Chapter 11 - Blood Lines
""Marcus framed me,"" Clara said, her voice dropping into a desperate, focused pitch. ""He opened the accounts in my name. He hired the hitman who is upstairs right now trying to murder your mother! Look at your son, Julian! Look at him!""
Julian blinked through the haze of alcohol and mania. His eyes dropped to Leo, who had buried his tiny face into Clara's neck, trembling uncontrollably. Julian’s hand began to shake, the knife lowering an inch. ""Mother... is upstairs?""
""Marcus struck her. Jax is fighting him, but Marcus has a gun,"" Clara pressed, taking a slow, cautious step toward him. ""You can hate me all you want, Julian. You can blame me for your debts, for your failures, for your father’s contempt. But that baby is your blood. If Marcus walks out of this house alive, Leo disappears into a human trafficking ring in Europe, and you will be left with nothing but an empty mansion and a murder warrant.""
Julian’s chest heaved. The wild madness in his eyes flickered, replaced by a deep, instinctual horror. ""He... he told me he was going to set up a trust for Leo in Switzerland. He swore it was legal.""
""He lied to you, just like he lied to your father!""
A heavy crash sounded from the top of the servants' stairwell, followed by dragging footsteps. Julian turned toward the door, his jaw tightening. The broken boy who had run away from every confrontation in his life seemed to vanish, replaced by the ghost of the ruthless Vance patriarch he had always despised.
""Take the keys to my car,"" Julian whispered, reaching into his pocket and tossing a key fob across the stainless-steel counter to Clara. ""The garage door in the basement has a manual release. Go.""
""Julian—""
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""Go, Clara!"" Julian roared, gripping the knife tightly as he turned toward the staircase. ""Get my son out of here!""
Marcus stepped onto the landing, his face bruised, his shirt torn, the smoking revolver pointed down the stairs.
