Chapter 10 - The Cabin at Blackwood Lake
The heavy pickup trucks cut through the thick mountain pine trees along a remote dirt trail leading toward Blackwood Lake. Jax drove in front on his custom chopper, cutting the wind, while Clara followed closely with Leo asleep in the back seat, wrapped in a heavy wool blanket.
The ancestral hunting lodge was a shadow of its former grandeur. The wooden shutters were warped by snow and neglect, the porch lights flickered weakly, and empty liquor bottles littered the gravel beside an aging sports coupe that had once been Julian’s pride.
Jax killed his engine and waited for Clara by the porch steps. ""I’ll go in first. He’s erratic.""
""No,"" Clara said firmly, adjusting her coat. ""I spent five years hiding in shadows because of his weakness. If I have to face him, I face him on my feet.""
She left Leo sleeping locked safely in the warm truck cab and followed Jax up the creaking wooden steps. Jax kicked open the unlocked front door without knocking.
The interior smelled of stale bourbon, old ashes, and neglect. Slumped on a low leather sofa before a dying hearth was Julian Sterling. The sharp, arrogant man who had stood on the stone steps five years ago in a tailored tuxedo had vanished. His hair was greasy and unkempt, his stubbled jaw was slack, and his white shirt was stained with spilled drink. He squinted toward the door, raising a hand against the cold blast of mountain air.
""Jax?"" Julian slurred, rubbing his bloodshot eyes. ""I told you... I don't want your lectures. Leave me the hell alone.""
""I didn't come to lecture you, little brother,"" Jax said, stepping aside into the dim light. ""I brought a ghost.""
Julian’s gaze drifted slowly toward the figure standing in the doorway. When his eyes registered Clara's face, the glass tumbler slipped from his fingers, shattering across the stone hearth. The amber liquid hissed against the dying embers.
""Clara...?"" Julian whispered, his face turning paper-white. He scrambled backward against the sofa cushions, breathing as if he had seen an apparition rising from the grave. ""No... no, this is a hallucination. You're in Europe. Mother said you took the settlement and went to Zurich...""
""Your mother lied to you, Julian,"" Clara said, her voice cutting through the room with razor-sharp authority. ""She threw me down the stairs into the rain. She froze my accounts, sent cars to run me off the road, and told you I abandoned you.""
Julian shook his head frantically, clutching his temples. ""No... Victoria told me you never wanted the child. Victoria said you had the procedure in Boston...""
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""My son is five years old, Julian,"" Clara stepped forward, her eyes blazing with righteous fury. ""He is sleeping outside in my truck. And your mother is currently sending private armies to tear him away from me so she can steal whatever remains of your father's fortune.""
Julian froze. His hands fell away from his face. For a long, agonizing moment, complete silence swallowed the room until a single, strangled sob tore out of his chest.
