Dark Shadows of the Past

Chapter Eighteen

Christina walked into the bank and asked for Mr. Antoniou, the branch manager. A few minutes later, she was sitting in his office going over everything with him. She explained to him that an account was opened in her name by her attorney, Lionel Berkley, and she was expecting a transfer of one million dollars into her bank account.

Mr. Antoniou seemed a little surprised but didn't say a word. He called his secretary into his office, explained to her about the bank account and the transfer, and asked her to check on it.

The well-dressed, middle-aged man was polite and offered Christina some coffee, but she could tell he didn't seem convinced she was telling the truth.

Christina shifted uncomfortably and was relieved when the secretary walked back inside. Unfortunately, no account had been opened in the name of Sophia Rosetti.

"What about Christina Connors?" Christina asked suddenly, and when both the branch manager and his secretary stared at her puzzled, she mumbled an excuse about been adopted and having her name changed.

The secretary came back, a few minutes later—no luck.

"Is it possible that the account was opened in another branch and hasn't registered in the system yet?" Christina inquired, not sure how banks operated in Greece. It was a long shot, but she thought she would try. She just didn't want to accept the possibility that her grandmother lied to her.

"That is impossible," the bank manager said explicitly. "All transactions are recorded in the system immediately."

"I see," Christina said and rose to her feet. "Well, I have to do some shopping," she added, even though she didn't feel like doing anything at all. She just wanted to find a quiet place to sit and think.

The bank manager kept Christina's cell phone number and reassured her that he would notify her as soon as the account was opened, and the transfer completed.

Christina thanked him for his time and walked outside the bank with as much dignity as she could muster. The truth was that she was worried. Something was wrong. Don't be ridiculous, she reprimanded herself. It's just all these things that Dan said the other night. But that's his job. He's supposed to worry and be suspicious.

She drew a deep breath of fresh salty air and strode down the street. Walking around on the waterfront would help clear her mind. Maybe I should call Dan. Then again, she decided to wait. The truth was that she was a little embarrassed. It had been bad enough to endure the strange stares Mr. Antoniou and his secretary were giving her. They probably thought that I'm a fraud. After all, it wasn't every day that someone receives a million dollars transferred to their account. Through her entire life, Christina never had a balance of more than a thousand dollars.

Stop worrying so much, she thought. In any case, if something was wrong or the transaction was delayed, she was still meeting her grandmother tonight, and things were going to be cleared up.

Feeling a little better, she walked into a small cafe on the waterfront and ordered some coffee.

Afterwards, she visited a few stores. Shopping always made her feel better, but this time, the shopping therapy didn't work—she had too much on her mind to worry about clothes and things like that.

It was good that Dan had given her some money—in case the transfer hadn't made it through, he'd said. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had any money even for the taxi to make it back to the mansion.

***

Arriving at the mansion, Christina walked straight to her room. She undressed and jumped into the shower. In dire need of relaxing her tense muscles and clearing her head, she closed her eyes and let the hot water hit her body hard.