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PROLOGUE

The businessman with the cheque for £5Chief Executive of the world’s largest sportswear uru, Nathan Strauss had never been one for slick sound bites in front of rolling television caestures and pre-scripted lines just weren’t his style In fact, there was so about Nathan Strauss’s very indifference to his public ie that some people found deeply charismatic

Not that the occupant of Suite 901 of the Dorchester Hotel was one of those Instead, he watched the television news item on the Starwear donation with a familiar mix of compulsive curiosity and self-reproach As the ca at the table, the Distress Line logo emblazoned behind them, phrases like ‘the unprecedented size of this donation’ and ‘considered by his peers to be a leading voice on corporate ethics’ sounded through the verbiage of the report The story of how Nathan Strauss had created Starwear, now the world’s biggest brand after Coca-Cola, was briefly recounted Previous donations made by the Strauss family to the arts, medical research and a variety of charitable causes were listed All this ti forehead with a white handkerchief, before adjusting the heavy horn-rims on his prominent beak

Then the telephone rang ‘Nat, it’s me’

‘Madeleine,’ his tone arm

‘You’re on the box BBC 1’

‘Yeah I’ down the volume

‘I just wanted you to know the girls and I are so proud of you,’ she told hio now so you can follow it’

‘Madeleine –’ he stopped her before she rang off, evidently in no great hurry to end their conversation, ‘you know, u for you, don’t you?’

The pause at the other end was one of puzzleiven to sentiht Madeleine, maybe his visit to Distress Line that afternoon had moved him to this uncharacteristic, but welcome tenderness

‘Of course I know’ Then, wondering how to respond, she said simply, ‘I love you, Nat’

‘Love you, too’

Replacing the receiver, Nathan Strauss watched hie of his speech awaited him His public relations hosted, but he had declined, wanting to write it hiroup of Distress Line staff, volunteers, and news reporters watched hi hair and leaned closer to the microphone

‘Nearly all of us suffer froan, ‘but there can be nothing worse than the appalling finality of a man who believes he has no alternative but to take his own life “Why?” is the question ays ask afterwards – ‘he paused, before shaking his head, ‘but there is only ever one person who truly knows the answer’

As always, it didn’t matter at all that his

speech lacked clever wordplay, or that his jacket was dishevelled and tie askew; he spoke fro In the semi-dark of his hotel room, Nathan Strauss followed the words of the speech he knew almost by heart to its conclusion: how he believed it was the duty of every co back to society; the work done by Distress Line and the high value he placed on it And his final line: ‘I believe we all have a responsibility to give choices to those who find themselves in despair’

There was the applause and whir of flash-cubes as he handed over the cheque for £5 million to the Director of Distress Line A TV news reporter wrapped up the ite how Distress Line would use the donation to ihout Europe Then it was back to the newsroo up from the ar hi the open doors that led out to his ninth-floor balcony, gold da breeze

Half an hour later, Park Lane was a chaos of wailing police sirens and the flashing lights of e croas already pressing up against the hastily erected police cordon Paparazzi wereinto position on the roofs of nearby cars and vans, adjusting their telephoto lenses for the ht

The alarm had been raised by aalong the pavement The body had tumbled down only metres in front of hi force that theinstead into the hotel lobby to report the incident, before being overwhelmed by shock Hotel security had been on the scene within seconds, laying a dark blanket over the shattered, bleeding body as their colleagues hurried up to Suite 901 where they found the half-finished glass of whisky

When the police arrived on the scene a few minutes later, they identified the body as that of Nathan Strauss, husband of Madeleine and father of Sarah and Rebecca, Chief Executive of Starwear, a man whose personal net worth was esti the sa Distress Line with its largest ever donation Police said an investigation into the cause of his death would be launched, but foul play was not suspected