She thought her heart might burst when he placed surveillance photos on the desk. She was so scared it took several moments for her to work out that the naked figures in the photos were her and Jaap, having sex in the spa at the Singapore Hyatt a week before. Thinking themselves anonymous on the tenth floor, they had not closed the curtains in the living room or shut the bathroom door.

Almost delirious with relief, she closed her eyes.

‘I thought he was your cameraman. Now I discover you are his whore.’ Spots of white were flaring in Wijaya’s cheeks.

Although the images were pornographic, Sura knew her father was no prude. He was probably more furious that Jaap was white.

‘Father, he has converted.’

His savage slap made her ears ring. ‘Stupid slut! Golkar is a party of respectability and I will soon become its leader. Did it ever cross your mind what would happen if this reached the tabloids? Our Suyanto name would be dragged through the mud! How could you be so reckless? Never forget you’re a celebrity.’

Sura felt a surge of icy hate. That had been his choice, not hers.

‘I’ve a strong mind to replace you with Tommy on our little project,’ he mused. ‘Say what you like about him, at least he can be trusted.’

Sura felt sick. Was he really going to entrust her prize to that spoilt brat? Her younger brother had spent his life fooling around with sports cars and whores. Where she worked slavishly for success, Tommy had it laid out before him. Even when she won her scholarship to Cambridge, on merit, Wijaya’s reaction had been one of benign amusement. And then, when she chose journalism as a career, he had hijacked it by buying up half the Indostar Network to ensure favourable coverage, a move that had contaminated her professional integrity forever.

‘I’m so sorry, Father. It was stupid and selfish of me. I promise it will never happen again. You know I have only ever worked for your success.’

Wijaya made a steeple with his fingers and nodded slowly. ‘Well, perhaps bringing Tommy up to speed now might be challenging.’ He reached for a glass of water on the table and took a measured sip. ‘So, you fly to Jayapura today. Is everything prepared?’

Sura exhaled slowly. The wily old jackal had been bluffing all along.

‘Yes, Father. The ship will leave Port Moresby tomorrow with the salvage equipment and the Australians aboard. It should reach the Sepik next week.’

He glanced at the laptop on his desk. ‘What exactly are your concerns with the cave diver?’

‘Mr Nash hasn’t worked for some time, and there are questions concerning his mental state after the accident last year which killed his wife. He may not be reliable.’

He stared at her shrewdly. ‘Is this a pitch to keep Mr Boerman on?’