Chapter 4 - The Closed Door
Inside the penthouse living room, Claire scrambled to hide the phone beneath the edge of the sofa cushion just as Julian entered the wide archway. He had changed his jacket into a dark cashmere sweater, holding a freshly poured tumbler of scotch. His sharp eyes scanned the room, settling on the way Claire knelt against the couch, shivering.
""Who were you speaking to?"" Julian asked, taking a slow sip. He did not raise his voice, but the calculated neutrality was chilling.
""No one,"" Claire managed to say, struggling to keep her chin up despite the swelling on her lower lip. ""I was... looking for my medication.""
Julian chuckled softly, stepping over the shattered remains of the coffee table. His shoe casually kicked aside a cluster of bruised rose petals. ""You are a terrible liar, Claire. It’s what I’ve always found so pathetically charming about you. You lack the cunning of your father."" He stopped right before her, looking down with cold amusement. ""Hand me the phone.""
""Julian, please,"" she begged, shrinking slightly against the sofa fabric. ""Just let me go to the guest bedroom. I won't say anything to anyone. I promise.""
Julian’s face hardened instantly. He set the glass of scotch on the mantelpiece, knelt down, and gripped her jaw with cruel force, his fingers digging into the fresh bruise on her cheek. Claire let out a stifled cry of pain.
""You think you have leverage because of your family name?"" Julian whispered, his breath smelling of peat and alcohol. ""Your father is an aging relic clinging to a dying empire. By tomorrow morning, Sterling Holdings will control sixty percent of his logistics grid. You are nothing more than the signature on the collateral, Claire. You don’t leave this room until I say you leave.""
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He reached behind her back, his fingers feeling along the sofa frame until they brushed against the cold metal of her phone. With a sneer, he pulled it out and looked at the screen. The call log showed an active outbound connection to Arthur Vance that had ended just thirty seconds prior.
Julian’s eyes narrowed into slits. ""You called him.""
