Chapter 4 - The Debt Notice
The silence in the penthouse was suffocating after Eleanor and her legal team departed.
Julian stood by the window, his reflection ghostly against the dark glass and falling rain. He knew Eleanor wasn't bluffing. The port development project was fifty percent complete; if the credit line was pulled tomorrow, Sterling Global would face immediate insolvency.
Clara walked up behind him, stopping two paces away. "She's right, Julian."
Julian turned around sharply. "Don't say that."
"Your father built this company with his life," Clara said gently. "Victoria is horrible, but Eleanor holds your neck in her hands. If you lose the company over me—"
"It's not over you, Clara!" Julian interrupted, his voice rising with rare emotion. "It's over my son! It's over my dignity! I spent four years married to a woman who despised me because my father traded my happiness for a balance sheet!"
He stepped closer, reaching out to gently touch the edge of the bandage on her left palm.
"I let them drive you away once, Clara," Julian whispered. "I was twenty-two, broke, and terrified. I am thirty now. I own this skyline. I am not letting you go a second time."
Clara felt a warm tear slip down her cheek. "Julian, you have a board meeting at nine in the morning. They will demand Victoria’s reinstatement."
Julian’s eyes narrowed into a dark, calculating expression. "Then I suggest we give the board something else to discuss."
He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed a direct extension.
"Marcus," Julian commanded into the receiver. "Unseal the forensic audit we conducted on the Vance offshore accounts last month. Send a copy directly to the State Attorney General's office."
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Clara gasped. "Julian, what are you doing?"
"Eleanor thinks she owns my debt," Julian said with a cold, slow smile. "She forgot that I own her secrets."
