Chapter 10 - The Midnight Ultimatum
The phone rang three times before Eleanor picked up on the other end, her voice as calm and steady as if it were the middle of a Tuesday afternoon.
"I received the envelope," Julian said, his voice firm and unwavering, cutting through the heavy silence of the kitchen.
"I expected you would," Eleanor replied smoothly, the sound of a grandfather clock ticking faintly in the background of her penthouse. "Do we have something constructive to discuss, Julian, or did you simply call to complain about my accounting?"
Maya stepped closer, shaking her head violently and mouthing silent threats across the counter, but Julian ignored her completely, turning his back to her so he could focus entirely on the voice in the receiver.
"I'm not going to pay the two million dollars, Mom," Julian said evenly. "And I'm not going to sue you with Uncle Robert's help, either."
There was a brief pause on the line before Eleanor spoke again, a hint of genuine curiosity coloring her tone. "Is that so? And what, pray tell, is your brilliant counter-strategy? Are you planning to declare bankruptcy and live out of a used sedan?"
"No," Julian replied, taking a slow, deep breath. "Maya and I are going through with the wedding tomorrow afternoon. Exactly as planned. With or without your catering deposit, with or without your financial blessing."
Maya’s eyes widened in sudden, shocked triumph. She let out a breathless gasp of relief, clapping her hands together silently as she assumed Julian had finally stood up to his mother and chosen her over the Vance family fortune.
"Is that your final answer?" Eleanor asked, her voice dropping into an icy, dangerous register.
"It is," Julian said firmly. "Because I'm realizing right now that keeping my self-respect and my future wife is worth a lot more than bowing to financial blackmail."
"Very well," Eleanor said quietly. "If you choose to proceed with the ceremony under these terms, consider yourself officially disowned from the Vance family trust, effective immediately. Your name will be scrubbed from the corporate registry by sunrise, and every single cent of your personal debts will be transferred to a commercial collections agency."
The line went dead.
Julian lowered the phone slowly, his hand resting flat against the cold marble counter. Maya rushed forward, throwing her arms around his neck and pressing a passionate, breathless kiss against his cheek.
"You did it!" Maya laughed hysterically, tears of joy streaming down her face. "You actually stood up to her! We're going to get married, Julian! We're going to figure out the money somehow!"
Julian didn't smile. He gently pulled her arms away from his neck, looking down into her eyes with a quiet, sorrowful detachment that made her sudden celebration instantly freeze in her throat.
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"We are getting married tomorrow, Maya," Julian said softly. "But we are doing it without a single dollar from my mother, and without a single luxury item purchased with Vance family money."
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