He was made up, thrilled with the whole shebang, as her mother would say. But to her, he was no more than a pawn in what would eventually be her sister’s pension. He had a minor stake in what would one day be a very lucrative business. After all, who stood to really gain from all these restaurants and pubs and nightclubs? Fucking Celeste, that’s who. With her ninety-eight per cent share, as opposed to Cynthia’s two per cent. Two per cent out of a hundred! And her husband thought that was something they should celebrate. While the rest would be Celeste’s. Would be her sister’s earn. Celeste, who couldn’t fight her way out of a wet paper bag. Who was as much use as a fucking chocolate fireguard. Who, if the Filth came knocking, would not know how to answer their questions, wouldn’t know how to protect her own. She would be the main earner. It was fucking outrageous, and here was her husband bragging because Jonny Parker had allowed him a tiny percentage. It was easier than giving him a proper wage! She knew that even if Mr fucking Know-It-All financial advisor didn’t understand. It disgusted her that her husband, her James, could be pleased with so little. That he could allow Jonny Parker to insult him and still not see the reality of what was going on grieved her. He was obviously being offered a pittance – and she was convinced it was no more than that – and there was he, almost on his knees with gratitude and that, above all, was what really made her angry.

It should have been fifty-fifty at least. If her James had been given a stake he must have earned it, but Jonny Parker, being what he was, would never give anyone what they really deserved. It meant that her husband was being ripped off, another reason to make her feel hard done by. To make herself believe that they were being had over, were being taken for mugs. After all, her James was the person who kept these people legitimate. He was the money man, and knowing that made her feel much better about herself. It made her believe that all the hateful things she felt and she thought about had some kind of basis in fact.

As she looked around her, saw the people fawning over her sister and Jonny Parker, she was already wondering how she could bring them down and, more importantly, when.

She knew she could easily take them out without a second’s thought if she opened her mouth to the right people, at the right time. She didn’t know enough yet. But she would, eventually. She would bide her time and she would learn what she needed to know. And then bring them down she would, if it was the last thing she did in her life.

Chapter Nineteen