Chapter 6 - Blood and Ink
Julian’s ears rang with a deafening whine. The room seemed to dissolve around him, leaving only the sound of his own racing heartbeat. Emma. The girl he had held as an infant, whose small hand had wrapped around his thumb, whose laugh was the only thing that could pierce through the suffocating darkness of his work. She was Clara’s child.
"You stole her," Marcus breathed, his aristocratic veneer cracking to reveal an agonizing fury. "You murdered my daughter and stole her newborn infant to secure your place in the Sterling dynasty."
"Clara was dying!" Victoria screamed, losing all semblance of control. "She was infected, her lungs were full of seawater! She would have died anyway! I saved that child! I gave her a life, a name, an empire!"
"You gave her a cage," Julian said, his voice terrifyingly calm. He looked at the woman he had shared a bed with for seven years, feeling nothing but a vast, hollow disgust. "And Maria? Why frame her? Why try to send an innocent woman to prison?"
"Because Maria found the medical records," Detective Vance’s voice came from the threshold.
Julian turned sharply. Vance was standing at the entrance of the dining room, his service weapon drawn and resting casually at his side, pointed toward the floor. Behind him, the corridor was dark.
"Vance, where is Emma?" Julian demanded, taking an instinctive step forward.
"She’s secure, Mr. Sterling," Vance said, his face an emotionless mask. "With Maria. In the study."
"Why did you leave them?" Julian asked, a sickening knot forming in his stomach.
Vance didn't answer Julian. Instead, he looked at Marcus Kane and bowed his head slightly. "The perimeter is sealed, Mr. Kane. Your transport will be at the rear gate in five minutes. The documents regarding the Sterling holdings have been cleared from the safe."
May you like
Julian froze. He looked from Vance to Marcus, the pieces locking together in a horrifying realization. Vance hadn't been investigating Victoria for Julian. He had been working for Marcus Kane all along.
"I promised I would find my granddaughter, Julian," Marcus said, adjusting his coat. "And I never leave empty-handed."
