Chapter 5 - Fractured Truths
""Julian!"" Elena rushed across the room, falling to her knees beside him.
His skin was burning with fever. The strike from the baton had re-opened a deep laceration along his collarbone, the remnants of his past surgery. Grabbing the first-aid kit left by the driver, Elena worked frantically, tearing away the blood-soaked linen of his shirt. Her hands shook, but muscle memory from years of caring for her ailing mother kicked in.
""You fool,"" she muttered through tears, pouring antiseptic over the wound. ""You walked into that restaurant burning up with infection.""
Julian winced, his teeth clenched, but his hand reached up and wrapped weakly around her wrist. ""I had to... see you. If Marcus found you first... he would have cleared the board entirely.""
""Hush. Save your strength."" She pressed gauze tightly against the wound, wrapping medical tape firmly around his chest and shoulder.
As she worked, Julian’s gaze stayed fixed on her face, tracing every contour, every tear. ""You haven't changed. Still fighting everyone's battles.""
""I am fighting for my son,"" she countered sharply, securing the final bandage. ""And for you, whether you deserve it or not.""
She helped him heave his weight onto an armchair near the cold hearth. She struck a match and lit the pre-stacked wood inside the fireplace, letting the warmth slowly banish the damp chill of the room. Leo stirred on the couch, making a soft cooing noise before settling back down.
Elena walked over to the sofa, sitting beside her baby. She reached out with a trembling finger, letting Leo’s tiny hand close around it. The grip was impossibly tight.
""He looks like you,"" Julian said softly from the hearth.
""He has your eyes,"" she murmured without looking up. ""Dark, stubborn, impossible to read.""
Julian let out a weak, dry laugh that turned into a cough. ""Elena... there is something else you need to know about the night Leo was born.""
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Elena looked up, her pulse quickening. ""What else could there possibly be?""
""Your mother didn't die of natural causes at that clinic,"" Julian said, his voice barely louder than the crackling pine wood. ""She discovered what Marcus was planning. And she hid something in your old family apartment before they silenced her.""
