wherever I want to tomorrow.
While
he had been kissing her forehead, cheeks, and eyes, she had stood
there like a puppet, dreaming about all the places she’d visit as
soon as she was out.
Free,
free!
This word kept going through her
head and then she thought of Philip, Sally, and her other friends.
She was so happy that she’d be able to see them again. And finally
she would be able to run her company again.

It’ll all be different now,
she
thought.
I won’t work as much,
there’s no point. I’m going to go on vacation. To China, somewhere
far, far away.

Suddenly she
became afraid that John would change his mind
, and disappointment would hit her in the face again. So
she deliberately stopped dreaming.
No, John is not like that. If he has made a decision, he’ll
stick to it.

Then
another thought flashed to the forefront, about
the time she had spent in that house. She no longer remembered the
painful moments, only the pleasant ones that she had spent with
him.
The main thing is that
I’ve survived. Nothing else matters.

John embraced
her for the last time,
cupped her face in
his hands, and gently kissed her on her mouth. “Bye, Emely, I’ll
always be thinking about you.”

These were
his last words as he turned around and locked the door for the last
time. She still could not believe that this was real and not a
dream. She wanted to call him back and tell him to wait a bit. She
had not even said goodbye to him. She stared in complete confusion
at the door that had closed so many times before. This was to be
the last time. Tomorrow, the police would come and take her away
from this cursed house. But was it really that cursed? She had
grown to like it a little recently. She shook her head,
trying to banish these thoughts that made her
angry.
Tomorrow I’ll be free,
free.

She knew a
long and strenuous night lay ahead. How could she close her eyes
after news like that?
If only
I had a sleeping pill.

She felt
alive, not ready to sleep, her head full of mixed feelings. She was
happy, so happy she wanted to scream, but at the same time she was
missing something and this was making her stand there without
moving.
He said that they’d
come to get me in the morning. What does that mean: eight o’clock,
eleven o’clock? I’m going to go mad.

Her thoughts
returned to John. She could still feel his last kiss. She touched
her lips lightly and when she thought of never seeing him again,
she felt a pang in her heart.
He made me suffer, but I will miss him.

She looked at
the door that would open the next day.
I’ll miss him so much.
She
dropped her head low and her eyes stopped on the red bag.
Why didn’t he take the damn
money?
She should have
insisted.

Emely
lay on the bed and forced her eyes shut. The
burning pain in her eyes announced a new wave of tears trying to
emerge. Tears of both happiness and sadness.

Chapter
15

_______________________

“…
She’s not
a woman who would spend her time in the kitchen, she wants more:
success, independence …”
Robert Miles
lifted his head, wondering what else he could say about the heroine
of his story. He was writing about a person he had never actually
seen, but about whom he seemed to know more than most people did.
He had interviewed all her friends, acquaintances, neighbors, and
anyone else who knew anything at all about Emely Donnovan. From
them he had learned mainly good things about this woman. The walls
of his small office were covered with various photographs and
sometimes he felt that he was obsessed with Emely. She was
constantly in his head; sometimes he even dreamed about her. These
were not normal dreams but erotic scenes. He’d wake up sweating,
breathing rapidly, and hoping that one day he’d meet a woman who
would at least vaguely resemble Emely.

He took a sip
of cold coffee that was poured an hour earlier. He spent a while
longer in thought,
and then he closed his
laptop, indicating that he had had enough. Besides, he had a
meeting with Lara Paris, a former Donnovan Corporation employee. He
had promised her a small payment and the woman agreed immediately
to answer a few questions.

“When did you work for Ms. Donnovan?” he
asked as they sat down in a shabby bar.

“Oh, a long time ago, must be eight years or
so. I think it was my third job. Yes, that’s right.”

In front of him sat a mature woman around
thirty-five. She was badly dressed and her hair was a mess.

Miles nodded encouragingly. “Tell me, what
did you do there and why did you decide to take the job?”

“
Oh, there
wasn’t much choice back then. I was happy to get a job, any job.
Ms. Donnovan seemed nice and I was glad to be able to work for
her.”

“So why did you leave?”

“My husband started his own private company
and wanted me to help him, that’s why I left.”

Miles lit a cigarette. “I see. So what did
you do there?”

“
I started
off looking after all the contracts and other important documents
that are a part of every stock exchange deal. I remember the first
few days when I was rather absentminded. Ms. Donnovan was always
nice to me ….”

*

“
Lara, you
mixed up the Kruger
& Co. contract
with the one for MTC. But never mind, it could happen to anyone.
Just be a bit more careful in the future.”

Lara shrugged, then started on some other
contracts.

“Mike, please buy twenty-five thousand lots
of Zone Mider shares.”

Mike Rider
gave Emely a surprised look. “You mean two thousand five hundred,
don’t you, Emely?”

“No, Mike, I meant twenty-five thousand.
Quite a bit of money came into our account today and I have a
feeling those shares will go up tomorrow.”

“But Zone Mider is nothing special. They made
a loss twice in the last five years and only a small profit the
other three years.”

Emely’s eyes showed impatience. “Whatever,
just do what I say.”

Mike nodded
and immediately entered a purchase order into his computer. He
couldn’t know that Emely had secret information about this company.
She knew that their profit report would appear in the papers the
next day, showing a 40 percent growth, which was bound to influence
the price of their shares.

“Lara, have you finished those contracts? I’d
like the registration forms for the following three companies.”
Emely put a list on Lara’s desk.

“
OK,” Lara
said.

“Then we’ll be finished for the day.”

No one heard
her. It was five in the afternoon and the last rays of sunshine
were illuminating the office. The twenty-one brokers working there
were all concentrating on their work. Some brokers only traded in
bonds on the American market, while others worked with shares on
the European market. Then there were those who dealt with other
securities that had no connection with shares and bonds. Everyone
had their own special area. Emely knew how to motivate her
employees and some often stayed in the office as late as she did.
Their basic monthly pay was low, but they got a bonus for each
individual deal. The more successfully they traded, the more they
earned. The ones who were not so good received such a low salary at
the end of the month that they soon left. Of course each broker
only had limited amounts of money at their disposal. The more
experienced they became, the higher this amount. Every morning they
all met in Emely’s office.