Chapter 17: Caught

Julian's POV

“This way.”

Julian grabbed Zoe's wrist and pulled her toward the service door on the far wall.

His voice was barely a whisper.

The door was one of the emergency exits marked on the blueprint Arthur had given him. It was rarely used, which meant there was a good chance nobody would be watching it.

At least, that was what Julian hoped.

They had only seconds.

The security office was behind them.

Marcus had been there.

And if he found them inside the room, there would be no easy explanation.

Julian reached the door and pushed down on the handle.

Nothing happened.

His stomach dropped.

He pushed again.

Still nothing.

“It's locked,” Zoe whispered.

“No.”

He tried the handle again.

The door refused to move.

For one terrible second, Julian felt trapped.

He had brought Zoe into this.

He had promised himself he would protect her, yet now they were standing inside a building controlled by the very man who wanted her gone.

The thought hit him hard.

This was exactly what he had been afraid of.

He had led her into danger.

“Julian,” Zoe whispered.

“Wait.”

He pushed his shoulder against the door.

Nothing.

He tried again.

Still nothing.

Then he remembered the valet door from the night of the fire.

The same feeling.

The same resistance.

The same terrible possibility that someone had deliberately made sure the door could not open.

His jaw tightened.

“Move back.”

Zoe stepped away.

Julian took a breath and pushed with all his strength.

For a second, nothing happened.

Then—

The door suddenly gave way.

Julian stumbled forward.

Zoe grabbed his arm, and the two of them almost fell through the opening.

They caught themselves just as the door behind them swung open.

Footsteps.

Julian's heart stopped.

“Go.”

He pulled Zoe into the narrow stairwell.

They moved quickly inside.

Julian pushed the service door almost closed, leaving only a tiny gap.

Then he pressed his back against the cold concrete wall.

Zoe stood beside him.

Their shoulders touched.

Neither of them moved.

Neither of them spoke.

They held their breath.

Footsteps entered the security office.

Slow.

Calm.

Controlled.

Julian knew that walk.

Marcus.

He had a measured way of walking that made him easy to recognize.

Even without seeing him, Julian knew exactly who had entered the room.

Zoe's fingers closed around the front of Julian's shirt.

He looked down briefly.

She was shaking.

He placed one hand gently over hers, silently telling her to stay calm.

The footsteps stopped.

Silence filled the office.

Then Marcus spoke.

“Someone's been in here.”

His voice was low.

Dangerously calm.

“Twice now.”

Julian's blood ran cold.

Twice.

Marcus knew.

Another voice answered him.

Julian didn't recognize the man immediately.

But Zoe did.

Her eyes widened.

The man from the laundry room.

The same voice she had heard before.

Flat.

Calm.

Almost careless.

“Cameras on this floor?”

“Down for maintenance.”

There was a pause.

Then Marcus spoke again.

“Convenient, isn't it?”

Julian felt cold move through his body.

The cameras.

Of course.

He had been wondering why they had been able to move through the hallway so easily.

Now he knew.

Marcus had disabled them.

He had planned this.

Julian looked at Zoe.

She was staring back at him.

They both understood what it meant.

There would be no camera footage.

No recording of them entering the office.

No recording of them leaving.

No proof that Marcus had followed them.

Unless they had something else.

Julian's hand moved toward his chest.

Zoe's phone was there.

The photographs.

The letter.

Everything they had found was still safe.

Marcus spoke again.

“Find out who.”

His voice was harder now.

“Tonight.”

The other man said nothing.

“I want this handled before the gala.”

Julian's eyes narrowed.

The gala.

He repeated the word in his mind.

The charity gala.

Three weeks from now.

Marcus was planning something.

And whatever it was, he wanted it done before the gala.

Julian felt his heartbeat grow faster.

The footsteps moved again.

Then the sound slowly disappeared.

The security office door closed.

Click.

Silence.

Julian didn't move.

Neither did Zoe.

They stayed there for a few more seconds.

Then a minute passed.

Still nothing.

Julian finally let out a slow breath.

Zoe's breathing was uneven.

She was still holding onto his shirt.

Her whole body was trembling.

The fear had not left her yet.

Julian understood.

The danger had passed for the moment, but her body had not realized it.

Adrenaline was still running through her.

He looked at her.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded.

Then shook her head.

“I don't know.”

Julian almost smiled despite everything.

“That makes two of us.”

Zoe gave a small, nervous laugh.

Then she became serious again.

“He said before the gala.”

“I heard him.”

“The charity gala.”

“Yes.”

“Three weeks from now.”

Julian nodded.

He knew exactly what she meant.

“He's planning something.”

“Yes.”

“What?”

“I don't know.”

Zoe looked toward the door.

“Do you think he was talking about us?”

“Maybe.”

“But he said, ‘Find out who.’”

Julian's face hardened.

“He knows someone has been inside that office.”

“And he wants to know who.”

“Yes.”

Zoe swallowed.

“Do you think he knows it was us?”

Julian thought about it.

“If he knew for certain, we wouldn't still be standing here.”

She looked at him.

“Then we're lucky.”

“Maybe.”

Julian didn't like that word.

Lucky.

They had not been lucky tonight.

They had been seconds away from being caught.

He looked at the service door.

The jammed lock.

The disabled cameras.

The security office.

The letter.

Everything was beginning to connect.

Marcus had not simply become suspicious recently.

He had been preparing for something for a long time.

And now Julian knew the timeline.

Eighteen months.

The same amount of time since his father's death.

Julian felt something painful tighten in his chest.

“My father.”

Zoe looked at him.

“What about him?”

“The letter.”

His voice became quieter.

“It's still in my head.”

“I know.”

“It said Marcus's information about my father's final months was valuable.”

Zoe nodded slowly.

“And the letter came from Vantage Holdings.”

“Yes.”

Julian looked down at the floor.

“My father died eighteen months ago.”

Zoe stayed silent.

“I've spent eleven years trusting Marcus.”

His voice was almost empty.

“For eleven years, I believed he was loyal to my family.”

He shook his head.

“Now I don't know what to believe.”

Zoe moved a little closer.

“You don't have to figure it out tonight.”

Julian looked at her.

“I think I've spent eleven years trusting a man who may have had something to do with my father's death.”

Zoe's eyes widened.

“Julian…”

“I don't know if that's true.”

He spoke quickly, as though he needed to make that clear.

“I don't know what Marcus did. I don't know if he knew anything about my father's condition. I don't know what information he gave Vantage Holdings.”

He paused.

“But that letter means something.”

“Yes.”

“And I need to find out what.”

Zoe nodded.

“We will.”

Julian looked at her.

The word stayed between them.

We.

She had said it so naturally.

As if they were already working together.

As if she had decided that whatever happened next, she would not leave him to deal with it alone.

Julian didn't know how to respond to that.

He had spent most of his life keeping people at a distance.

Employees were employees.

Business partners were business partners.

Friends were rare.

Trust was even rarer.

His father had taught him to be careful.

Julian had taken that lesson seriously.

But now Zoe was standing beside him in a dark stairwell after risking her safety to help him uncover the truth.

And for some reason, he trusted her.

More than he trusted almost anyone else.

His voice became quiet.

“I don't know who else is involved.”

Zoe looked at him.

“I think there are more people.”

“There probably are.”

“Marcus couldn't have done everything alone.”

“I know.”

Julian looked at her.

“And I think…”

He stopped.

Zoe waited.

“Right now, you're the only person in this entire building I'm certain isn't lying to me.”

Her eyes widened.

She seemed surprised by the statement.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Something changed in her expression.

The fear was still there.

But there was something warmer beneath it.

Something neither of them seemed ready to explain.

Zoe looked down.

“Thank you.”

Julian frowned.

“For what?”

“For trusting me.”

He didn't answer immediately.

“You earned it.”

She looked back at him.

Neither of them moved.

The stairwell suddenly felt very quiet.

Julian became aware of how close they were standing.

Her hand was still near his shirt.

His own hand was still around her wrist.

He slowly released her.

“We should move.”

Zoe nodded.

“Yes.”

“Before someone finds us standing in a stairwell.”

She gave a small smile.

“That would be difficult to explain.”

“Very.”

Julian turned toward the stairs.

“Come on.”

They began moving down.

Their footsteps were quiet against the concrete.

Zoe followed closely behind him.

They reached the next floor.

Julian stopped and listened.

Nothing.

He continued.

Neither of them spoke for a while.

But both were thinking about the same thing.

The letter.

The gala.

Marcus.

And Julian's father.

The mystery was much bigger than they had expected.

They had gone into the security office looking for proof that Marcus was working with Vantage Holdings.

They had found that.

But they had also found something far more personal.

Something connected to Julian's family.

Something that might have been hidden for eighteen months.

And now Marcus knew someone was searching.

They could no longer move carelessly.

Every step mattered.

Every conversation mattered.

Every person they trusted had to be questioned.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Julian pushed open the exit door.

Cool night air touched Zoe's face.

She took a deep breath.

They had made it out.

For the first time in several minutes, she felt like she could breathe properly again.

Julian looked at her.

“You're sure you're okay?”

Zoe nodded.

“Yes.”

He studied her face.

“You're still shaking.”

“So are you.”

He looked down at his hands.

She was right.

His fingers were still trembling slightly.

He closed them into fists.

“I hate this.”

“What?”

“Not knowing.”

Zoe looked at him.

“You're used to being in control.”

“Yes.”

“And now you can't control any of this.”

“No.”

She smiled faintly.

“Welcome to my world.”

Julian looked at her.

For the first time that night, he almost laughed.

“Come on,” he said.

They started walking.

Neither of them said what was becoming harder to ignore.

Something between them had changed.

It had started with arguments.

Then trust.

Then protection.

Now, after hiding together in a stairwell while Marcus searched for them, there was something else.

Something quiet.

Something neither of them was ready to name.

But Julian knew one thing.

Whatever happened next, he didn't want Zoe facing it alone.

And Zoe seemed to feel the same way about him.

They had gone into the security office looking for answers.

Instead, they had uncovered a secret about Julian's father, discovered that Marcus was planning something before the gala, and learned that someone else was working with him.

The danger was no longer somewhere far away.

It was inside the building.

It was watching them.

And now Marcus knew someone was searching for the truth.

Julian looked back at the dark building.

“We need to tell Arthur everything.”

Zoe nodded.

“Especially about the letter.”

“Yes.”

“And the gala.”

“Yes.”

They continued walking.

Behind them, the building remained quiet.

But somewhere inside it, Marcus Webb was already making his next move.

And neither Julian nor Zoe knew how much time they had left before he made it.