Chapter 7 - A Father's Reckoning
The words struck Julian harder than any bullet could have. He gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned chalk-white. In the rearview mirror, he stared at the little girl sitting quietly in the back seat, brushing tiny bits of shattered safety glass from her yellow cardigan.
"Mine?" Julian’s voice cracked, an uncharacteristic breach in his stoic facade. "Elena was two months pregnant when she disappeared. The police told me... they told me the wreckage caught fire, that neither body could be recovered."
"It was a fabrication," Clara confessed, burying her face in her hands. "Arthur Vance wanted complete control over your tech patents, Julian. He knew Elena would never let him exploit your designs. So he staged the crash. Marcus helped him liquidate her trust fund, and they kept Elena locked away in a private clinic outside the city limits. When Lily was born, Arthur kept her as leverage against Elena."
"Why did Elena send Lily to me today?" Julian demanded, weaving through the gridlocked downtown traffic toward an unmarked safe property in the industrial district.
"Because Arthur’s heart is failing," Clara said, raising her tear-streaked face. "He knew he didn't have much time left. He was going to sell your company to an overseas consortium and wipe out every loose end—including Elena, including Lily, and eventually, you. Elena broke Lily out two nights ago with the help of an orderly, but she was caught before she could escape herself."
Lily leaned forward between the front seats, her small hazel eyes looking into Julian’s. "Mom told me you were brave," she said softly. "She said you were a prince who forgot his sword."
A lump formed in Julian’s throat. He reached out with one hand and gently brushed a wet strand of hair from her cheek. "I didn't forget it, sweetheart. I just didn't know who I was fighting."
His dashboard phone buzzed, displaying an encrypted caller ID. Julian hit speakerphone.
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"You have twenty minutes to bring the girl to the St. Jude Docks, little brother," Marcus’s cold voice echoed through the car. "Or Clara’s family, and your precious Elena, will feed the fish."
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