Chapter 11 - BLOOD OF THE CROSS FAMILY
Nathaniel tested the chains.
Solid steel.
Julian poured two glasses of bourbon.
“You still drink this?”
Nathaniel stared at him.
“I’m going to kill you.”
Julian smiled.
“So Father was wrong.”
“About what?”
“He always said you had no imagination.”
Nathaniel scanned the room.
Concrete walls.
Industrial pipes.
No windows.
“You kidnapped me to make jokes?”
“I kidnapped you because you refuse to listen.”
Julian placed a glass near Nathaniel.
Nathaniel ignored it.
“Carol?”
“Alive.”
“Ivy?”
“Safe.”
Nathaniel’s eyes narrowed.
Julian raised both hands.
“I don’t hurt children.”
“You worked with Vanessa.”
“She was useful until she became unstable.”
“She tried to kidnap Ivy.”
“And now she’s where she belongs.”
Nathaniel almost laughed.
“You expect gratitude?”
“I expect perspective.”
Julian sat across from him.
“Father ruined both of us.”
Nathaniel said nothing.
“He made me believe I would inherit everything. Then when I disappointed him, he replaced me with you.”
“You stole company assets.”
“I borrowed.”
“You gambled them.”
Julian shrugged.
“So I made mistakes.”
“You faked your death.”
“I escaped.”
“You helped Hale steal from our ports.”
“I built an independent operation.”
Nathaniel leaned forward.
“And David Bennett?”
For the first time, Julian’s smile faded.
“Collateral damage.”
Nathaniel surged against the chains.
Julian remained seated.
“That phrase bothers you?”
“He was Carol’s husband.”
“Yes.”
“He was Ivy’s father.”
“Yes.”
Nathaniel’s voice dropped.
“You destroyed their family.”
Julian stared.
“No.”
“Don’t.”
“Malcolm did.”
Nathaniel froze.
Julian stood.
“Your beloved father could have protected David.”
“He panicked.”
“He calculated.”
Julian walked closer.
“He discovered my smuggling network through David. If authorities investigated, Cross stock would collapse. Federal prosecutors would examine everything.”
“So he covered it up.”
“He protected the empire.”
Nathaniel looked away.
“That’s what you’re doing now,” Julian said.
Nathaniel turned back.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You threaten employees.”
“I encourage loyalty.”
“You bombed the foundation.”
“I destroyed records.”
“You nearly killed people.”
Julian leaned down.
“And yet nobody died.”
“Luck.”
“Planning.”
Nathaniel studied his brother.
“You really believe you’re different from Vanessa?”
Julian’s face tightened.
“She was cruel for pleasure.”
“And you’re cruel for profit.”
“I’m practical.”
Nathaniel smiled bitterly.
“That’s exactly what Father used to say.”
Julian went silent.
The comparison struck deeper than Nathaniel expected.
Outside the room, a door slammed.
Julian looked toward it.
Nathaniel noticed.
“You nervous?”
“No.”
“Arthur’s coming.”
“Arthur is busy.”
“With what?”
Julian smiled again.
“Keeping Carol alive.”
Nathaniel’s expression changed.
Julian saw it.
“There’s the weakness.”
“If you touched her—”
“I told you. I didn’t.”
“Then who did?”
“Everett hired contractors without my authorization.”
Nathaniel’s stomach sank.
“Where is she?”
Julian checked his watch.
“If Arthur is as good as Father claimed, she’s probably leaving Cross Tower now.”
“You lost control of your own people.”
Julian’s smile disappeared.
Nathaniel leaned back.
“You wanted to resurrect the Cross empire. Instead you built another Hale family.”
“Shut up.”
“Men who pretend they’re powerful until the people underneath them stop being afraid.”
Julian struck Nathaniel across the face.
Blood filled his mouth.
Nathaniel laughed.
“There you are.”
Julian grabbed his collar.
“I am the rightful heir.”
“You’re a ghost begging dead men for approval.”
Julian punched him again.
Nathaniel’s head snapped sideways.
But he kept smiling.
Because anger made Julian careless.
Nathaniel had just noticed a camera in the corner.
And beneath it—
A blinking transmitter.
Cross Industries equipment.
Arthur could track it.
Julian stepped away.
“Sign control of the company to me.”
“No.”
“You haven’t seen the documents.”
“No.”
“If you refuse, Cross Industries collapses.”
“Then it collapses.”
Julian stared.
Nathaniel continued.
“My father protected the company instead of protecting people.”
He spat blood onto the floor.
“I won’t repeat his mistake.”
Julian’s composure cracked.
“You would destroy our name for that woman?”
“For Carol?”
Nathaniel smiled.
“I’d destroy a thousand companies.”
Meanwhile, six miles away, Arthur stared at a map.
A signal blinked beneath Calumet Harbor.
He looked at Carol.
“We found him.”
Carol picked up her coat.
“I’m coming.”
Arthur shook his head.
“Nathaniel would kill me.”
“If you leave me behind, I’ll drive myself.”
Arthur stared at her for three seconds.
Then sighed.
“I finally understand why he loves you.”
Carol grabbed a bulletproof vest.
“Good.”
May you like
She looked at the blinking signal.
“Now help me bring him home.”
