Chapter 8: The First Visitation

The two-hour countdown began at exactly 6:00 PM, just as they had agreed. But before then, Theo had arranged for a swarm of photographers to be stationed across the street from the Sterling tower, ensuring Julian’s arrival was documented from every angle.

"We need to make this as real as possible." He said to Elena.

Inside the penthouse, the atmosphere was clinical. Theo sat at the far end of the long dining table, his laptop open, acting as a silent, watchful predator. Elena sat at the center, a cup of warm herbal tea left untouched in front of her. She wore a sharp, charcoal-grey suit, leaving her expression to become more unreadable.

When Julian was ushered in by security, he looked like a man walking toward a firing squad, like a man walking into his own death trap. He didn't sit. Instead, he paced the length of the rug, his eyes darting toward the security cameras tucked into the corners of the ceiling.

"Do you mind taking a seat?" Theo spoke. "I am unable to to concentrate here, seeing how restless you are." 

"You want me to sit? For two hours of this?" Julian snapped. "You mean to say that all we are going to do is to sit here in silence while the press imagines we are having a romantic dinner or a pep talk?"

"Isn't that what we had planned to do?" Elena said. "To the world, you are inside this building pleading for a second chance as your life depends on it. What we actually do in here doesn't matter, as long as you don't leave until the set time elapse."

"You have changed a great deal, Elena," Julian said, stopping his pace to look at her. There was a flicker of the old condescension in his eyes, but it was tempered by a growing unease. 

"Ohh!" She exclaimed. "Have I?" 

"You were never this cold. Who coached you? Was it Sterling?"

Theo didn't look up from his screen. "She didn't need coaching, Julian. She just needed a reason to stop pretending."

The tension was broken by the sound of the intercom. Theo’s head of security, Marcus, appeared on the monitor. "Mr. Sterling, Sarah Vance is at the main entrance. She has bypassed the lobby security and is causing a scene in front of the reporters."

Julian’s face lit up with a mix of relief and habit. "Let her up. If she has come all the way here, it is important."

"No," Elena interrupted, her voice cutting through Julian's. "She shouldn't be allowed access." 

"Elena, come on. Don't be petty," Julian hissed. "Regardless, she is still family."

"She is a mistress trying to sabotage a legal contract, that is what this is about" Elena replied. "If she enters this building, the whole 'reconciliation' narrative dies. The press will see the other woman joining our private dinnerand so will The world. The Vance merger will vanish before dessert."

Julian looked at the door, then back at Elena. The silence was heavy as he weighed his lust against his legacy. For the first time in three years, he stayed in his seat.

"You made a better decision." Elena murmured, finally sipping her tea.

Outside, the commotion intensified. Through the reinforced glass, they could hear the distant muffled shouting. Sarah wasn't just screaming; she was making sure every microphone across the street caught her words.

"Julian! You can't stay in there with her!" Sarah’s voice shrieked from the street level, amplified by the evening air. "Tell her the truth! Tell her why this reconciliation is a lie!"

" What are you doing here, Ms. Vance?" A reporter asked.

"To take back what's rightfully mine and to tell the entire world the actual truth!" She maniacally yelled back.

"Mr. Thorne is in there trying to reconcile with his wife, don't you think you will be labeled a hater and a homewrecker by the public?"

" I don't care!" She said. *All that matters is that he loves me!" 

Theo checked his phone. "She is actually making a scene for the cameras, Julian. She is currently holding a sonogram up for the paparazzi."

Julian froze. His face went from pale to a ghostly white. "A... what?"

"Did I stutter? Or do you have hearing issues?" Theo asked, sending him daggers with his eyes.

The two hours finally ended, and Theo stood up, closing his laptop with a definitive click. "Time’s up. The press has their shots of you leaving. Get out, Julian. Your ride is waiting, and so is your scandal."

Julian rushed to the elevator, desperate to get to Sarah. As soon as the doors closed, Elena walked to the window. Below, she saw Julian exit the building. Sarah didn't wait for him to speak. She threw herself into his arms in front of a dozen flashing cameras, sobbing loudly enough for the world to hear.

"Sarah has always been a great actor. She got what she wanted." 

Theo walked up behind Elena, watching the chaos below. "She just destroyed the reconciliation act. It is now certain that the Vances will pull out of the merger by morning."

"That was her plan," Elena whispered. "She thinks if she is carrying the Thorne heir, the merger doesn't matter. She thinks she has won."

"But how do you know she is pregnant?" Theo asked, curious.

" That is her surest resort at the moment. I hope she uses it well when the Thorne Group comes crashing down." 

Elena turned away from the window, her eyes glinting with a cold, terrifying light.

"She doesn't realize I already leaked the Thorne Group’s debt to the bank an hour ago. Sarah isn't carrying the heir to an empire." Elena paused, a small, chilling smile touching her lips. 

She turned to Theo, raising her tea cup. "She’s carrying the heir to a man who is officially a hundred million dollars in debt. Isn't that the perfect scandal?"