Chapter 4
The penthouse seemed to shrink, the luxurious leather and imported wood closing in on them like the walls of a vault. Julian straightened up, running a hand through his short dark hair, his chest heaving with erratic breaths. The refined, composed billionaire was entirely gone, replaced by a man drowning in a tide of long-buried grief and newly uncovered terror.
"The fleet service," Julian muttered, his voice shaking as he stared blindly at the Persian rug. "Vance Architecture owns a fifty-percent stake in Apex Logistics. They handle all our heavy transport and site equipment."
"Your business partner, Marcus Vance, has been liquidating assets behind your back," Clara said urgently, leaning forward while keeping Lily secure. "Elena found the ledger entries hidden inside encrypted CAD files. She realized someone was funneling money through ghost accounts tied to the transport company."
Julian’s head snapped up, his eyes blazing with a mixture of fury and disbelief. "Marcus is my cousin. We built this firm together from a two-room office in Queens. He wouldn't... he couldn't have anything to do with Elena's death."
"Why do you think your daughter has been having night terrors for fourteen months?" Clara challenged softly, her voice piercing through his denial. "Why do you think she screams every time a black sedan pulls up to the lobby? Children absorb everything, Mr. Vance. Lily was in the back seat of the car parked two blocks away when her mother's car was forced off the Westside Highway."
Julian staggered back, his hip catching against the edge of a mahogany side table. A crystal whiskey decanter wobbled, ringing softly before settling. He caught himself, his hands gripping the wood until his knuckles turned white.
"No," Julian choked out, the word tearing from his chest. "No, Lily was with the nanny at the apartment. That’s what Marcus told me. That’s what the police report stated."
"Marcus controlled the security footage from the apartment lobby that afternoon," Clara said, her heart breaking for the shattered man standing before her. "He rewrote the timeline to keep Lily out of the crossfire—or to ensure she remained a convenient pawn. Elena discovered the discrepancy the morning of the crash. She called me from the parking garage, terrified, begging me to take her documents if anything happened to her."
Julian stared at Clara, the color draining entirely from his face until he looked like a statue carved from stone. The ink of the rose tattoo on his hand stood out in stark, morbid relief against his pale skin.
"You didn't just stumble into my life as a nanny from an agency," Julian said, his voice dropping to a harsh, accusing whisper. "You infiltrated my home. You used my dead wife's ring as a key to get inside my fortress."
"I came here to protect your daughter," Clara said, her voice steady despite the tears streaming down her face. "Because Marcus has already started dismantling the nursery security system. And tonight, while you were at the board meeting, someone tried to pick the lock on the service elevator."
May you like
Julian froze. His gaze darted toward the private foyer entrance, where the heavy steel security door remained locked. But the expression on his face told Clara that he knew something she didn't.
"The service elevator was disabled for maintenance today," Julian said slowly, his eyes locking back onto Clara's. "At least, that's what building security told me two hours ago."
