She wiped the last tear away and crumpled the hanky. "No. All this happened a year before Grandpa told me about Ranasfari and the giga-conductor research project; Ranasfari wasn't even close to a cryogenic giga-conductor then. Kendric didn't have any ulterior motive for seducing me. I was just fun, a notch on his bedpost. He enjoys it, the game he plays in his mind, me and all the other dumb little girls are no different to his business deals. The lies and clever words corrupt us, then we belong to him, worship him. He gets as much satisfaction from our beguilement as he does from the sex. He's a power junkie."

He looked away, trying to lose the terrible image of Julia, a younger, smaller, more delicate Julia, lying below Kendric.

"You will get the proof, won't you, Greg?" she asked urgently. "I'm so scared of him. I've not told anybody that before, but he frightens me."

"I'll provide the proof Morgan Walshaw insists on, no messing." He kneaded his temple with thumb and forefinger. "There's a couple of things I want you to do for me."

She regarded him with comic seriousness. "Anything."

"Firstly, go back into the house and have a word with Walshaw. I want your personal protection stepped up. You're not the only one Kendric frightens; before yesterday I hadn't realised exactly how warped that man is. He is quite capable of having you killed. Especially now he realises that his games are over. It's gloves-off time, I'm afraid, Julia."

"Right."

"Secondly: Katerina. I'm going to put a stop to that."

"I don't understand."

"Snatch her from the Mirriam, and then shove her through detoxification treatment. But that's going to cost."

"Money doesn't bother me."

"Right. I suppose it'll have to be in America or the Caribbean. I haven't looked into it, hell, I don't even know if you can detoxify a phyltre user. If not, then it'll be a good research project for Event Horizon to undertake."

Julia nodded in relief. "I promise, Greg. Whatever it takes. Event Horizon has a clinic in Austria, they can do anything there."

Greg didn't share her glibness about that, but at least she was genuinely intent on making amends. "Fine. I'll snatch her back tonight."

"Tonight?"

"Yes. I don't want to leave her on the Mirriam a minute longer than necessary, I'd develop nightmares. I'll bring her to Event Horizon's finance division offices. Your people can take her from there."

"I'll come."

"No, Julia."

"Yes. The finance division is just as secure as Wilholm. And I want to see her. After all, I'm the one who put her there, and I've had a taste of what she's been through."