Chapter 2 - Cold Eyes in the Foyer
The silence in the grand hall stretched until it felt as fragile as spun glass. Victoria took another step forward, her manicured fingers grazing Marcus’s arm. ""Marcus, please. Julian is just your driver. Leo is traumatized, you know this! The grief counselor said—""
""Quiet, Victoria,"" Marcus commanded without raising his voice. The icy detachment in his tone made her recoil.
Behind Marcus, Julian evaluated the distance between himself and the iron-wrought exterior gates. He stood in broad daylight, surrounded by private security perimeter cameras, but his expression remained eerily impassive. He withdrew his hand from his jacket, holding up an encrypted key fob instead of a weapon.
""Sir, your luggage from the airport is in the trunk,"" Julian stated evenly, his voice devoid of tremor. ""If there’s an issue, I can wait in the guardhouse.""
""You won't take a single step away from this house,"" Marcus replied. He turned his head just enough to catch Julian in his peripheral vision. ""Elena, take Leo upstairs. Lock the master bedroom doors from the inside. Do not open them for anyone except me.""
""Yes, Mr. Vance,"" Elena murmured. She lifted the small boy into her arms. Leo buried his face in her shoulder, whimpering softly as they hurried past the marble archway toward the back service stairs.
Victoria watched them disappear, her jaw clenching. ""You’re humiliating me in front of the staff, Marcus. Accusing Julian because of a child's nightmare? Clarissa died in an accident. The police closed the investigation twenty-four months ago!""
Marcus pulled up the mansion's internal surveillance app on his phone. His fingers moved with methodical precision over the touch screen. ""The police investigated the balcony railing collapse, Victoria. They never saw the security blind spot on the east terrace."" He paused, his screen glowing cold blue against his skin. ""The camera above the staircase just recorded your push. And the basement terminal just flagged an unauthorized wipe of Julian’s background file twenty minutes ago.""
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Victoria’s breath hitched, her glossy facade cracking.
Before Marcus could press the security lockdown, the foyer lights suddenly died, plunging the windowed hall into a muted, breathless gloom.
