Chapter 10 - The Safe House on the Coast
Dawn broke with a bruised, purple sky over the rocky coastline of Cape Mercer.
A small, salt-weathered cottage sat perched on the cliffs overlooking the churning Atlantic, the very cottage where Eleanor Sterling had lived her final years. The air inside smelled of dried lavender, salt, and turpentine.
Clara finished binding Julian’s shoulder with fresh gauze, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. The fever had begun to break, thanks to the medical supplies Lucas had pulled from the back of the unmarked SUV they had used to escape.
Julian looked around the modest room. On the mantelpiece were dozens of watercolor paintings—most of them depicting a young man standing beside an ocean pier, painted from a memory that had refused to fade over twenty years.
"She kept you here," Clara whispered, handing Julian a cup of hot tea. "Every day, she painted you. She never told me who the man in the paintings was. She only said he was someone who lived in a cage made of gold."
Julian touched one of the frames, his voice thick with tears. "I lived in that cage because I was too weak to walk away from my father’s wealth. I let him tell me what was possible. I let him convince me she was happier without me."
Lucas stood near the doorway, cleaning his sidearm with methodical precision. He had stripped off his tactical vest, revealing old scars across his forearms—reminders of the brutal military schools he had been forced to attend.
"The news broadcast just dropped," Lucas stated, setting the slide back onto his weapon. "Victoria made a full confession to federal prosecutors an hour ago. She cut a deal to save her own neck."
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Julian raised his head sharply. "What did she give them?"
"Everything," Lucas replied, his eyes narrowing. "She claimed Julian Vance organized the off-the-books syndicate shipments, and that she was merely a coerced spouse. The warrants are out. By noon, Julian Vance is officially the most wanted corporate criminal on the eastern seaboard."
