BURIED IN GOLD

Evelyn’s aristocratic veneer completely dissolved. Her eyes widened into venomous slits. “Police? You wouldn't dare, Julian! My father sits on your executive board. The Sterling name controls thirty percent of your voting shares! You ruin me, and you bankrupt Vance Enterprises by sunrise!”

“I built this empire from dirt,” Julian whispered, stepping so close his breath stirred her perfectly curled blonde hair. “I will burn every stone of it to ash before I let you touch my son again.”

The guards stepped forward, their expressions stony. “Miss Sterling, please come with us.”

“Get your hands off me!” she hissed, pulling away from the guard’s grasp. She glared at Maria, her venom spilling over. “You think you’re a hero, Maria? You’re a domestic on an hourly wage. You just destroyed your own future.”

Maria held her head high, her dark eyes steady and clear. “I’d rather starve on the street than let a monster harm an innocent boy.”

Evelyn scoffed, turning on her high heels as the guards flanked her down the hall. Her heavy perfume lingered in the air—expensive jasmine mixed with the dry scent of pulverized plaster.

Julian stood frozen in the hallway, staring at the gaping hole in his home’s wall. The hollow darkness inside seemed to mock everything he had spent his life accumulating. Millions in real estate, private jets, luxury collections—and none of it had protected his only child from the cruelty sleeping under his own roof.

He walked over to Leo and gently reached out. “Can Daddy hold you?”

Leo hesitated, then threw his arms around Julian’s neck, weeping silently into his father’s collar. Julian held the boy tightly, tears finally slipping down his own cheeks.