Was there noting Hester could do?

Where could a hairdresser find twenty thousand pounds to provide medical treatment for her beloved foster mother? At wits' end, Hester traced her real mother and threatened to reveal her existence to Vilma's wealthy husband! She could easily afford it, Hester reasoned, and swallowing her moral qualms, she decided the end justified the means...

However, Demetrios Thalassis didn't agree. It was blackmail, pure and simple, he declared flatly. But to Hester's surprise, he agreed to pay her--provided she submit to a little blackmail of his own...