Chapter 6 - THE LOCKET
For a long, terrible moment, the only sound in the hospital room was the rhythmic beeping of my mother’s heart monitor.
Julian stepped slowly into the room, his eyes locked on Leo. The ruthless CEO was completely gone; in his place was a man whose entire reality was crumbling before his eyes.
"Mom?" Leo whispered, sensing the gravity in the room. "Who is that?"
"Why don't you go grab a snack from the vending machine, buddy?" I said, my voice trembling. I handed him a dollar bill.
Leo looked at Julian once more before slipping out the door.
Julian slowly turned his gaze to me. His eyes were red-rimmed, burning with a mix of betrayal and awe. "Twelve years," he whispered, his voice cracking. "You let me grieve for you. You let me believe you were dead. And you kept my son from me?"
"I didn't have a choice!" I shot back, tears finally spilling over. I dug into my purse and pulled out an old, faded envelope. I thrust it against his chest. "Read it!"
Julian took the envelope. Inside was a single piece of heavy corporate stationery.
Mia,
The enclosed check for $50,000 is for your immediate relocation and medical termination procedures. Julian has no interest in scandal. If you attempt to contact him, we will press charges for the $200,000 missing from the company vault. You are a waitress. He is the heir to an empire. Be smart.
At the bottom was Julian's signature. And next to it, the official stamp of Arthur Vance, Julian's father.
Julian read it twice. His hands began to shake. "I didn't write this. I never wrote this."
"Marcus handed it to me himself," I cried. "He told me you laughed when you found out I was pregnant. He told me you wanted it taken care of. And when I refused, he threatened to have me framed for embezzlement and thrown in prison, where my baby would be taken by the state."
Julian looked up at me, the devastation in his eyes absolute. "You thought I would hurt you? You thought I would hurt our child?"
"I was nineteen, Julian! I was a waitress, and your family was powerful enough to crush me like a bug. I staged the accident, left the bracelet, and ran. I’ve spent every day since looking over my shoulder, just trying to keep him safe."
Julian stepped forward, bridging the gap between us. He didn't yell. He didn't accuse. Instead, he pulled me into his arms, burying his face in my hair. It was a fierce, desperate embrace, twelve years of mourning and longing crashing into the present.
"I'm so sorry," he murmured against my temple. "I will spend the rest of my life making this right. I swear to you."
He pulled back, his eyes hardening into something terrifyingly focused. "But first, I'm going to destroy my brother."
"He knows, Julian. Marcus told me today. He knows about Leo."
Julian’s expression turned lethal. "Then we don't wait for the board meeting. We end him tonight. But I need your help, Mia. I need you to be the bait."
May you like
Before I could ask what he meant, my mother’s doctor stepped into the room, looking grim. "Miss Miller? We have a problem. The hospital administration just received a call revoking your mother's private funding. If she doesn't vacate this VIP room by midnight, security will remove her."
Julian and I exchanged a look. Marcus was already making his move.
