CHAPTER TWELVE – THE CRACK IN THE CROWN

You should run.”

The words didn’t register at first.

Aiden looked at Clarissa, and his heart started beating really fast. He was trying to understand what was going on.

But Clarissa didn't look like he expected. She wasn't even smiling or was looking smug. Instead, she looked worried. You could tell from her face that she's afraid.

That was what scared Aiden more than anything else. He didn't know what was happening, but seeing Clarissa like that made him more nervous. He felt like something was wrong...

“What do you mean?” he asked, standing up.

She looked around, worried someone might be listening. “They didn’t just vote on Julian’s fate. Harold pushed for more. He’s calling in a PR storm to make you the scapegoat.”

Aiden froze. “What?”

“They’re going to tell everyone you tricked Julian into doing something for you." She said, they're going to say you used that kiss against him… that you blackmailed him. They're going to blame you.

She glanced at his chest for a moment, then looked up and said. “Julian fought them. I’ve never seen him like that. But Harold won the room.”

Aiden stepped back a little, feeling sick to his stomach. He said. “He wouldn’t let that happen.”

“He didn’t,” she said, voice low. “He threatened to resign. Again. And Harold... took him up on it.”

Silence cracked between them like ice.

“They forced him out?” Aiden asked.

Clarissa nodded.

His world tilted sideways.

All this time, Aiden thought Julian’s power made him untouchable. The VanDermere name, the wealth, the sharp mind behind that controlled smile. But none of it mattered in that room. Not when family ties get in the way of what people want or how people want to look.

“I need to see him,” Aiden said, brushing past her.

“Wait!” she caught his sleeve. “There’s more. Security’s been told to escort you off the premises. Not Julian. You.”

That stopped him cold.

“Are you serious!?”

She didn’t answer. Just held out a small keycard. “Take the back elevator.” No cameras. Go now.”

Aiden looked at it, then at her. “Why are you helping me?”

Clarissa hesitated. “Because he’s not the only one who saw something in you. And because I know what it’s like to be used and discarded by powerful men.”

He took the keycard, heart pounding.

“Tell him I’ll find him,” Aiden said, stepping away.

Clarissa didn’t reply. She only turned and disappeared through the hallway like smoke.

—

Julian stood alone in the boardroom. His back straight, his fist tight.

Harold had dismissed the others already. The room was dark now, the only light falling from the city skyline behind them.

“You had no right to drag him into this,” Julian said quietly.

Harold didn’t look up. He poured himself a drink in the glass, gently stirring it with his hands.

“No, Julian. You dragged him in. When you chose him over your responsibility.”

“I chose the truth.”

“You chose recklessness.”

Julian stepped forward. “Say it. Say that you’re glad I’m out because I didn’t become you.”

Harold turned around. For a moment, he looked powerful; his gray eyes seemed strong, his voice loud, and his presence filled the room.

“I’m disappointed,” he said.

Julian exhaled a bitter laugh. “That’s the closest thing to affection I’ve ever heard you say.”

He turned to leave.

But Harold’s voice stopped him.

“Do you know what they’ll say about you, now that you’re not protected? That you lied. That you used a fake name. That you were sleeping with a man you had the power to promote.”

Julian turned, voice low. “I didn’t have power. You made sure of that. All I had was the truth.”

“Then good luck living in it.”

Julian didn’t answer. He walked out of the room, as he held his head high.

But the second the door clicked shut behind him, his composure changed immediately. He stumbled toward the elevator, running a hand through his wet hair, the taste of Aiden’s kiss still in his mouth, the weight of everything else dragging behind it.

He didn’t know where Aiden had gone.

But he knew what he had to do now.

—

Aiden sneaked out through the loading dock doors and went into the alley behind VanDermere Global.

The rain had already stopped, but the city was still wet like a mist. He pulled his hood up and started walking.

His phone buzzed.

Unknown Number.

> “Are you safe?”

He knew who it was.

> “I’m out. What happened?”

Three dots.

Then:

> “I’ll find you. Don’t go back to your apartment. They might track it.”

Aiden stopped walking.

> “Where then?”

Julian replied:

> “East River. Where we had the argument. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

Aiden read the message three times before putting his phone away.

The argument. The night everything started to unravel. Now it would either end there… or start again.

He walked faster.

—

Julian’s car was already parked when Aiden arrived.

The river stormed beside them, black water flowing along the city’s edges. The place was deserted, except for the two of them.

Julian was leaning against the hood of the car, a cigarette in hand, though he didn’t smoke it. Just held it like a habit he didn’t want to start yet.

Aiden stopped a few feet away.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Julian looked at him and smiled, but it wasn’t his usual smile. It was tiring. Raw. Real.

“I’m not a VanDermere anymore,” he said.

“That’s not true,” Aiden replied. “You just chose not to be their version of one.”

Julian dropped the cigarette and crushed it under his boot.

“I lost everything in there.”

Aiden shook his head. “No. You didn’t.”

Julian’s eyes narrowed. “Then what did I keep?”

Aiden walked up to him slowly, their bodies inches apart.

“Me.”

Julian didn’t respond.

He didn’t have to.

Because in the next breath, they were kissing again—desperate this time, not because it might be their last, but because it could finally be their first without fear.

A car passed by in the distance.

Julian broke the kiss, gasping for air.

“I have nothing left,” he whispered.

Aiden gently put his hands on his face. “You have everything left. You just haven't seen it yet.”

Julian nodded slowly, as his eyes were withstanding the tears.

But behind them, across the street, a sleek black van pulled up quietly.

They didn’t notice.

Not until the door opened.

And a camera clicked.