Chapter 5 - Fractured Bloodlines
The room seemed to shrink. Nora stared at her mother, unable to reconcile the elegant socialite before her with the confession hanging in the air.
""You?"" Nora breathed, the words barely audible. ""You had Julian steal from the city?""
""I had Julian secure what belonged to this family,"" Evelyn corrected sharply, stepping closer. ""Your father left this house mortgaged to the hilt, Nora. He left us bankrupt before he died. All that prestige, the charity galas, your elite architecture degree—paid for on credit and smoke. When Julian joined the firm, he was ambitious and pliable. He agreed to fix the books to protect our standing.""
""And Chloe?"" Nora countered, her voice shaking with rage. ""Did he sleep with her to protect the family standing too?""
Evelyn’s expression tightened with a flicker of genuine annoyance. ""Julian is a weak man. Give a weak man power and millions of dollars, and he forgets who holds his leash. Chloe was hired by the city comptroller’s investigative unit two months ago, Nora. She was sent to uncover the leak. Julian was trying to buy her silence today at that hotel.""
The realization hit Nora like a freight train. Julian hadn’t bought the dress; Chloe had worn it deliberately—a psychological taunt aimed squarely at Nora, knowing Nora had tracked Julian's phone to the hotel. The betrayal was real, but the game was exponentially larger than an affair.
Downstairs, the sound of breaking glass shattered the quiet.
Julian had smashed the side window of the conservatory. Heavy footsteps entered the house, wet and frantic, moving fast toward the stairs.
""Nora!"" Julian’s voice barked from the landing.
Evelyn reached swiftly toward the desk, her fingers clawing for the silver USB drive, but Nora slammed her hand down first, ripping the drive from the port and shoving it into the pocket of her trousers.
""Give that to me, Nora,"" Evelyn commanded, her voice turning razor-thin and dangerous. ""You have no idea what they will do to us if that ledger leaves this house.""
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Julian appeared in the doorway of the study, rain dripping from his jaw, a smear of blood across his left hand from the shattered window. He looked from Evelyn to Nora, his chest heaving.
""Don't give it to her, Nora,"" Julian panted, raising his bloody hands. ""She hired someone to plant the evidence in your personal accounts tonight.""
