Chapter 6 - THE DEBT COLLECTOR
I stared at the drawing of the blue balloon, then up at Julian. My mind was struggling to reconcile the boy who used to fix my bicycle chain with the man who now held my family's survival in his hands.
"You bought his debt?" I repeated, my voice barely a whisper. "Twelve million dollars?"
Julian unbuttoned his overcoat, taking a seat in one of the leather chairs opposite the desk. He moved with a quiet, lethal grace. "I run a private equity firm in Chicago now, Evelyn. Distressed assets. Bad loans. Turns out, your husband is the most distressed asset on the market."
Marcus, recovering from his shock, puffed out his chest. "You think you can just step in here and play loan shark? I’ll have my lawyers bury you."
Julian didn't even look at him. "Your lawyers are currently drafting their resignation letters, Marcus. Tomorrow morning, the feds are going to raid your corporate office based on the wire fraud testimony your girlfriend Celeste is giving them right now."
Julian finally turned his grey eyes to Marcus, and the utter contempt in his gaze made my husband take a step back. "You have no money. You have no lawyers. You have me."
"Why, Julian?" I asked, finding my voice. "Why would you involve yourself in this?"
Julian looked at me, the hardness in his face softening just a fraction. "Because your grandmother called me two weeks ago."
I felt the breath knock out of my lungs. "My grandmother?"
Victoria chimed in from behind the desk. "Evelyn, your grandmother knew the fake Cayman account wouldn't protect you from the physical danger Marcus put you in. She knew when the syndicate came calling, you would need someone who operated outside of boardrooms. Someone who understood how to handle men who break into houses and steal children's drawings."
Julian leaned forward. "She asked me to buy the debt. She gave me the capital from her personal estate before she passed. I own the paper on his life, Evelyn. The syndicate is gone. Leo is safe. Nobody is coming for your son."
A massive wave of relief washed over me. My knees buckled slightly, and I had to grip the edge of the mahogany desk to stay upright. Leo was safe. My grandmother, even from the grave, had built a fortress around us.
"So that's it?" Marcus said, a nervous, arrogant smile creeping back onto his face. "The old bat paid you off? The debt is settled?"
Julian stood up slowly. "The debt to the syndicate is settled. The debt to me is just beginning."
He pulled a thick, legal document from his briefcase and slapped it onto the desk.
"This is a total asset forfeiture agreement," Julian said. "You are going to sign it, Marcus. It transfers your remaining shares in the Foundation, your cars, your watches, and your personal bank accounts to Evelyn. You will walk away with exactly the clothes on your back. In exchange, I won't hand over the gambling ledgers to the FBI, which would guarantee you a twenty-year sentence."
Marcus turned red. "You can't do that! I built that Foundation!"
"You didn't build anything," I said, my voice ringing with sudden, clear authority. I stepped away from the desk and looked at the man I had wasted a decade on. "You wore nice suits and took credit for the work my family did. You paraded a mistress in my clothes. You used our son as a human shield. You are going to sign that paper, Marcus. Or I swear to God, I will drive you to the FBI field office myself."
Marcus looked from me, to Julian, to Victoria. He was completely cornered.
His hands shook as he picked up the pen Victoria offered him. He hastily scrawled his name on the documents, effectively erasing his entire existence from my life.
When he finished, he threw the pen down. "You think you've won?" he spat at me. "You're going to be a pariah in this town. Everyone at the gala saw me leave with Celeste. They know."
"They know you're a fraud," I replied coldly. "Get out."
Marcus sneered, turning on his heel and storming out of the office. The heavy glass door slammed shut behind him.
The room fell silent.
I looked at Victoria. "Is it really over?"
"With him? Yes," Victoria said, organizing the freshly signed documents. "But tomorrow, you have to face the Foundation board. You have to explain where the missing funds went, and you have to take control of the company."
Julian walked over to me, holding out my grandmother's sapphire bracelet.
"She wanted you to have this back," he said softly.
I took the cold metal, letting it slide over my wrist. It felt heavy, a reminder of the legacy I now carried alone.
"Thank you, Julian," I said, looking up into his grey eyes. "For everything."
He smiled, a sad, nostalgic curve of his lips. "I always owed her for giving me a chance when no one else would. And I always owed you... an apology."
Before I could ask what he meant, my phone vibrated violently in my coat pocket.
It was my sister, Sarah.
"Evie," she said, her voice completely hysterical. "Evie, come quickly."
May you like
"Sarah, what's wrong? Is Leo okay?"
"Leo is fine. He's asleep." She let out a ragged sob. "It's Marcus. He just drove his car through the front gates of my house. He's outside, Evelyn. And he has a gun."
