Chapter Eighteen: Julian's Desperation

Julian showed up at my office on a Monday.

I didn't know he was coming. Sloane didn't warn me. He just walked through the door like he owned the place, wearing a suit that cost more than most people's rent, and a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Elena," he said. "We need to talk."

I was at my desk. I had a folder open in front of me. I didn't close it.

"How did you get in here?"

"I told security I was your fiancé."

"You're not my fiancé."

"Old habits." He walked to the chair across from my desk. He sat without being invited.

I looked at him. He looked worse than the last time I'd seen him. His eyes were bloodshot. His hands weren't steady.

"What do you want, Julian?"

"To talk. To fix this."

"There's nothing to fix."

He laughed. It was a hollow sound. "You froze my accounts. You filed a complaint with the trust. You're trying to destroy me."

"I'm not trying. I'm succeeding."

His smile faded. "Why are you doing this?"

"You know why."

"Because of Mira? Because of the affair? I told you—it was a mistake. It meant nothing."

I set down my pen. I folded my hands on the desk.

"It meant something to me. But that's not why I'm doing this."

"Then why?"

I looked at him. Really looked. He was desperate. I could see it in the way his jaw tightened. The way his fingers curled against his knees.

"You killed my mother," I said.

He didn't flinch. He didn't deny it. He just stared at me.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Your father killed my mother. You knew. You helped cover it up."

"That's insane."

"Is it? I have evidence. I have witnesses. I have everything I need to destroy you and everyone you love."

He stood. His chair scraped against the floor. "You're bluffing."

I didn't respond. I just looked at him.

"You're bluffing," he said again. "You don't have anything."

I opened the folder. I pulled out a photograph. I set it on the desk.

It was a picture of his father. Standing next to my mother. The date was three days before she died.

Julian looked at it. He didn't move.

"Where did you get this?"

"That doesn't matter."

"You're lying. You're trying to scare me."

"I'm not trying to do anything. I'm just showing you what I have."

He picked up the photograph. He stared at it. His hands were shaking.

"You don't know what you're doing," he said. "You don't know who you're dealing with."

"I know exactly who I'm dealing with."

He looked at me. His eyes were wild. "You'll regret this."

"I already regret it. But not for the reasons you think."

He dropped the photograph. He walked to the door. He paused with his hand on the handle.

"This isn't over," he said.

"It is for you."

He left.

I sat there for a moment. My hands were steady. My heart was beating normally.

I felt nothing.

---

That night, Adrian found me on the balcony.

I was standing at the railing. The air was cold. I didn't care.

"He came to see you," Adrian said.

"Sloane told you."

"Sloane tells me everything."

I didn't turn. "He's desperate."

"That makes him dangerous."

"I know."

Adrian stepped beside me. He didn't touch me. He just stood there.

"What did he say?"

"That I'll regret this."

"He's right."

I turned. I looked at him.

"Not for the reasons he thinks," Adrian said. "But he's right."

I didn't respond. I just waited.

"You're changing," he said. "Every day. Every hour. You're becoming someone else."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"It's not a bad thing. It's just—"

He stopped.

"It's just what?"

He looked at me. That same unnamed something crossed his face. This time, he didn't hide it.

"It's just that I don't want you to lose yourself."

I held his gaze. "I'm not losing myself. I'm finding myself."

He didn't respond. He just looked at me.

"Julian is going to escalate," I said. "He's going to come after me. Or you. Or Daniel."

"I know."

"And I'm not going to let him hurt anyone else."

"I know."

We stood there. The city hummed outside. The wind picked up.

"Whatever you need," Adrian said. "Whatever it takes. I'm with you."

I looked at him. He looked at me.

"I know," I said.

He reached for my hand. This time, he took it. His fingers were warm. Steady.

I didn't pull away.

We stood there. The city lights blurred. The wind blew. Neither of us spoke.

After a while, I leaned my head against his shoulder. He didn't move. He just let me.

We stayed there until the sky turned gray.

---

The next morning, I found a note on my desk.

Handwritten. Julian's handwriting. I recognized it immediately.

You think you've won. You haven't. I know about the brother. I know about the evidence. And I know about Adrian Kane's father. If you don't stop, I'll destroy all of it. I'll destroy all of you.

I read it twice. Then I folded it in half. I put it in my pocket.

I walked to Adrian's office. I knocked.

"Come in."

I opened the door. He was at his desk.

"We have a problem," I said.

He looked up. He saw my face. He stood.

"What happened?"

I handed him the note. He read it. His expression didn't change. But his jaw tightened.

"He knows about Daniel," I said. "He knows about the evidence. He knows about your father."

Adrian set down the note. He looked at me.

"He's not going to stop," I said.

"I know."

"Then what do we do?"

He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "We stop him. Before he stops us."

I nodded. "How?"

"We go public. With everything. The evidence. The recordings. The witnesses. Everything."

"But we're not ready."

"We're out of time."

I looked at him. He looked at me.

"Tonight," he said. "We go public tonight."