Chapter 4 - The Abduction in the Foyer
The security guards’ heavy hands clamped down on the child’s shoulders with brutal efficiency, lifting her off the marble floor before she could even cry out.
“Let her go!” Eleanor screamed, lunging forward, but Julian casually stepped into her path, blocking her way with the quiet, immovable strength of a corporate dictator.
“Protecting the family’s assets, Aunt Eleanor,” Julian said smoothly, smoothing the lapels of his tuxedo. “We can’t have random vagrants wandering through our home, claiming inheritance without a proper background check and DNA verification supervised by the corporate legal team. Take the child to the east wing holding room until I authorize local authorities to handle the trespasser.”
The child kicked and thrashed, her dark dirty jacket slipping off one shoulder to reveal angry purple bruises along her collarbone.
“Grandma! Don’t let them take me back to him!” the child screamed, her voice echoing in panic as the guards dragged her toward the grand arched exit leading to the dark, winding corridors of the estate’s older quarters.
Eleanor shoved Julian aside with a strength born of pure maternal fury. She sprinted across the polished floor, her high heels clicking frantically against the stone, chasing the retreating figures into the sprawling entrance foyer. But as she burst through the mahogany double doors, the foyer was empty. The towering glass front doors stood wide open, letting in a howling gale of freezing rain and wind from the winter storm outside. A sleek black town car sat idling at the grand circular driveway, its tail lights fading rapidly into the misty darkness of the private estate gates. Julian strolled out behind her, checking his expensive wristwatch with infuriating calm as the rain soaked the edge of his tailored trousers.
“Looks like the guards decided to hand her over to local child services immediately, per standard protocol,” Julian remarked casually, blowing a speck of dust off his cuff. “A very tidy solution, wouldn’t you agree?”
Eleanor whirled around, her face pale with absolute rage, her chest heaving as she gripped the heavy marble doorframe for support.
“You didn’t send her to child services, Julian,” Eleanor whispered, her voice trembling with a dark, terrifying realization. “You handed her straight back to Marcus, didn’t you?”
Julian’s smug expression flickered for a fraction of a second, a micro-expression of pure guilt that he masked just as quickly with a cold, mocking smirk.
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“Marcus was a very devoted husband to Sarah before she vanished, Auntie,” Julian replied smoothly, turning his back on her as he walked back toward the warm, glittering lights of the gala. “And as her legal guardian, he has every right to reclaim his runaway daughter. Have a wonderful evening, Eleanor.”
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