“Oh, you mean Robin? He’s twenty-five. I’m thirty-two. I’d have to have had him when I was seven. You like numbers, Jack, so how about this one: there’s a bigger age gap between you and Ylva Lehndorf than between me and Robin.”

“For fuck’s sake, that’s not the same thing at all!”

“Why not? I’m genuinely curious now.”

“I’m not behaving like some cheap whore in a club without a thought for this family’s reputation.”

“No, you just fucked her behind my back in our home, in our bed. And to be honest, I don’t actually know which family you’re talking about, Jack.”

He spluttered. Then said in a more controlled voice, “Don’t do it again.”

“I shall do exactly what I want. You have no mandate to tell me how I should live my life, who I sleep with or where I sleep with them. Goodbye, Jack.”

She ended the call. Shut her eyes. Felt Robin’s tongue flitting across her clitoris. Her phone buzzed. Another text from Robin, telling her what he wanted to do to her. She hesitated, then sent a reply:

I’m on my way back from V?ster?s. Will be at yours in a couple of hours. Who could turn down an offer like that?

Faye took another sip of wine. She could feel some of the other guests at Sturehof staring at her, but ignored them. Let them wonder what happened between me and Jack, she thought, let them whisper and gossip. One day I’ll show them all.

She cast a quick glance at the time again. Sophie Duval was seriously late.

If Faye was going to find another partner now that Louise Widerstr?m Bergh had turned her down, she needed to prove that she had financial backing, from investors who would not only contribute capital, but could also contribute to the mythology of Revenge.

She had met Sophie Duval on a number of occasions when she was with Jack. She had always been effusive in her praise of Faye, and would be the perfect next investor after Chris. She had a high profile in the business world, she was young, attractive, and was a media favorite. She was constantly in the headlines, always with a new man on her arm, always talking about her new investments.

Faye had never liked Sophie, but this was business, and she was convinced she could persuade Sophie to see the value of investing in Revenge.

Faye had finished her first glass by the time Sophie glided in.

“A glass of champagne, please. And I think I’m in the mood for the shellfish platter today,” Sophie said as she sat down, without looking at the waiter.

She tossed her dark hair back and turned her attention to Faye.

“How lovely that you got in touch! The last time we met was Oscar’s fiftieth birthday party in Cannes, wasn’t it?”

Before Faye had a chance to reply Sophie had turned and clapped her hands to get the waiter’s attention.

“How can it take so long to get a glass of champagne?” She glared at the waiter, who came running over with a glass and a bottle. “It may not be champagne-o’clock yet, but I got back from Hong Kong yesterday, so I’m still on Hong Kong time.”

Faye sighed silently to herself in response to Sophie’s shrill laughter. But as long as she offered an investment Sophie could act as forced as she liked.

The shellfish platter arrived along with Faye’s grilled char.

“God, this is soooo good,” Sophie said, slurping happily from an oyster. “Better than sex, if you ask me.”

She took a large gulp from her third glass of champagne, then looked at Faye.

“So tell me, darling, how are you? Have things settled down? Divorces are never fun, and I should know. I saw Jack and Ylva in B?stad last weekend—they’re such a sweet couple. From what they were saying, little Julienne sounds completely adorable. Obviously they were sad it wasn’t possible to come to an agreement with you, so that they could have taken her with them.”

She dabbed at her mouth with the linen napkin.

“If you want my advice, you always have to think of what’s best for the child in situations like that, no matter how sad and upset you might feel.” Sophie put her hand on Faye’s. “Our children’s well-being is the most important thing of all, don’t you think?”

Faye swallowed several times, she couldn’t let Sophie see how irritated she felt. It had been Jack’s weekend to have custody, but he had texted Faye at only three hours’ notice to say that he couldn’t possibly have Julienne because of a hastily arranged business trip.

She smiled at Sophie. For the time being the most important thing of all was the bigger picture: securing the money and investment she needed.

“Thank you, Sophie,” she said, then bent down to take out the folder containing her prospectus for Revenge.

Sophie helped herself to half a lobster, then waved her hand dismissively.

“Let’s eat first, we can deal with business afterward.”

Faye let the folder slip back into her bag and reluctantly took a bite of the char. She had lost her appetite, but Sophie seemed to be starving. She licked her fingers noisily and occasionally let out a shrill “Hello, daaaarling!” when she caught sight of someone she knew.

She managed to get through another two glasses of champagne before she finished the platter and leaned back contentedly.

“So what do you say, shall we talk business now?” Faye said, reaching for her folder again.

“Of course, darling,” Sophie said.

She glanced at her watch.

“Oh Lord, is that the time already? I’m late for my next meeting! Darling! This has been too lovely! We must do it again! Call my secretary and we’ll fix another date. But it won’t be for the next three or four weeks, I’ve got trips to Paris, London, New York, and Dubai lined up! I practically seem to have taken up residence in the VIP lounge at Arlanda these days!”

Another shrill laugh, then she was gone.

Faye sat there in mute astonishment. With a bill that was the equivalent of what she usually spent in an entire week.

At first Faye couldn’t quite understand the sense of emptiness she felt. Then she realized. It was resignation. For the first time she was feeling a deep, overwhelming sense of resignation.

Julienne was snoring gently beside her. Her eyelashes looked like little fans above her cheeks, her face was calm and relaxed, and her nose was twitching slightly in her sleep. Exactly the same expression she had had as a baby, sleeping in her crib. Faye used to laugh at her back then, thinking she looked like a baby rabbit twitching its nose. But now all she could do was smile weakly. She felt utterly exhausted, her meetings with Louise and Sophie had sucked all the life out of her.

She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting. Obviously she couldn’t assume that every woman would automatically understand what she wanted to do, what she wanted to say, simply because they were women. But even if it was na?ve, that was probably what she had been hoping. Now she wasn’t at all sure how to recharge her batteries. The next would be make-or-break for the company. What if that one failed as well? The whole project would collapse if that happened. She wouldn’t be able to achieve what she’d set out to accomplish. Jack would be able to carry on his life undisturbed, without having to pay any price at all. The thought made her skin crawl.

The sound of Kerstin working in the kitchen interrupted her worrying. Kerstin had insisted on cooking that evening, and Faye was pretty sure she was making one of Faye’s favorite dishes. Probably stuffed cabbage rolls.

Julienne had her dinner before she went to bed, Kerstin wanted to be able to have a quiet talk with Faye, just the two of them. When Faye walked in the door earlier that evening she had been aware that she must have looked deflated. Kerstin was usually able to cheer her up, but Faye wondered if that was going to work tonight. Doubts were clinging to her like sticky tar.

Julienne changed position in her sleep. She wasn’t often allowed to sleep in Faye’s bed, but tonight Faye wanted her daughter close to her. She would have dinner with Kerstin, talk through what had happened, then try to sneak back into bed beside Julienne again, and fall asleep to the sound of her breathing. She watched her daughter as she lay there in her thin white nightie, the one with the unicorn, then gently placed her free hand on her chest and felt her heart beating. Da-dum, da-dum, da-dum. Gradually her own heart started to fall into line and follow the same rhythm. That helped clear her thoughts. In the kitchen she could hear Kerstin clattering pans. The smell of food spread through the bedroom and Faye heard her stomach rumble. She felt her daughter’s rhythmic heartbeat through her palm again. Da-dum, da-dum, da-dum. Her despair and frustration at the failed meetings began to fade. It wasn’t over yet. She still had the most important meeting to come. And she wasn’t going to let that one fail.