Excerpt of "Deadly Secrets" - Chapter Three, Part One

Chapter Three
HELENA COULDN’T BELIEVE her ears. She stared at her aunt and couldn’t say a word. Who is that man? It was obvious he wasn’t just an employee, as she had assumed at first. He was very handsome and about her aunt’s age... That’s it, she thought. He was probably engaged to her aunt. That would explain his interference in family matters. However, even a fiancé wasn’t allowed to move in before the marriage—not in this part of the world. And she was sure he wasn’t Sophie’s husband… or maybe he was… How could she be so sure? Well, they weren’t acting like a married couple. Of course, there was a familiarity between them, but nothing like the closeness of a married couple.
Helena realized Sophie was staring at her, studying her face. She returned her look with one of confusion.
Sophie took her by the hand and guided her towards the stairs. “Come on,” she said. “There are a few things we need to talk aboutbefore we go to bed.”
A warning bell went off somewhere inside Helena’s head. Trying to ignore it, she followed Sophie to her room which was also on the second floor.
Whenthey went inside, the room seemed familiar. Helena knew she had been there before. It was a pleasantly decorated room with cherry wood furniture and flower baskets which gave the room a lighter tone.
Sophie walked to the open French doors and invited Helena out onto the balcony. From there, they could enjoy the mystifying sceneryof the night and feel the breeze caress them softly. Helena sunk into one of the lounge chairs and let her gaze wander over the black waters of the sea, parted in the middle by streaks of silver. The whole thing was surreal; she had this overwhelming sensation of being suspended in time.
Taking a deep breath, she smelled the fragrance of jasmine and roses. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, trying to relax. No matter what, she was home. It didn’t make any difference if Dimitris was there. That was her house, and she intended to stay.
Sophie sank into a lounge chair next to her, and they remained out there in silence for a while, just enjoying the stillness of the night.
Finally, Helena glanced at Sophie. For the first time, her aunt looked like she didn’t know what to say. A shiver raced up Helena’s spine, andthe same warning bell went off somewhere in her head, again. What’s wrong? She could tell Sophie had something to say but didn’t know how to start. Helena wished silently it was nothing serious. It was the first time in years she was happy and didn’t want anything to ruin that.
“Helena, there are a lot of things you don’t know… After your father’s death, a lot of things changed,” Sophie started. Shifting in her seat, she took Helena’s hands in hers. “Your father wasn’t only an excellent captain but a very smart businessman at the same time, and he kept the business going while he was alive. After his death, our adopted brother, Thomas, took over. Without Angelos’guidance, Thomas made a lot of mistakes. Two years after your father’s death, things got real bad, and Thomas had to sell part of the company to Dimitris' family. Little by little, Stathis Nikolaou—Dimitris’ father—took over the rest of the company and everything else that once belonged to our family. Thomas stayed in the company as a Deputy General Manager, but he really has no control over anything and makes no decisions. Sometimes, I think they just keep him on because they know it would kill him not to work for the family business.”
Helena was so overwhelmed by all these that she couldn’t say a word. Everything was gone. All that her grandfather and her father hadworked for were in someone else’s hands now. Even her home wasn’t hers any more…
Pulling her hands from Sophie’s, she got up and walked towards the edge of the balcony. Devastated, she realized that the man downstairs was the owner of all this and she was just a visitor. She felt her temper rising, thinking of him and his father taking advantage of her family like this.
Sophie must have read her mind, because she jumped up and took her in her arms.
“Helena, it’s not what you think. They didn’t do anything wrong. The company was going under, and we needed help. We needed someone strong to help us out, and Stathis Nikolaou was the right person. They had a shipping company of their own, and they were searching for more ships to expand. It was a blessing they were there;otherwise, we would have been out in the streets. Our families have been friends for years. Dimitris’ mother was my mom’s best friend, and she was devastated when Eleana passed away.”
“This wasn’t help,” Helena said bitterly. “This was taking over everything.”
“No,” Sophie insisted. “They didn’t let our company go under and our family be buried in debt. Business is booming, and we stay in the house and live comfortably,” she added and caressed Helena’s hair softly.
***
Helena remained quiet, and Sophie let go and took a step back to look at her face. She remained silent as well, giving Helena time to process all these new information. It must be really hard on her, Sophie thought. She came home after all these years, and now I have to lay this burden on her, too. Oh, how I wish things could be different. But there’s nothing I can do…
Sophie turned towards the sea, taking a deep breath. “Stathis died a few years ago,” she went on after a couple of minutes, “and Dimitris, who is a ship captain and was commanding one of their largest cargo ships up until then, had to give up his voyages and manage the company. He has a beautiful house in Athens, but Dimitris prefers the island. He runs the business from here, just like your father used to do. Thomas and his wife, Katie, live on the island, also, but right now he’s in New York on business. He should be back in a few weeks, though,” she said, then was silent for a moment.
Maybe I should tell her everything right now and get it over with, Sophie thought, but then again, she was scared of Helena’s reaction. Helena was way too young to understand, and she was brought up in England—far away from her homeland and its customs and traditions. We really need to be patient and give her some time to adjust... Then again, I need to prepare her for what’s coming…
***
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