Page 101 of Analysing Her Assets

This wasn’t an impulsive decision on his part. He had wrestled with revealing his father’s second family ever since he’d learned of them. Some secrets needed to stay hidden, and this was definitely one of them. What good would it do to air the truth. It would only hurt his mother profoundly. Tamar was in favor of not telling his mother. And she was a woman, so she should know.

“I’m glad you found me out, son.”

Gideon needed to find out more secrets.

“Abba, were the hedges Young Doron’s idea or yours?”

“It was a mixture. He came in, young and full of ideas, and he understood the FX option and forward markets much better than I did. He just finished a course in his MBA, and he was thrilled to try it in real life.”

“You always told me that the capital markets were luftgesheft. I don’t totally agree, but Berdiplast deals with metal sheets, not options. In that you were always so careful, and you were right to be.”

“You were doing well in Peaks, and so I thought maybe I was wrong all these years. I could make money from money. At first, it went great, so I told Young Doron to increase the sums. Three years ago, when you arranged the convertible note, Paulina couldn’t stop talking of her talented grandson. I wanted to have a fabulous year, so we could have the extra cash from note holders converting into the share.” His father looked away at the small window that looked out to the indistinct view of another hospital ward building. “Do you know Paulina changed her will so her stake skips me and goes straight to you?” he whispered.

“Yes, I know,” he answered, and for the first time in his life, he pitied his father.

He loved his grandmother, but she was a hard woman. His father had always done his duty, had never been given a choice, nor a kind word. Gideon was back at Berdiplast now, but that was because he wanted to. His belief that his parents would love him and support him ran deep. It allowed him to hurt them, make terrible mistakes, and still be sure that he would always be welcomed back. By both of them.

He needed to find out one more thing.

“Did you ask Young Doron to work with Peaks brokerage to raise our share price?”

“What?” His father’s forehead creased. “What are you talking about?”

“The head of Peaks’ Israeli equity desk accused Young Doron of asking him to boost our share price so note holders would convert into our stock. Danny Golan claims he has it recorded.”

His father’s face paled and his eyes rounded in alarm.

“No! Young Doron wouldn’t! He isn’t like that! He’s a good boy. This is very serious Gideon! Are you sure about the accusation?”

Gideon searched his father’s face. Yehoshua was telling the truth. But Danny claimed... but Danny was a consummate liar, wasn’t he?

“What is going on here?” Muhammad, the cheerful and efficient male nurse, bustled in. “Gideon, I’m throwing you out, you’re upsetting my patient!”

“Are you sure, Abba?” Gideon insisted.

“Yehoshua, Habibi, calm down. Your blood pressure shouldn’t spike like that. Here, I’ll straighten the bed, roll on your side. Yes, that’ll take the pressure down, good...”

“Yes... I swear...” his father’s voice croaked.

“Stop talking Yehoshua. Gideon, get out!”

Gideon stepped out into the corridor, letting the nurse do his job. He took out his phone and found another text from Tamar. He’d been upset with her because she didn’t tell him her suspicions about Berdiplast. But maybe she didn’t, because they were unfounded. He should text her back.

He heard a commotion. A woman wearing a white doctor's coat hurried into his father’s room.

“Where is Berdichevsky’s son?” Gideon ran to his father’s room, where Muhammad was fast turning the bed into a gurney. His father was gasping for air, as white as the bed sheets.

“We’re not waiting for this afternoon,” the doctor in charge said. “We’re opening him. Now.”

Gideon’s hand shook, his half-formed text to Tamar unsent. He hurried after his father.

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