Chapter 4 - The Ghost in the Drawer
Julian froze, the newly restored oxygen stalling in his lungs. He stared at the four-year-old girl, convinced his oxygen-deprived brain was hallucinating.
“What did you say?” Julian demanded, his voice shaking.
Maya pointed a small finger at the silver frame. “That’s my daddy in the picture. He’s in heaven now. But he told me in a dream that you have a blue phone in your drawer. He said you never listened to his message.”
Julian’s eyes slowly tracked to the silver frame. It was a photograph of his younger brother, David. Ten years ago, David had been accused of embezzling fifty million dollars from the Sterling conglomerate. Disgraced and disowned by Julian and their father, David had vanished into the night. Three years ago, a private investigator had informed Julian that David had died in a car accident in a working-class neighborhood in Queens.
Julian scrambled to his feet, ignoring the lingering weakness in his legs. He yanked open the bottom drawer of his mahogany desk. Beneath a stack of legal pads was a cheap, blue, prepaid burner phone. David had mailed it to him eight years ago. Julian, paralyzed by anger and betrayal, had tossed it in the drawer and never charged it.
He stared at the girl. Her hazel eyes—the exact same shade as David’s. The wild dark curls. The shape of her jaw.
My God, Julian thought, the realization hitting him with the force of a freight train. She’s David’s daughter. She’s my niece.
He looked frantically around the empty office. “Maya, who brought you here? Where is your mother?”
Before Maya could answer, the heavy double doors to the executive suite burst open.
Elena Rossi stood in the doorway, her cleaning caddy dropped on the floor behind her. Her face was entirely drained of color, her eyes wide with unadulterated terror. She saw her daughter sitting on the rug next to the billionaire CEO of the company.
“Maya!” Elena screamed, sprinting across the room. She scooped the little girl into her arms, pressing Maya’s face into her shoulder. She looked up at Julian, her body trembling violently.
“I am so sorry, Mr. Sterling,” Elena sobbed, stepping backward toward the door. “My babysitter canceled. I had no money. Please, I beg you, don't call the police. Fire me, but please don't have me arrested. She’s just a child.”
May you like
Julian stood perfectly still, his eyes locked on Elena. He recognized her. He had seen her face in the investigator’s file three years ago. The woman David had married in secret. The woman David had left behind.
“I’m not going to fire you,” Julian said, his voice terrifyingly calm. “Shut the door, Elena. We need to talk.”
