Chapter 2 - The Deadbolt
Mia clutched the wooden spoon to her chest, her dark eyes reflecting the dim, yellowish glow of the hallway light above them. She didn't repeat the phrase. Instead, she shrank back against the damp brick wall, her gaze shifting past Julian’s shoulder toward the top of the stairs.
A shadow fell over the landing.
"Julian? Good god, man, my staff said you wandered down into the sub-basement."
The voice belonged to Richard Van Der Bilt. It was smooth, rich, and dripping with the casual arrogance of a man who had spent seventy years believing the laws of the universe stopped at his property line. His polished Italian loafers clicked sharply on the top step as he began to descend, his tuxedo jacket catching the light.
Julian did not stand up. He did not turn around to greet his host. He kept his eyes locked on Mia, watching how her tiny shoulders began to tremble the second she heard Richard’s voice.
"Richard," Julian said, his voice terrifyingly flat. "Why is there a toddler locked in your wine cellar?"
Richard let out a dry, dismissive chuckle, though there was a sharp edge of tension beneath it. "Locked? Don't be melodramatic, Julian. She’s one of the laundress's children. These immigrant girls bring their kids to work, and the brats wander into every nook and cranny of the estate. I’ve told the housekeeper a dozen times to keep them out of the main house."
Julian stood up slowly. He was six feet two inches of lean, tailored menace, a man who had built a multi-billion-dollar empire from nothing by reading the lies people told with their posture. He turned to face the older tycoon.
"Is that right?" Julian asked softly. "Then perhaps you can explain why the door at the top of these stairs has an external heavy-duty deadbolt installed at eye level."
Richard’s forced smile faltered. His jaw tightened. "I have no idea what the contractors install down here, Julian. Now come upstairs. The board members from the real estate trust are waiting for you in the conservatory. We have a fifty-million-dollar waterfront development to finalize."
"We don't have anything to finalize," Julian replied.
He stripped off his bespoke charcoal cashmere jacket. Ignoring Richard’s gasp of disapproval, Julian knelt back down on the freezing stone floor and wrapped the warm, heavy fabric around Mia’s shivering shoulders. The jacket swallowed her entirely, but she didn't fight him. When he gently slid his arms under her small frame and lifted her against his chest, she weighed less than a briefcase of documents.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Richard snapped, stepping down to block the narrow staircase. "Put the child down, Julian. My staff will handle her."
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Julian’s eyes turned to ice. "If you don't step out of my way in the next three seconds, Richard, I will buy out your primary corporate debt by midnight and initiate a hostile seizure of your corporate headquarters by sunrise. Move."
For a long, agonizing second, the old aristocrat weighed his pride against his wallet. Slowly, his shoulder dropped, and he pressed himself against the damp brick wall to let Julian pass.
