MasukChapter 5: A Message From The Dead.
Julian was standing in the Truth Room with Caesar towering by his side. Terrified by Luca's condition. He knew how ruthless Caesar is and he meant ever would that came out of his sharp jaws. Caesar made him sit at the other side of the one way glass. Luca was already connected to a lie detector. “He lies, that over there sends jolt through his body. Trust me buddy, it's terrible.”. He points to a machine. “Julian, sweetheart. Start your interrogation”. He grabbed him by his shoulder. “Did you know my brother was going to be killed?”, he asked the first question, every word came out trembling. “No, I swear. I'm telling the truth.”, he says, shaking his head, crying. Lucas lied. Screams as the chair sends jolts through his body. “Make it stop. I don't want to do this anymore. Please”, he stands up suddenly. His hands on his ears. Caesar pushed him down forcefully. Make him sit in the chair back. “This is how you get the truth. Julian” “You lie again, I'm taking your fingers off” “I would tell you what I know. Patrick was being blackmailed, someone had an explicit pic of him with an older man” “ Patrick was scared, he said it leaked Caesar would kill him” “I wouldn't have. I begged Patrick to tell me what was wrong. When the light in his eyes died, I begged him to let me help him. Probably would still have been alive today. I would make everyone and anyone pay for what they did to him”, Caesar said. For once, Julian saw Caesar vulnerable. “It was all my fault, I set him up to be taken advantage of. The client was going to pay so much. I never meant what I did to him,forgive Julian. I swear, I'm sorry. I haven't learnt my mistake “ “How could you have done that to him?. We were together and you were doing such behind my back to my brother”Julian breaks down sobbing. “We got what we wanted. What do I do to him, do we make him live?” “I don't know. I just want to get away from here..” Caesar smirked. “I'll decide that” “Finish all, get the trash away from here” He signaled his men. The curtains dropped, as Julian left the underground all he could hear behind him was screams till it stopped. He rushed to his room, to the bathroom. Throws up in the sink. He returned to the bedroom. He finds his phone which has been taken away from him in his pillow. One message….. Unknown number. He opened it. A broken voice so familiar: “Julian…don't trust him. He knows what he did. I didn't kill myself. They made me fake it. I'm so sorry” It's Patrick's voice. The phone dropped from his trembling hands. Another message popped up. “RUN.” He was shaken, paranoid, breathing hard. He immediately stomped out of his room and went to Caesar's study. Finds him there, a smoke in between his fingers… Caesar is calm like he was expecting him. “What are you hiding from me?. Did you kill my brother??” “How can I trust you,when you are always mysterious and shady” “I didn't and never. I'm protecting you and one day you'd know that” “But …”, Caesar cornered him against the wall. Breath against his neck. This sends tangling feelings to Julian's groin. Terrified, thrilled but also furious. Caesar knew the obsession was mutual even if Julian wouldn't admit it “Come with me.”. He pulled Julian down to a room behind a secret door. Not for torture, but actually elegant, light lit low, soft music, restraint that doesn't look like they were made for pain or torture. “The last time I was here was with your brother. I only brought him here” “This room is for control. Not punishing, Julian. Tonight, you learn obedience. So you better be a good boy” “I'll give you the truth, but you earn that with every moan”, he smirked. . Julian knew he wanted him. The same way he wanted the truth. He wanted Caesar's body against his. “But you stop, when I want you to” “I take my pet words seriously. You need a safe word. Say it when you want me to stop”, Caesar tilted his head waiting for a response. “Red”, Julian replied. “Alright pet.” Caesar tied his hands with a silk rope. Blindfolded, a sign he trusted him. Caesar guides him with his voice, gloved hands and ice. He used a riding crop on the inner thigh, not enough to hurt but could break down composure. He puts ice into his mouth and gently places it on Julian's delicate frame across his back. . Julian shivered, not from the ice only but also the sexual attention his body was aching from. *Relax, pet. You seem tense. You have to trust and submit to me” Caesar teased him. Touching him, and gently wiping him with a leash. “If you want me, you just have to say it”. “Please, touch me. Caesar”, he said quietly. “I can't hear you, speak up”, “Please, touch me. I'm begging you”, he said louder this time. Caesar works his lubed finger into him. Every movement made him shiver, moan, and quiver. This was bliss. Nothing had ever made him feel better than this. Julian was blindfolded throughout with trust leading instead. “I'm getting closer, Caesar. I can feel it”, he whispered. “You have to beg for that, you know. Where are your manners?” “Please, I can't hold it anymore. Let me come, Caesar” When he did, Caesar whispered in his ear something crucial. “Your brother didn't die because of me….he died because he chose someone else over me” “You have to choose me if you want to live, Julian”Chapter Ninety Six: He is Alive The penthouse felt too big now and quiet with a crushing silence. Julian stood by the window, watching the city lights flicker below, but his mind was somewhere else. Somewhere he couldn't quite reach. He should go back to Germany. That was the logical thing to do. Business was wrapped up and the joint venture was moving forward. There was no reason to stay. But if he came back too early, Friedrich would ask questions. Would want to know why he cut his trip short and Julian didn't have an answer for that. Not one he could say out loud. His hand drifted to the back of his head. His fingers found the scar without thinking…the ridge of raised skin hidden beneath his hair. Friedrich had told him about it, of course. A bullet. Surgery. A past life he couldn't remember and didn't want. You were someone else, Friedrich had said, holding his hand in that hospital room two years ago. Someone with enemies. Someone who almost died but that person is gone
Chapter Ninety Five: Memories in Pictures Caesar had been thinking about it for days. About how to get close enough….how to get what he needed without Kohler Jnr knowing. But their meetings had been strictly business lately. Nothing more. Kohler Jnr had been professional, distant, polite. The kind of polite that built walls instead of bridges. Every time Caesar tried to steer the conversation toward something personal, Kohler Jnr steered it back. Every time Caesar lingered a moment too long, he would find a reason to leave. Today, Julian stood by the window, looking out at the city. His back was to Caesar. His guard was down, just a little. "I really have to thank you about this," Julian was saying, rambling a bit, filling the silence. "You've been a lot of help, Caesar. More than I expected, honestly. The contacts you've introduced me to, the way you've smoothed things over with the local officials…" Caesar wasn't listening to the words. He was watching the way the light hit
Chapter Ninety Four: Wave of Hope. The penthouse was ridiculous. Julian stood in the middle of the living room, slowly turning in a circle, trying to take it all in. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Manhattan skyline. Furniture that probably cost more than most people's houses. A kitchen that looked like it belonged in a magazine. And Caesar, leaning against the doorway, watching him with that little smile. "So?" Caesar spread his arms. "What do you think? I tried to secure something better but time wasn't on my side." Julian shook his head, laughing softly. "I think you're insane. I'm not surprised at the structure…of course I live in a better place…but just that you would put so much effort into me coming here. I feel so welcome." "It's just a place to stay." Caesar pushed off the doorway, walking further into the room. "Three months, remember? You need somewhere comfortable. Secure." He gestured vaguely. "Plus, the view's not bad." "Not bad," Julian repeated, l
Chapter Ninety Three: Love Business Proposal Four months had passed since that night in Berlin.Four months of watching from afar. Four months of planning, of digging, of waiting for the right moment. Caesar had become obsessed…checking Kohler's calendar like it was scripture, tracking every public appearance, following every rumor about where the mysterious heir would show up next.Enzo said he was losing it. Peter said he was just in love. Caesar didn't care what either of them thought.And finally, finally, there was another event. A charity gala in Vienna, smaller than the Berlin affair, more intimate, which was perfect for Caesar. Caesar had found someone inside Julian's circle…a junior assistant with gambling debts and a loose tongue. A few thousand euros changed hands. A private moment was arranged. Five minutes, maybe ten. That was all he needed.The balcony was elegant, all white stone and twinkling lights overlooking the city. Vienna sparkled below them, beautiful and i
Chapter Ninety Two: The Perfect Heir The penthouse hotel room in Berlin felt too small for the energy bouncing off Caesar's skin. He paced like a caged animal…from the window to the door, back to the window, again and again. His hands moved when he talked, sharp gestures that cut through the air. Enzo had already sighed a million times. He was about to make it a million and one. "I have to see him again." The words tumbled out before anyone could speak. "I have to talk to him properly. Without Kohler standing there like a guard dog." Peter shifted on the couch, thoughtful. "What if Kohler was just being protective? I mean, the guy's heir comes out of nowhere, some random man walks up calling him by a different name…any father would step in." "I'm not anyone." Caesar's voice was sharp. "He knows who I am. He would have heard of me. He could have at least introduced me properly instead of shooing me away like some paparazzi." Enzo leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
Chapter Ninety One: His Face Two Years Later Two years. Seven hundred and thirty days. Seventeen thousand five hundred hours. Caesar had stopped counting after the first year. It hurt less that way or at least, that's what he told himself. The apartment hadn't changed. Julian's jacket still hung on the back of the chair where he'd left it. His toothbrush still sat in the bathroom, right next to Caesar's, like he'd just stepped out and would be back any minute. His books still piled on the nightstand…the one he'd been reading, a bookmark halfway through chapter seven, waiting for him to come back and finish it. Caesar had the mansion cleaned every week. Couldn't stand dust, couldn't stand the thought of Julian's things getting dirty. But he'd warned the maid strictly. That jacket? Don't touch. Those books? Don't move. The bathroom? Leave everything exactly where it is. She probably thought he was crazy….Maybe he was. He couldn't let go. Couldn't move on. Couldn't do any of







