Chapter 2 - The House of Cards
Vanessa Sterling was frantically pacing the grand vestibule when the armored SUV returned. She had spent the last two hours rehearsing her tears, perfecting her narrative. Clara was a deranged, jealous servant. That was the story.
When the heavy oak doors swung open, Vanessa rushed forward, her hands clasped together in a pantomime of desperate prayer.
"Julian! Darling, is she alright?" Vanessa cried. "I’ve been out of my mind with worry! Where is that lunatic Clara? Have the police arrested her yet?"
Julian walked in alone. He didn't take off his coat. He didn't offer a reassuring smile. He simply stared at her, his expression as unreadable and terrifying as a calm ocean before a hurricane.
"Mia is resting," Julian said smoothly. "Dr. Vance ran some toxicology reports."
Vanessa’s perfectly contoured face twitched. The fabricated tears instantly dried up. "Toxicology?" she echoed, her voice pitching slightly higher. "Why on earth would he do that? The girl fell."
"Barbiturates, Vanessa," Julian stated, taking a slow, predatory step toward her. "Chronic exposure. Traces of heavy sedatives designed for adults, forced into a fifteen-month-old child."
"That... that nanny must have done it!" Vanessa shrieked, backing away as Julian advanced. "I told you she was unhinged, Julian! She’s trying to frame me!"
Julian didn't shout. He didn't need to. "Dr. Vance also noted the bruising patterns on my daughter's arm. Defensive trauma. The kind that occurs when a child is violently dragged by someone wearing stilettos."
He pointed a single, gloved finger at the hardwood floor, right where the altercation had happened. "Clara didn't drop my daughter. You tried to break her."
Vanessa’s elegant facade crumbled into sheer panic. "Julian, you have to listen to me! That child is a nightmare! She constantly whines for her dead mother! I just needed her to be quiet so we could have a normal life!"
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The confession hung in the air, vile and toxic.
Julian’s eyes went completely black. "My men are outside. You have exactly three minutes to pack whatever you can carry. If you are still in my house when the clock strikes, you will never leave it."
