Chapter 10 - The Public Accusation
Julian snatched the remote from the counter and clicked on the wall-mounted television screen. The screen flashed bright red with breaking news banners: STERLING MANOR ARSON INVESTIGATION: HEIR WANTED FOR ATTEMPTED PATRICIDE AND KIDNAPPING.
A news anchor with a solemn expression spoke over footage of flashing emergency lights surrounding the smoke-damaged estate.
""Authorities have issued a nationwide warrant for Julian Sterling, 34, heir to the Sterling Global conglomerate, following a violent altercation at the family estate late last evening. Police report that Julian allegedly attacked his father, Lord Arthur Sterling, and abducted a female domestic worker, Elena Vance, after setting fire to the west wing to conceal financial fraud.""
The screen transitioned to a live press conference on the steps of the manor. Lord Arthur Sterling stood before a battery of microphones, a white bandage wrapped dramatically around his forehead, leaning heavily on Victoria’s arm.
""My son has fallen into a severe psychotic episode driven by substance abuse and corporate paranoia,"" Arthur said, his voice cracking with rehearsed grief. ""He has taken an innocent girl hostage. I plead with the public: if you see Julian, do not approach him. He is armed, dangerous, and mentally unstable. Elena, if you can hear this, we are doing everything we can to bring you home safely.""
Elena stared at the screen in utter horror, her hands flying to her mouth. ""He's turning everything upside down. He made you into a monster and me into a victim!""
""He's controlling the narrative,"" Julian said, his voice deadly calm, though a muscle twitched violently in his jaw. ""The media, the police commissioners, the district attorney—my father has bought and paid for all of them over forty years. He knows that as long as we are fugitives, no one will listen to our claims about the pendant or my mother.""
""Then what do we do?"" Elena asked, despair creeping into her chest. ""If we turn ourselves in, they’ll separate us. Your father will put you in an asylum and make me disappear forever.""
""We don't turn ourselves in,"" Julian replied, walking over to a hidden wall safe behind a row of bookshelves. He pressed his thumb against the biometric scanner. The safe clicked open, revealing stacks of cash, international passports, and an encrypted hard drive.
He pulled the drive out and turned to Elena. ""We go directly to the only board meeting that matters. The annual shareholder summit is in eighteen hours at the Sterling Tower downtown. My father needs their unanimous vote to strip me of my executive power and finalize the merger with Victoria’s family.""
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""How do we get into a skyscraper surrounded by police?"" Elena asked.
Julian looked at the joined silver pendants around her neck, a dangerous, predatory smile touching the corner of his lips. ""We don't sneak in. We walk through the front door.""
