Chapter 3 - The Cold Pavement
Julian did not hesitate. The civilized veneer of the Ivy League attorney vanished in an instant, stripped away by the primal instinct of a father protecting his child. As the second guard lunged forward with the flashlight, Julian ducked low, swerving hard to the left, using his shoulder as a battering ram against the man's ribs.
The man grunted, losing his footing on the slick gravel and crashing hard against the SUV’s rear fender.
""Get in the car, Lily!"" Julian shouted, wrenching the rear passenger door open with one hand while keeping his body positioned between the guards and his child. Lily scrambled onto the floorboards beneath the leather seats, sobbing and curling into a tiny ball just as Julian had taught her during their playful hide-and-seek games.
Marcus was on him in an instant. A heavy fist clipped Julian’s jaw, sending white sparks exploding behind his eyes. Julian tasted copper. The pain was sharp, but the surge of adrenaline was hotter. He drove his elbow backward into Marcus’s solar plexus, twisting with the momentum to shove the heavier man against the hood.
""You touch my kid, and I'll bury you under this estate!"" Julian roared, kicking Marcus hard in the knee. The joint popped with a sickening crunch, and Marcus collapsed onto the gravel, cursing through gritted teeth.
Julian slammed the rear door shut, dove into the driver’s seat, and punched the engine start button. The engine roared to life with a ferocious growl. He threw the transmission into reverse, spun the steering wheel, and backed straight into the decorative garden curb, flattening pristine rosebushes.
Ahead, the black town car still barred the gate. Julian didn't hit the brakes. He shifted into drive, floored the accelerator, and aimed the heavy front bumper directly at the town car’s rear quarter-panel. Metal screeched on metal with a deafening, violent crash. Airbags deployed in the black sedan as it spun out of the way, clearing a three-foot gap between the gatepost and the iron gate.
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Julian wrenched the wheel, scraping the SUV's flank against the brick pillar with a shower of sparks, breaking free onto the winding county road.
In the rearview mirror, through the cloud of dust and exhaust, he saw Eleanor standing on the grand terrace, her phone pressed to her ear, watching him vanish into the dusk. And beside his glove compartment, Julian’s phone buzzed with an urgent notification from his bank: all personal credit lines had just been frozen.
