Chapter 4 - The Threat in the Garden
Julian strolled into the library with the arrogant swagger of a man who had never faced a single consequence in his pampered life.
He wore an Italian linen shirt unbuttoned to his chest, gold chains glinting against his tanned skin, and eyes that held the cold cruelty of a sociopath.
"Julian, get out of this room before I have security throw you off the estate," Alexander warned, his voice dangerously low.
"This is my father's house as much as yours, Alexander," Julian sneered, setting his bourbon glass down on the mahogany table right on top of the yellowed ledger. "And you have no right to bring some back-alley con artist in here to challenge our trust."
He turned his full attention toward me, stepping uncomfortably close until I could smell the stale alcohol and expensive cologne wafting from him.
"You played a cute little trick at the café, didn't you, sweetheart?" Julian whispered maliciously. "You found out an old lady with Parkinson's was eating lunch alone, and you staged a tearjerker scene to wiggle your way into a billionaire's wallet."
"I had no idea who she was," I replied, refusing to back down, my chin lifted high despite the tremor in my legs. "I saw a human being who was struggling to eat, and I helped her. Something you clearly know nothing about."
Julian's face flushed with sudden anger, his hand twitching toward my arm.
Before his fingers could even graze my sleeve, Alexander's hand clamped onto Julian's wrist like a hydraulic vise.
The sound of bones grinding together was sickeningly audible in the quiet room.
Julian let out a sharp, choked gasp of pain, dropping to his knees as Alexander twisted his arm behind his back with effortless, lethal precision.
"Touch her again," Alexander whispered into Julian's ear, "and you will leave this property in an ambulance. Do you understand me?"
"Let go of me, you lunatic!" Julian wheezed, his face contorting into an ugly red mask of agony. "My father will file an injunction against you tomorrow morning! We'll have the board remove you by Friday!"
Alexander shoved Julian forward onto the Persian rug with total contempt.
Julian scrambled to his feet, rubbing his bruised wrist, his eyes burning with pure, murderous hatred as he backed toward the exit.
"You think you've won, don't you?" Julian spat, looking between Alexander and me. "Wait until the media finds out the great Alexander Carter is handing company assets to a trailer-park waitress. We will drag your name through every tabloid in the country."
He slammed the door behind him, his footsteps fading down the marble corridor.
Evelyn let out a long, ragged sigh from her chair, her hands trembling so severely that she couldn't set her teacup down without spilling it.
I immediately knelt beside her, wrapping my steady hands around hers to keep the cup balanced.
"Don't let them frighten you, Emily," Evelyn whispered, looking into my eyes with profound warmth. "They are cowards. They have always been cowards who hide behind money and threats."
"I'm not frightened for myself, Aunt Evelyn," I said softly, the word feeling unfamiliar yet deeply right on my tongue. "I'm worried about what they might do to you."
Alexander watched the two of us from across the room, the hard, predatory edge in his eyes softening into something resembling awe.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and pressed a single speed-dial button.
"Marcus," Alexander spoke into the line. "Double the personal security detail at the main residence immediately. Bring in the tactical team from our Dallas sector. Nobody enters or leaves without my personal biometric clearance."
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He hung up and looked down at me, a faint, rare smile touching the corners of his lips.
"You have Clara's courage, Emily," Alexander said quietly. "Tomorrow morning at nine, we are going to the central vault. It's time to tear down my uncle's empire piece by piece."
