Dan had followed her in and she said, ‘Take his gag off. Just his.’
She thought Simon might say something as soon as he was free but he didn’t, staring at her instead, inviting her to go first. It was the first time she’d seen him since finding out the truth and she’d expected to see something different in him. He looked as benign as ever, though, and if anything, wore an expression that suggested he was the one who’d been betrayed.
‘Why did you do it, Simon?’
‘Why did I do what, exactly?’
She glanced at Lucy, whose eyes still pleaded for an explanation, then back to Simon. ‘Lucas found Novakovic, who, in case you’re wondering, is the guy you paid to kill my family, your family.’
Lucy looked at him in horror. He shook his head. ‘You’re mistaken, Ella, or you’ve been led astray by these people. I’ve never heard that name before in my life.’
‘No, because you dealt with Bruno Brodsky, and he hired Novakovic, just like he hired the men who came for me in Italy. You thought you dealt with Brodsky anonymously but he’d dealt with that account before and recognized it from his records. Larsen Grohl, a company you neglected to tell me I own. Only two people had the authority to use that account: you and Dad. Dad hadn’t used it since January. You made two payments in June.’
‘This is ridiculous. Even these names—it’s all ridiculous. You’re wrong.’
‘No, I’m right. And if Dad hadn’t hired Lucas to protect me you would have got away with it. If you’d engineered an accident for me in the last six months you’d have got away with it. But you didn’t and now I’ve caught up with you. Just tell me why you did it.’
He shook his head slowly and said, ‘Ella, I didn’t do anything.’ He laughed to himself, saying, ‘How can I give you a reason for something I know absolutely nothing about?’
That laugh was the first chink in the armor, a window on the lie, a suggestion of the person he had to be to have done this. She latched onto it, drawing strength from it, and said to Dan, ‘Bring the kids out.’
Simon looked suddenly confused, too shocked to respond. Dan said, ‘You sure?’ She nodded and he made a move but then turned to Simon and said, ‘Mate, just tell her why you did it.’
‘Fuck you!’ It was aimed at Dan, but with Lucy crying out through her gag, he looked at Ella and said, ‘Ella, please . . .’
‘Dan, get the kids.’
Dan handed her the gun and left.
Lucy was trying to catch Ella’s eye, but Ella was looking directly at Simon, desperately searching his face for an indication of what was on his mind. She couldn’t believe she’d been fooled by him, that they’d all been so fooled. He had a slight defiant smile on his lips now, but she had the feeling it didn’t mean anything, that it was just a strange side effect of the shock he was in.
Dan came back in with George and Harry, gagged, hands bound in front of them. He was shepherding them like he was a nursery school teacher. Harry was old enough to know something was wrong and looked fearful at the sight of her there with a gun. George looked excited, though, as if in seeing her he’d suddenly realized it was all a game.
She said to Simon, ‘Clearly, you didn’t care about your brother, his wife, his children, but what about your own children, Simon? Tell me why you did it or I’ll have him kill them right now.’
Lucy pleaded through her gag to Simon and it seemed to be in response to her that he eventually said, ‘Okay, okay!’ He looked back at Ella with a certain righteous defiance, like a man defending himself in court. ‘Ella, you’ve been through a lot, I can see that, but please, I’m begging you to see reason now. I don’t care what other people have told you. Listen to me. I didn’t kill them.’
‘You don’t get it. Lying to me won’t save them. Tell me why you did it!’
‘I didn’t do anything!’ He produced a sudden burst of violent energy, his body buckling and straining against his bindings. Dan bristled, ready to make a move, but Simon calmed again and stared at her accusingly. ‘You’re sick, Ella; you need help.’
‘You made me sick. You killed my parents. You killed Ben. Now this is your last chance. Tell me.’
‘What do you want me to say? I did it to get my hands on the business? I did it because I always hated Mark? What? If it makes you happy, choose a reason and I’ll admit to it.’
‘I just want the truth!’
‘You don’t! I’ve told you the truth. You want me to lie to you, so tell me, just tell me the lie, and I’ll admit to it.’
She shook her head, disgusted with him for exploiting the intensity of her feelings to convince her she’d been led astray. And that angered her almost more than his crime, that he was denying her any kind of explanation. Even now, he was trying to play the innocent and cast her as the villain.