“That’s it,” he whispered, his hold tightening. “I’ve decided. I’m going to help you. We’re going to build them up so high. And then I’m going to tear it down. The fall will be spectacular.”
The words should have chilled me. Instead, they felt like a lullaby. He wasn’t just going to save me. He was going to burn the prison down for me. I wanted to hand him the match.
Chapter 24
Julian
Before coming downstairs, I watched her sleep. In the pale, pre-dawn light filtering through the blinds, Elara was a study in the kind of surrender that only happens when the truly weary finally find peace. The fierceness was gone. Her hand was curled under her cheek, the profound exhaustion she’d been fighting for years finally claiming its victory.
I didn't turn from the kitchen island when the front door opened. I already knew the rhythm of those footsteps.
“You’re early,” I said, my voice low.
“Traffic was a dream. Where is she?”
I finally glanced over. My mother stood in the doorway of my penthouse, a single leather weekender at her feet. She was in her uniform—cashmere and tailored trousers—her gaze already sweeping the space, cataloging what she would change to make herself more comfortable.
“Still asleep. Don’t wake her.”
“Fine.” She shrugged out of her coat. “The files?”
I nudged the tablet toward her. It contained every financial report, medical invoice, and contract I’d been able to pull from the Ashworth servers. She scrolled through them swiftly. Her silence was a heavy, potent thing.
“They’re not just bleeding,” she said, setting the tablet down with a softtap. “They’ve severed an artery and are using the company’s liquid assets to try and staunch it. It’s amateurish.”
“She feels responsible.”
“She was conditioned to,” my mother replied, accepting the espresso I handed her. “Guilt is a more effective shackle than any contract. This boy—Alastair. He’s the one who breathes down her neck?”
The memory of his sneering face in the hospital was a fresh coal in my gut. “He’s like a spectator to a fire he started, complaining about the smoke.”
My mother’s eyes, the same sharp green as mine, locked onto mine. “To truly solve a problem, Julian, you must own it. Or dismantle it. There is no middle ground with parasites.” She took a sip of her coffee. “She is remarkable. To have survived that family with her mind intact.”
“She is.”
“Then let’s get her free.”
“What did you mean,” I asked, remembering her earlier warning, “when you said Elara iswanted?”
She grinned. “I’ve heard her name in private studies, over very old whiskey. From men who don’t typically notice other men’s wives. Powerful men. The kind who see a brilliant woman who can run a collapsing empire alone without breaking.” Her eyes turned cold. “They see her strength, and they are calculating. They aren't watching out of admiration, Julian. They're watching because they want her for themselves. Get her free,mon cœur. Or someone else will.”
Something primal curled in my chest. “Over my dead body.”
“Then act accordingly. It would be an honor to have her as a daughter-in-law.”
An hour later, the soft pad of bare feet on hardwood made us both look up. Elara stood at the entrance to the living area, wrapped in an old sweater of mine that swallowed her. Her hair was a sleep-tousled cloud.
I watched the realization dawn—the slight stiffening of her spine, the quick, self-conscious hand smoothing her hair. The CEO was gone; in her place was a woman caught off guard by her lover’s mother.
“Ah,” my mother said, the boardroom frost melting into a real smile. “You’re awake.”
“Elara,” I said, walking toward her. “This is my mother, Vivienne. Mother, this is Elara.”
“So you’re the reason my son has developed a conscience,” Vivienne said. “And the reason he called in the cavalry at dawn. Come. Sit.”
Elara hesitated for a second before her innate grace took over. She sat, folding her hands in her lap. “Mrs. Hale. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were coming. I must look…”
“You look like a woman who has been carrying a mountain,” my mother interrupted. “And we are here to help you put it down. My son tells me you’re terrified.”
