Chapter 35

{Julian’s Pov}

Kelvin wouldn’t shut up.

We were outside, strolling toward the house, but he kept going like this was a joke. Like what he said, it didn’t burn through me like fire.

“That girl?” he said with a smirk. “Room 12, Bourbon Club? Julian, man, she was wild. Mouth like a dream, and the way she moaned when—”

“Don’t,” I cut in, my voice sharp.

He blinked. “What?”

“Don’t talk about her like that. Not to me.”

He laughed like I was joking. “Come on, bro. What’s the big deal? I didn’t even know she was your problem until now.”

“She’s not my problem.”

“Then why do you look like you’re ready to punch a wall?”

I didn’t answer.

He kept going, clueless.

“I told her to go take a bath first. I wasn’t about to touch a girl fresh off the pole.”

My fists clenched.

He chuckled. “And when she came out, wrapped in that towel, I made her kneel. Told her exactly what to do. She obeyed like she’d done it a hundred times. Not shy, not soft. She liked it.”

I stopped walking.

“You done?” I asked, jaw tight.

He looked at me. “Look, I didn’t mean to offend. But real talk, how the hell did George leave all that to her?”

I didn’t reply.

Because I didn’t have an answer either.

“I mean,” Kelvin went on, “he had you. You’re his blood. His legacy. Why give everything to a stranger he pulled out of a damn club?”

That part hit deep.

It was the same question I asked myself every night.

Why her?

What did George see in Hailey?

She wasn’t family. She wasn’t loyal. She didn’t know our secrets, our scars, our history. And yet, George gave her the keys to everything. The house. The will. The riddles. The entire empire.

“She must’ve been really good,” Kelvin muttered.

I shoved the door open and walked into the house.

He followed behind, still smirking, still ignorant.

We stepped into the sitting room, and there they were—Luca on the couch, flipping through a leather-bound book. Marcus with a drink in hand. Aaron staring out the window.

They looked up as we walked in.

“Took you long enough,” Marcus said, raising an eyebrow.

“Kelvin had stories to tell,” I said flatly.

Kelvin laughed, clearly not reading the room. “You’ve got a wild one living under this roof, boys.”

Luca narrowed his eyes. “Who?”

I ignored him.

I walked straight to the middle of the room and stood still.

“I’m taking it back,” I said.

They all looked at me.

Marcus set his glass down. “What are you talking about?”

“The inheritance,” I said. “The house. The rights. All of it. I’m getting it back from Hailey.”

“Julian…” Aaron warned.

“I’m serious.”

Luca frowned. “You mean you’re going to fight her? In court?”

“No,” I said. “I don’t need lawyers. I need a strategy. I need leverage. And I need her to trust me just enough to lower her guard.”

Kelvin raised a brow. “So you’re gonna seduce her?”

I turned sharply. “Get out, Kelvin.”

“What?”

“I said get out.”

He laughed, but the sound was nervous now. “Chill, man, I didn’t mean”

“You don’t belong in this conversation,” I said. “And you’re crossing lines you don’t even understand.”

He muttered something under his breath and walked out. Good. One less distraction.

I looked back at my brothers.

Marcus leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “You’ve been acting weird since she got here. At first, I thought you hated her. Now you’re saying you want to outplay her?”

“I still hate her,” I said. “But I hate what she represents even more. She’s not just a girl in this house. She’s a symbol that George didn’t trust us. That he thought someone from outside could carry this legacy better than we could.”

Aaron shook his head. “This won’t end well. You know that.”

Luca stood. “You can’t control her. She’s not Eloise.”

“I’m not trying to control her,” I said. “I’m trying to win.”

Marcus stared at me. “You mean manipulate her. Gain her trust. Then destroy her.”

“Exactly.”

No one spoke for a moment.

Just the quiet hum of the fan overhead and the weight of what I’d said hanging in the air.

“You’re playing with fire,” Luca muttered.

“She’s playing with our inheritance,” I snapped back. “She walks around this place like it was made for her. She unlocks George’s riddles like she knows the man better than we ever did.”

Marcus nodded slowly. “So what’s the plan?”

“I don’t know yet,” I admitted. “But I’ll get close enough to find a crack. Everyone has one.”

Aaron stood. “And what happens when she finds out you’re using her?”

I met his eyes.

“She won’t,” I said.

But deep down?

I wasn’t sure.

Because every time I looked at Hailey, my plan cracked a little. My anger softened a little. And something else, something dangerous, crept in.

Not affection. Not love. Just confusion. The worst kind of weakness. But I buried it. Because feelings don’t win wars. Strategy does.

And if I had to smile at her, flirt with her, even touch her, so be it. I’d win this war. I’d get back what was mine.

Even if it meant lying to the only girl who ever made me feel anything real.