She whirled and it was Demos, portly and flaccid and simmering with obvious rage. He walked out and slammed the door behind him. ‘Do you seriously think you can get away with this?’

‘With what?’

‘It’s mine,’ he said fiercely, stepping towards her with an intent that frightened her. ‘Giorgos always meant it to go to me.’

‘Giorgos no longer has a say in how this island will be ruled. It’s in the hands of the…’

‘The gods? Don’t give me that. You’re not wanted here. You promised me…’

‘I meant the people. And I didn’t promise you anything.’

‘Liar.’

‘You lied to me,’ she said evenly. ‘You said you cared for this island. Now I find it was just greed.’

He was so close to her she could feel his breath. He was pushing his body into her space, so her back was hard against the parapet. ‘You left this island to have a kid. Nikos’s kid. They’re all saying it. You think we want a woman like you to run the island?’

‘I care for the island more than you do.’

‘You don’t know what care is.’ He closed his eyes. Regrouped. ‘Okay. Here’s another solution. You know how much these diamond mines are worth? We can split it. You don’t want to live here. Neither do I-it’s the pits-but someone has to. You go back to your life in New York and I’ll take over. I’ll do what has to be done and we’ll cut the profits. Fifty-fifty. You can’t say fairer than that.’

‘Demos,’ she said, trying desperately to keep her voice steady, ‘I’m not opening the mines.’

‘You might have to.’

‘I don’t know what you mean.’

‘There are ways,’ he said viciously. ‘You care about your kid, don’t you. It’d be a shame if anything happened to him. You can’t watch him all the time. You go back to Manhattan and he’ll be safe again.’

She felt cold and she felt sick.

‘You can’t hurt us,’ she managed.

And he simply smiled. And he raised a hand to hit her.