Chapter 7 - The Desperate Gamble
The crystal paperweight felt cold and heavy in Julian’s palm. Arthur watched the movement, his expression shifting from confident amusement to cautious calculation. He took a half-step back, his hand drifting toward his coat pocket where a concealed weapon undoubtedly rested.
“Don’t be foolish, Julian,” Arthur warned, his voice losing its smooth cadence. “Violence won’t fix a federal indictment. If you swing that, you don't just lose your freedom—you lose Lily.”
Julian froze, his arm trembling. The image of his daughter’s tear-streaked face flashed behind his eyelids. He lowered the heavy glass slowly, setting it back onto the mahogany table with a dull thud that echoed in the cavernous hallway.
“Where is she, Arthur?” Julian demanded, his voice dangerously quiet. “If you’ve touched a hair on her head—”
“She’s in the car with Marcus, drinking hot chocolate,” Arthur interrupted, rolling his eyes. “We aren’t monsters, Julian. We’re businessmen. We just want what was stolen from our family portfolio twenty years ago.”
Marcus reappeared from the doorway, wiping rain from his shoulders, holding a secure tablet. He handed it silently to Arthur, who glanced at the screen and frowned. A deep crease appeared between Arthur’s eyebrows, disrupting his cool facade.
“Trouble?” Julian asked, seizing the momentary shift in momentum.
“Shut up,” Arthur snapped, tapping the screen aggressively. He looked up at Julian with a sudden, genuine flicker of panic. “Someone else just initiated a secondary transfer. They’re overriding our lockouts.”
Julian’s heart skipped a beat. He hadn't given access to anyone else. Or had he? A forgotten memory flickered in his mind—an encrypted failsafe he had programmed years ago, trusting no one, not even his own brother.
“Who?” Julian asked, a grim smile finally touching his lips.
May you like
Arthur didn't answer. Instead, the overhead emergency lights in the hallway suddenly flickered off, plunging them into absolute darkness, save for the emergency battery strips along the floor.
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