Chapter 5 - The Ledger of Lies
Julian grabbed Elena by the collar, slamming her against the oak paneling of the hallway. The porcelain mug dropped, shattering on the floor, hot dark liquid splashing over their shoes.
""Tell me everything, or I swear to God I will throw you into the canyon myself,"" he breathed, every vein in his neck bulging with suppressed fury.
Elena gasped for air, but her eyes held a defiant, cruel triumph. ""She lied to you about everything, Julian! She wasn't an orphan from Maine. She was Michael Hall's wife. They ran an extortion ring across the East Coast until Clara got greedy and stole three million dollars from their cartel partners.""
""You're lying,"" Julian growled, though a sickening knot was tightening in his gut.
""Check the vault in the basement, you arrogant fool,"" she hissed, coughing as his grip tightened. ""The false bottom under her wedding gown. Clara didn't fall off that cliff two years ago because she slipped on wet grass. She was meeting him to pay off the debt. And Lily... Lily isn't yours.""
The world tilted beneath Julian's feet. The words felt like physical hammer blows striking his chest. Not mine. The girl who clung to his neck, the girl who had his mother’s smile, who hummed the melodies he played on the piano late at night.
""You're disgusting,"" Julian said, his voice dangerously level. ""You helped him get inside this house. The staple gun. The torture. Why?""
Elena smiled, blood speckling her white teeth. ""Because Lily knows where Clara hid the keys to the offshore lockers. The girl watched her mother bury them before she died. She wouldn't speak to me. So Michael told me to make her.""
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Julian’s hand dropped. Disgust overwhelmed his rage. Without a word, he struck her across the jaw with the butt of the weapon, knocking her unconscious onto the wet, coffee-stained floor.
He had to get Lily. Now.
