Chapter 7 - The Shadows from the PastThe calm was shattered on the fifth morning by an unexpected commotion in the hallway.
Ronald was standing outside Elena's door, blocking the entrance with his immovable bulk. Standing across from him was a disheveled young man in an expensive leather jacket, smelling faintly of alcohol and stale cologne. It was Marcus Rivera—the man who had abandoned Elena four months prior after emptying her bank account.
"I have a right to see her!" Marcus argued, his voice carrying down the quiet corridor. "That’s my kid in there! You can't keep a father from his woman!"
Inside the room, Elena turned pale, her breathing quickening as she shrank back into her pillows.
The door clicked open, and Julian stepped out into the hall. He didn't yell; he didn't raise his hands. But the predatory calm that settled over him made Marcus immediately take half a step backward.
"You have five seconds to lower your voice," Julian said, his voice dangerously low.
Marcus sneered, trying to bolster his courage. "Who the hell are you? Her sugar daddy? Look, old man, Elena and I have history. She took my cash, and now she’s hiding in a five-star suite pretendin' she’s royalty. I want my cut, or I go to the press with how this hospital harbors deadbeats."
Julian walked slowly toward Marcus. Ronald stepped aside without a word. Julian stopped less than an inch from the younger man's face. The height difference was staggering, but it was the icy, unyielding focus in Julian’s eyes that broke Marcus’s swagger.
"Her brother David gave his life for people he barely knew," Julian said softly. "You abandoned a woman carrying your child and stole her life savings to pay off your debts at the underground tables on Fifth Street."
Marcus choked on his breath, the blood draining from his features. "How... how do you know that?"
May you like
"I know the name of your bookmaker. I know the registration of your car. And I know that you have an outstanding warrant in New Jersey for corporate fraud," Julian whispered. He tapped a single, heavy finger against Marcus’s chest. "If you ever come within a hundred yards of Elena or that child again, I will not call the police. I will simply buy the debt you owe to the men in Queens, and let them collect it in person."
Marcus trembled, looked at the stony face of the bodyguard, and bolted for the elevators without uttering another syllable.
Related Stories
