Chapter 6 - What Julian Heard
Elena locked her phone.
“Nothing.”
Julian walked toward her.
“You were watching a video.”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“Give me the phone.”
“No.”
His expression changed with terrifying speed. The concerned husband disappeared, leaving the man who had threatened her at the hospital.
“Elena, give it to me.”
She slipped the phone behind her back.
Julian seized her wrist.
Pain shot through her arm.
“Let go.”
“What did you hear?”
“Your mother said my mother was killed.”
Julian’s grip loosened.
He had not expected honesty.
For one moment, husband and wife stared at each other in mutual shock.
“What recording?” he whispered.
“The backup camera.”
“There is no backup camera.”
“My father installed one.”
Julian released her and stepped away.
The information frightened him.
Elena saw that clearly.
“You didn’t know,” she said.
“Know what?”
“That Evelyn worked for Blackridge. That your birth may be connected to Victor Hale. That my father kept evidence here.”
“Stop.”
“She has been using you.”
“Stop talking.”
“She told you this was about money.”
“I said stop.”
Julian swept a lamp from the nightstand. It struck the wall and shattered.
Elena flinched, both arms curling around her belly.
Julian stared at the broken pieces as though someone else had thrown them.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“Stay away from me.”
“I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“You grabbed me.”
“You refused to listen.”
“That doesn’t give you the right to touch me.”
He ran a hand through his hair.
“My mother told me Thomas had hidden documents proving Richard Mercer stole millions from Blackridge. She said the house belonged to our family because Thomas used those documents to blackmail my father.”
“And you believed her.”
“She showed me bank records.”
“Were they real?”
“I don’t know.”
Elena studied him.
For the first time, doubt had entered his voice.
“Why did you threaten me?” she asked.
“I was angry.”
“You said I would regret what happened next.”
“I meant the marriage.”
“You looked at our child when you said it.”
Julian’s face tightened.
“I would never hurt the baby.”
“Would you hurt me?”
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
Elena lifted her bruised wrist between them.
“You already have.”
Julian looked away.
Downstairs, Evelyn called his name.
He moved toward the door.
“Do not tell her about the backup camera.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to know what else she’s hiding.”
“You’ve spent months helping her pressure me.”
“I thought I was recovering what my father lost.”
“You tried to take what my father left me.”
Julian stopped.
“If the recording proves she lied, I’ll fix this.”
“There is no fixing us.”
His shoulders stiffened.
“We’ll discuss that when you’re calmer.”
“No, Julian. We won’t.”
He left without answering.
Elena locked the door behind him, placed a chair beneath the handle, and sent the recording to Sarah.
Sarah called immediately.
“This changes the investigation,” she said. “If Evelyn admitted knowledge of your mother’s death, we can petition for immediate protection.”
“Julian heard me playing it.”
“Can you leave?”
“He told me not to mention the backup camera to Evelyn.”
“That doesn’t mean he’s on your side.”
“I know.”
“Police are coming.”
Elena moved toward the window.
A black sedan was parked beyond the front gate.
“Did you send someone?”
“No.”
The driver’s door opened.
A gray-haired man stepped out. Even at a distance, Elena recognized his height and posture from the scratched photograph.
Victor Hale.
He looked up at the bedroom window.
Then he raised a phone.
Elena’s phone rang from an unknown number.
She answered without speaking.
“Thomas should have told you the truth years ago,” the man said.
“Are you Victor Hale?”
“Yes.”
“Did you send the photograph of Sarah?”
“No. Evelyn did.”
“Why?”
“To make you think someone else was watching.”
“Someone is watching.”
“Yes,” Victor said. “Me.”
Elena gripped the curtain.
“What do you want?”
“To keep you alive.”
“My father said you helped him.”
“Your father said many things after he betrayed me.”
“Are you Julian’s father?”
Victor looked toward the kitchen windows.
“I can’t answer that while Evelyn is inside.”
“Why?”
“Because if she realizes I’ve spoken to you, she’ll move the evidence.”
“What evidence?”
“The proof that your mother’s accident was no accident.”
Elena’s breath caught.
“Where is it?”
“Inside the house.”
“Where?”
A gunshot shattered the silence.
Victor dropped behind the sedan.
The upstairs window exploded inward.
Elena screamed and fell beside the bed as glass rained across the carpet.
Julian burst into the room.
He looked at Elena, then at the broken window.
“Who were you talking to?”
Another shot struck the outer wall.
Julian pulled Elena into the hallway.
Downstairs, Evelyn stood beside the rear door holding a small pistol.
She looked up at them.
“He came back,” she said.
Julian stared at the weapon.
“Who came back?”
May you like
Evelyn raised the gun toward the front entrance.
“Your father.”
