Chapter 9: The Reality Check
Midway through breakfast, the rhythmic chiming of Julian’s secure cell phone broke the domestic tranquility of the kitchen. Julian pulled the device from his jacket pocket and glanced at the screen. It was Marcus, calling for the fifth time since last night. He ignored it, sliding the phone back onto the table face down.
“You don't have to answer it if you don't want to,” Lily said softly, dipping a piece of waffle into maple syrup. “That’s what Aunt Clara does when her boss calls on her day off.”
“Your Aunt Clara is a very smart woman,” Julian replied, though a shadow of reality began to creep back into his thoughts. He could hide in this sunlit kitchen for a few hours, but the real world was waiting outside the wrought-iron gates. Vance Enterprises was a multi-billion-dollar machine that required constant management, and more importantly, there were legal and social protocols to consider regarding a child who had wandered into a gala and attached herself to a corporate titan.
After breakfast, Julian led Lily to the grand study on the main floor—a room lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, rich leather armchairs, and a massive mahogany desk. While Lily sat cross-legged on the Persian rug coloring with a box of new crayons Mrs. Higgins had provided, Julian sat at his desk and finally dialed Marcus back.
The phone was answered on the first ring.
“Julian! Where in God’s name are you?” Marcus’s voice crackled through the speaker, urgent and strained. “The board is in an absolute uproar. The press has running theories about the little girl in the cream lace dress—some tabloid is already claiming she’s an unacknowledged heir, and the stock dropped two points at opening bell.”
Julian massaged his temples, feeling a familiar tension headache building behind his eyes. “Let them talk, Marcus. Deal with the PR team. Issue a standard statement that my personal life is not a matter for public debate.”
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“It’s not that simple, Julian,” Marcus sighed on the other end. “Child Protective Services has already made inquiries through our corporate office. A six-year-old girl named Lily Hayes was reported missing late last night by her legal guardian, a woman named Clara Hayes. The police are involved.”
Julian froze. His hand tightened around the phone until his knuckles turned white. He looked across the vast study to where Lily was sitting on the rug, carefully coloring a red heart on a fresh piece of paper, completely oblivious to the storm brewing outside.
