Chapter 4 - The Paper TrailJulian didn't hire investigators—he knew that would forever shatter whatever thread of trust remained. Instead, he reached out to Elena’s older sister, Clara, who met him at a crowded coffee shop in Brooklyn.
Clara looked at Julian without malice, only exhaustion. "She doesn't want your money, Julian. You keep trying to send wire transfers to her checking account, and she keeps reversing them. Don't you see how offensive that is?"
"I don't know how else to help!" Julian confessed, leaning across the small table, running both hands over his face. For the first time in his adult life, he looked unkempt, the dark stubble around his jaw heavy, shadows under his eyes carved deep. "I don't know how to exist without solving a problem."
May you like
"She isn't a ledger, Julian. She is a woman having your son in less than five weeks," Clara replied softly. "Stop trying to buy her safety. If you want to show up, you have to dismantle the man you've become."
That evening, Julian walked back to his empty home. He looked at the paperwork spread across his dining table—contracts, portfolio reviews, NDAs. With deliberate, shaking hands, he shut down his work laptop, placed his phone in an office drawer, and locked it.
Related Stories
