Chapter 6 - A Demon’s Ultimatum
Elena looked down at the vibrating phone. Julian’s private caller ID pulsed across the illuminated screen like a malicious heartbeat. She looked at Gabriel, whose expression remained entirely unreadable, then over at Maya sleeping peacefully under the woolen blanket.
With steady hands, Elena picked up the phone and tapped the green icon, switching it immediately to speakerphone.
""Commissioner,"" Julian’s voice barked through the speaker, crisp, commanding, and laced with cold authority. ""My wife has experienced a severe psychological breakdown. She has abducted our daughter and fled our residence. She is unstable, potentially violent, and armed with stolen property. Issue an Amber Alert immediately, but route all incoming public tips directly to my private security team. The press must not catch wind of this.""
Elena felt the blood rush to her ears, a roaring torrent of pure outrage. He was rewriting the narrative before the night was even over. In his world, she was the crazy mother, and he was the grieving, protective father.
""Julian,"" Elena spoke, her voice steady and clear as glass.
The line went utterly silent for three agonizing seconds. When Julian spoke again, his voice dropped an octave, dripping with poisonous calm. ""Elena. Put down the phone and tell me where you are. You have no idea the magnitude of the mistake you are making.""
""I am not the one who committed thirty counts of aggravated assault on a minor tonight,"" she replied, her words measured and sharp. ""Nor am I the one who used forged power-of-attorney documents to liquidate the Sterling family trust into Victoria Vance’s offshore accounts.""
A cold chuckle drifted through the speaker. ""You think you found something clever on my desk? Those are scraps, Elena. Speculation. In court, it will look like the frantic delusions of an unhinged woman who couldn't handle her husband taking a younger mistress. The courts belong to me. The judges play golf at my club. You have no money, no home, and by dawn, you won't even have custody.""
""She has me,"" Gabriel’s voice echoed into the microphone, slicing through Julian’s arrogance like a scalpel.
Julian’s breath caught audibly on the other end of the line. The casual dismissal vanished, replaced by an unnatural, strained silence. ""Gabriel? That's impossible. You're rotting in a cell in Danbury.""
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""I was released three weeks ago, Julian. Pardoned by executive order,"" Gabriel said smoothly. ""And while you were busy beating a little girl over a dress, I was finishing what we started six years ago. The SEC has already sealed your trade clearing accounts. Check your private email, Julian. Dawn comes early.""
Gabriel hung up the call. Before Elena could ask another question, the sound of screeching tires echoed outside the warehouse’s metal corrugated walls.
