‘It’s how he’d probably see it. He’s received none of the profits and Vinod’s fixed things so he never will. But it goes beyond that. The money is only half the story, the half that was to supply me with a well-heeled and invisible retirement far from Nishizaki’s clutches. The fraudulent element of Emergence is the crucial factor: the additional options Dr Morrisette has doubtless explained to you are essentially worthless. I always wanted her to expose the reality of the situation. It’s why I instructed Nanoq to give you the memory stick detailing the whole thing and send you to her. Once the buyers of those options – all of them rich, powerful, dangerous people – realize they’ve been taken for a ride, they’ll want more than their money back. They’ll want revenge. More specifically, they’ll want to show they can’t be conned with impunity. And they’ll blame Nishizaki for what’s happened to them. He can protest all he likes that I’m the one who’s done this to them, but they won’t believe him, because he is – and always has been – the man ultimately in charge: the face of the Nishizaki Corporation. They’ll never be convinced I would have dared to act against his wishes. They’ll never be persuaded he hasn’t tried to defraud them. And that can end only one way for him.’

‘You mean …’

‘It was him or me as I saw it. And I was determined it wasn’t going to be me. It’s not as if I was setting him up for a punishment he didn’t richly deserve. I’m sure you’ll agree with me about that, since your own husband was indirectly one of his victims.’

‘Has he discovered yet what you have planned for him?’

‘Oh, yes. Ohara’s disappearance in Iceland while hunting for Marty was bound to alarm him. He sent Zayala to investigate. Zayala was considerably tech-savvier than Ohara. He demanded full access to the Emergence files. It was impossible to refuse him without openly challenging Nishizaki. I think Zayala smelt a rat and sent a worrying message back to his boss before he went the same way as Ohara. But it was too late to change the plan. We went ahead with the auction. The money changed hands. The fraud kicked in. And you tipped off Dr Morrisette. But Nishizaki was already on edge and he reacted to her complaints more quickly and more radically than I’d anticipated.’

‘By kidnapping her?’

‘Yes. And Nick Miller as well. They’re being held somewhere in London by contract gangsters Nishizaki hired at short notice. He’s in London himself now as well. He’s demanded I meet him to discuss the terms for their release.’

‘Will you?’