Chapter 1 - The Edge of the Abyss
The gravelly voice cut through the howling wind like an iron blade.
Lady Victoria's leather heel froze an inch above Clara’s bleeding knuckles. She turned her head slowly, her face paling as the elevator doors slid shut behind a towering figure in a charcoal suit.
Julian Sterling stepped onto the balcony, his jaw set like granite, his dark eyes fixed on his wife’s raised shoe. Behind him stood two armed private security guards, their hands resting on their holster holsters.
"Julian!" Victoria gasped, instantly dropping her foot and twisting her face into a mask of hysterical panic. "Thank God you're home! The nanny—she tried to drop Leo! She ran onto the balcony with him!"
Clara didn't waste her breath arguing. She gritted her teeth, pulled with her remaining upper-body strength, and hauled the infant over the metal railing. She gathered tiny Leo against her chest, curling her body into a protective ball on the concrete floor.
Leo buried his wet face into Clara’s yellow dress, his small body trembling violently as he sobbed.
Julian didn't look at Victoria. He walked past his wife as if she were made of glass, dropping to one knee beside Clara. He reached down, his large, warm hand covering Clara’s torn knuckles.
"Are you holding him?" Julian asked, his voice unexpectedly soft, completely devoid of his usual corporate detachment.
"I have him," Clara rasped, her throat raw from screaming. "He's safe, Julian. He's safe."
Victoria’s eyes widened as she heard her husband’s first name drop from the nanny’s mouth so casually. "Julian? What is the meaning of this? Why are you touching her? Send these guards to arrest her!"
Julian stood up slowly, turning to face his wife. The warmth in his eyes vanished, replaced by an icy, predatory glare that made Victoria take a step backward against the glass railing.
"I watched the live security feed in my car, Victoria," Julian said quietly, pulling a sleek black smartphone from his breast pocket. "From the moment you spilled spit-up on your dress to the moment you lifted my son over the edge."
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Victoria’s breath hitched in her throat. Her hand instinctively flew to her mouth.
"You're done, Victoria," Julian stated, gesturing to his guards. "Escort Mrs. Sterling to the ground floor. She is not to take a single personal item from this property."
