A thud from the office brought her back to reality and she returned to find Andrei rolling up Matthew’s body in the rug he’d died upon.
‘We leave this room for my people to clean up,’ he said, and dragged Matthew into the bathroom out of sight. ‘Do not allow anyone else in.’
Ellie obeyed and Andrei escorted her into the corridor just as Ula ran towards her.
‘You weren’t answering your phone!’ she said, concerned.
‘I have a meeting I need to—’
But Ula cut her off. ‘Your office, it’s being streamed online.’
‘What?’
‘Look,’ she yelled, then pulled Ellie by her arm into her room. ‘You and Tim are all over the Internet. Everyone can watch and hear you arguing. But I don’t understand. How can you be here and yet on my computer you’re still in there?’
Ellie looked at the video footage of her and Matthew. By her estimation it was time delayed by approximately fifteen minutes – to the beginning of their confrontation – as Matthew was pouring his second whisky. She watched as he carried the decanter back to the sofas, and inwardly shuddered at the thought of what the object would be later used for.
‘Who can see this?’ she asked, alarmed.
Ula checked. ‘I think it’s automatically playing on every employee’s computer or tablet through the internal messaging system.’
‘Get hold of IT and tell them to shut it down.’
Ula picked up the phone while Ellie looked at Andrei for reassurance, but for the first time since he’d began working for her, she witnessed concern in his steely grey eyes.
‘They’re saying the IP address is from the desktop computer in your office,’ Ula said, ‘and it’s also being sent as a live feed to dozens of other online sources. YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Twitter … Anyone in the world can watch right now and it’s all coming from your computer’s webcam.’
Andrei ran back into the office with a terrified Ellie in pursuit. She shut the door behind her as Andrei yanked all the leads from the iMac, then picked up the machine, lifted it over his head and hurled it to the floor. He slammed his foot into it half-a-dozen times.
As she and Andrei left her office for a second time, she saw that a small group of secretaries had now huddled around Ula’s screen. They took an awkward step backwards when Ellie reappeared.
‘It’s still showing,’ Ula said. ‘I’m sorry but IT says it’s not broadcasting from the servers in our building so there’s nothing they can do to cut the feed.’
Ellie froze. In approximately five minutes, the world would watch as Matthew explained how he’d compromised her database and how 2 million people who’d trusted her were the victims of mis-Matches. Then they’d see one of the world’s most prominent businesswomen beat her unarmed fiancé to death. And she was powerless to stop it.
All eyes, with the exception of Ellie’s, were on Ula’s computer screen. Ellie took a succession of deep calming breaths and leaned against the wall of her office, slowly sliding her back downwards against the glass until she reached the floor.
At Andrei’s order, Ula ushered everyone else out, leaving just the three of them. Ula and Andrei were finding it hard to draw themselves away from the screen, and Ellie didn’t try to stop them. She was forced to listen again to the dull thwack of the decanter as it hit Matthew’s head, the sound of him collapsing to his knees, followed by that of her hitting him a second, fatal time.
Ula gasped and glared at her in disbelief.
‘Come,’ said Andrei in desperation and held his hand out towards Ellie. ‘Let me take you out of this building.’
But Ellie shook her head politely, then looked at them in turn and spoke calmly. ‘Thank you both for everything you’ve done for me. I’ll make sure you’re well recompensed for it.’ She patted out the creases from her skirt and tucked her hair behind her ears. ‘Ula, after what you’ve just seen, if you are able to assemble my legal team and have them meet me in the boardroom, I’d be grateful. I assume the police will be here very soon. Then clear my schedule for the foreseeable future.’
Ellie paused and looked up at the Match Your DNA logo etched into the smoked glass of her office wall. She pictured the inert figure of Matthew on the other side, wrapped in a rug on the bathroom floor. She’d been happier with him than she had ever thought imaginable, but only now she understood it wasn’t because their DNA had dictated it, but because she’d opened herself up to the concept of love.
She picked herself up from the floor and began to walk in the direction of her office, closing the door behind her. She poured herself a gin and tonic and took a seat behind her desk. From down the corridor, she heard the first of many pairs of feet making their way out of the lift and towards the office.
She took her iPad and swiped the screen to take one last look at the extensive list of tasks she’d always begrudged yet needed to complete before her working day was over. But it was blank – Ula had already erased it.
Chapter 96
MANDY
‘Stay in the car until I know what’s happening. Promise me you won’t move from here.’
It wasn’t a question; it was an order. Lorraine, Mandy’s police liaison officer, was firm in her demand and didn’t wait for a reply before jumping from the driver’s seat and hurrying towards the front door of the cottage.
Two other police cars and a van were already on the scene, parked on the cobbled road next to two ambulances. Mandy hunched forwards in the rear of the car, barely breathing, and craned her neck to see past the headrests to gain a clearer view of what was happening in the house. It was a frenzy of activity, with uniformed police officers coming and going, speaking into walkie-talkies and mobile phones.
Eventually, a frustrated Mandy couldn’t wait any longer, so she clasped her fingers around the door frame and pulled herself out.
The journey from Essex to the Lake District had taken five hours and, on occasion, the vehicle’s motion combined with the stress had made her so uncomfortable that Lorraine had been forced to pull onto the hard shoulder so Mandy could vomit onto the grass verge. Her head was spinning with adrenaline, and nothing was going to prevent her from being reunited with her child if he was indeed being kept there.
The picture of the family’s Lake District cottage had jolted her memory, and she’d remembered Pat mentioning how much Richard had loved it there. Detectives had quickly discovered the title deeds to the home buried away in Pat’s files, and an immediate operation had been launched, beginning with officers inside an unmarked police car scoping out the property. When they confirmed a woman matching Chloe’s description had entered the home, the rescue plan had begun in earnest.
‘Where is he?’ shouted a panic-stricken Mandy as she made her way towards the front door from which Lorraine was exiting.
‘Mandy, I need you to stay calm,’ she said, and took hold of her arms. ‘Chloe has already been arrested and was taken away earlier. Your son is with Pat; however she’s barricaded herself in the bathroom.’
‘What’s she doing in there?’
‘He’s safe as far as we can ascertain, but Pat wants to talk to you before she unlocks the door.’
‘I don’t have anything to say to that woman, I just want my baby back.’
‘It goes without saying that we want a positive outcome from this, so let’s give it a try. I’ll be by your side, so please don’t worry.’
‘We leave this room for my people to clean up,’ he said, and dragged Matthew into the bathroom out of sight. ‘Do not allow anyone else in.’
Ellie obeyed and Andrei escorted her into the corridor just as Ula ran towards her.
‘You weren’t answering your phone!’ she said, concerned.
‘I have a meeting I need to—’
But Ula cut her off. ‘Your office, it’s being streamed online.’
‘What?’
‘Look,’ she yelled, then pulled Ellie by her arm into her room. ‘You and Tim are all over the Internet. Everyone can watch and hear you arguing. But I don’t understand. How can you be here and yet on my computer you’re still in there?’
Ellie looked at the video footage of her and Matthew. By her estimation it was time delayed by approximately fifteen minutes – to the beginning of their confrontation – as Matthew was pouring his second whisky. She watched as he carried the decanter back to the sofas, and inwardly shuddered at the thought of what the object would be later used for.
‘Who can see this?’ she asked, alarmed.
Ula checked. ‘I think it’s automatically playing on every employee’s computer or tablet through the internal messaging system.’
‘Get hold of IT and tell them to shut it down.’
Ula picked up the phone while Ellie looked at Andrei for reassurance, but for the first time since he’d began working for her, she witnessed concern in his steely grey eyes.
‘They’re saying the IP address is from the desktop computer in your office,’ Ula said, ‘and it’s also being sent as a live feed to dozens of other online sources. YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Twitter … Anyone in the world can watch right now and it’s all coming from your computer’s webcam.’
Andrei ran back into the office with a terrified Ellie in pursuit. She shut the door behind her as Andrei yanked all the leads from the iMac, then picked up the machine, lifted it over his head and hurled it to the floor. He slammed his foot into it half-a-dozen times.
As she and Andrei left her office for a second time, she saw that a small group of secretaries had now huddled around Ula’s screen. They took an awkward step backwards when Ellie reappeared.
‘It’s still showing,’ Ula said. ‘I’m sorry but IT says it’s not broadcasting from the servers in our building so there’s nothing they can do to cut the feed.’
Ellie froze. In approximately five minutes, the world would watch as Matthew explained how he’d compromised her database and how 2 million people who’d trusted her were the victims of mis-Matches. Then they’d see one of the world’s most prominent businesswomen beat her unarmed fiancé to death. And she was powerless to stop it.
All eyes, with the exception of Ellie’s, were on Ula’s computer screen. Ellie took a succession of deep calming breaths and leaned against the wall of her office, slowly sliding her back downwards against the glass until she reached the floor.
At Andrei’s order, Ula ushered everyone else out, leaving just the three of them. Ula and Andrei were finding it hard to draw themselves away from the screen, and Ellie didn’t try to stop them. She was forced to listen again to the dull thwack of the decanter as it hit Matthew’s head, the sound of him collapsing to his knees, followed by that of her hitting him a second, fatal time.
Ula gasped and glared at her in disbelief.
‘Come,’ said Andrei in desperation and held his hand out towards Ellie. ‘Let me take you out of this building.’
But Ellie shook her head politely, then looked at them in turn and spoke calmly. ‘Thank you both for everything you’ve done for me. I’ll make sure you’re well recompensed for it.’ She patted out the creases from her skirt and tucked her hair behind her ears. ‘Ula, after what you’ve just seen, if you are able to assemble my legal team and have them meet me in the boardroom, I’d be grateful. I assume the police will be here very soon. Then clear my schedule for the foreseeable future.’
Ellie paused and looked up at the Match Your DNA logo etched into the smoked glass of her office wall. She pictured the inert figure of Matthew on the other side, wrapped in a rug on the bathroom floor. She’d been happier with him than she had ever thought imaginable, but only now she understood it wasn’t because their DNA had dictated it, but because she’d opened herself up to the concept of love.
She picked herself up from the floor and began to walk in the direction of her office, closing the door behind her. She poured herself a gin and tonic and took a seat behind her desk. From down the corridor, she heard the first of many pairs of feet making their way out of the lift and towards the office.
She took her iPad and swiped the screen to take one last look at the extensive list of tasks she’d always begrudged yet needed to complete before her working day was over. But it was blank – Ula had already erased it.
Chapter 96
MANDY
‘Stay in the car until I know what’s happening. Promise me you won’t move from here.’
It wasn’t a question; it was an order. Lorraine, Mandy’s police liaison officer, was firm in her demand and didn’t wait for a reply before jumping from the driver’s seat and hurrying towards the front door of the cottage.
Two other police cars and a van were already on the scene, parked on the cobbled road next to two ambulances. Mandy hunched forwards in the rear of the car, barely breathing, and craned her neck to see past the headrests to gain a clearer view of what was happening in the house. It was a frenzy of activity, with uniformed police officers coming and going, speaking into walkie-talkies and mobile phones.
Eventually, a frustrated Mandy couldn’t wait any longer, so she clasped her fingers around the door frame and pulled herself out.
The journey from Essex to the Lake District had taken five hours and, on occasion, the vehicle’s motion combined with the stress had made her so uncomfortable that Lorraine had been forced to pull onto the hard shoulder so Mandy could vomit onto the grass verge. Her head was spinning with adrenaline, and nothing was going to prevent her from being reunited with her child if he was indeed being kept there.
The picture of the family’s Lake District cottage had jolted her memory, and she’d remembered Pat mentioning how much Richard had loved it there. Detectives had quickly discovered the title deeds to the home buried away in Pat’s files, and an immediate operation had been launched, beginning with officers inside an unmarked police car scoping out the property. When they confirmed a woman matching Chloe’s description had entered the home, the rescue plan had begun in earnest.
‘Where is he?’ shouted a panic-stricken Mandy as she made her way towards the front door from which Lorraine was exiting.
‘Mandy, I need you to stay calm,’ she said, and took hold of her arms. ‘Chloe has already been arrested and was taken away earlier. Your son is with Pat; however she’s barricaded herself in the bathroom.’
‘What’s she doing in there?’
‘He’s safe as far as we can ascertain, but Pat wants to talk to you before she unlocks the door.’
‘I don’t have anything to say to that woman, I just want my baby back.’
‘It goes without saying that we want a positive outcome from this, so let’s give it a try. I’ll be by your side, so please don’t worry.’
