Chapter 3 - The Paternity of Pain
The inside of the motel room broke Julian’s heart all over again. It was freezing. The radiator hissed but produced no heat. On the small, stained table sat two half-empty cans of cheap formula and a single sleeve of saltine crackers. This was how his wife had survived. This was what his arrogance had cost her.
Julian walked over to the dresser drawer. Elias and Lily were bundled together, their tiny chests rising and falling in perfect unison. They had his nose, his jawline, and the exact same shade of dark hair. They were beautiful. They were miracles born in the dirt.
He reached out, his large, shaking finger gently brushing against Elias’s cheek. The baby stirred, letting out a soft sigh, and Julian let out a choked sob, burying his face in his hands.
"I can't take your money, Julian," Claire said softly from the corner of the room. She was wrapping a thin shawl around her shoulders. "I can't go back to that house. I can't look at you and not see the man who told security to throw me into the street."
"I am not asking you to come back to the house," Julian said, standing up and wiping his face. "I don't deserve you. I don't expect your forgiveness. But I am the father of these children, and I will not let them spend another night in a place like this."
He pulled out his phone and made a call. Within twenty minutes, Marcus pulled up in a bulletproof SUV.
Julian had arranged a private, secure penthouse in a luxury building downtown—registered under a dummy corporation. It was heavily guarded, fully stocked with everything a mother and two infants could ever need, and completely untraceable by Vanessa.
"Go with Marcus," Julian pleaded, looking into Claire's wary eyes. "He is my most trusted man. He will protect you. You will have a private chef, a pediatrician on call, and absolute safety. I will not visit unless you explicitly ask me to. I just need to know you are safe."
May you like
Claire looked at the damp walls of the motel, then at her sleeping twins. Survival instinct overrode her pride. She nodded slowly.
As Marcus helped carry the babies to the warm SUV, Julian stood in the rain, watching them leave. He felt a strange, terrifying sense of peace. His family was safe. Now, it was time to go to war.
