Chapter 7 - THE MAN WHO NEVER EXISTED
I froze on the stairs, the poker slipping slightly in my grip. Julian Carter. The man from the photograph. The name on the certificate. The man Elena had supposedly loved before me.
But Clara had said he died five years before Lily was born. Elena had said he was gone.
Yet here he stood. Alive. Real. Stepping into my hallway like he owned the place.
“Surprise,” Vanessa called out, smiling up at me. “You thought Elena told you everything.”
I descended slowly, keeping the railing between us. “You’re supposed to be dead.”
Julian spoke. His voice was deep, smooth, and entirely without warmth. “Elena always did know how to dramatize things. She told everyone I’d died so she could be free of me. She thought she could escape. She was wrong.”
“Free of you?” I gripped the poker tighter. “What did you do to her?”
“Nothing she didn’t deserve.” Julian glanced around the hallway, his gaze lingering on the staircase. “Where are they?”
“Where are who?”
“The children. Don’t play stupid. We know they’re here.” Vanessa stepped forward, her eyes gleaming. “Hand them over, Adrian. And we’ll leave you alive. Refuse… and we’ll do to you exactly what we did to Elena.”
The words hung in the air, sharp and deadly.
“You killed her,” I said quietly. “Both of you. With Marcus’s help.”
“Marcus is a means to an end.” Julian waved a hand dismissively. “He loves the sound of his own voice. He thinks he’s the mastermind. But he’s just a lawyer. A tool. I’m the one holding the keys.”
“Keys to what?”
“To everything. To Lily. To Elena’s fortune. To the life I was promised and she stole from me.” Julian took a step closer to the stairs. “Elena was mine. She carried my child. Then she faked my death, changed the records, and married you—some rich, convenient fool who could give her everything she wanted. She thought she could erase me. She thought she could rewrite history.”
“Lily is my daughter.”
“Is she?” Julian smirked. “That’s the beautiful part. Even Elena wasn’t entirely sure. But it doesn’t matter. The law says I’m the father. The documents say I’m the father. And that means Lily belongs to me. And everything of hers belongs to me.”
“You don’t care about Lily.”
“I care about what she represents.” Julian’s expression hardened. “Elena had wealth hidden away—assets, trusts, offshore accounts no one knew about. She left it all to Lily. With me as guardian. That’s why I’m here. That’s why Vanessa married you. That’s why Marcus arranged everything.”
“And Marcus?”
“Gets his share. Once everything is signed and sealed.” Julian nodded toward Vanessa. “She gets the house and the status. Marcus gets his revenge. And I get what Elena kept from me.”
I stared at them, seeing it all clearly now. Marcus had been the architect, but Julian was the prize. Vanessa had been the pawn. Three people, each motivated by greed, each believing they would walk away with everything. And none of them cared who got hurt along the way.
“Elena didn’t fake your death,” I said. “She changed the certificate because she was scared. Because Marcus told her to protect Lily. Because she chose me.”
“Liar.” Julian’s voice cracked like a whip. “She chose safety. She chose money. She chose a comfortable life instead of standing by the man she loved.”
“She loved you once. Then she saw who you really were.” I took another step down. “That’s why she hid everything. That’s why she changed the records. That’s why she wrote the letter. She knew you’d come back. She knew you’d try to take Lily. And she was right.”
Julian’s face darkened. “Enough talk. Bring me the children. Or I’ll tear this house apart to find them.”
“You won’t touch them.”
Vanessa laughed—a sharp, bitter sound. “Still playing the hero? You have no idea what we’re capable of, Adrian. We’ve waited seven years. We’ve planned every detail. We’re not leaving without them.”
“Then you’ll have to go through me.”
Julian’s eyes narrowed. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a knife. Long, thin, and gleaming.
“Fine,” he said. “We’ll do this the hard way.”
He lunged up the stairs.
I swung the poker. It connected with a heavy, sickening thud against his forearm. He grunted and stumbled back, the knife clattering onto the step below.
Vanessa screamed and rushed forward, clawing at my face. I shoved her away. She stumbled, caught herself, and lunged again.
Julian recovered quickly, grabbing my leg and yanking me off balance. I fell hard against the banister, my head striking the wood. Stars burst across my vision.
He scrambled up, fist raised, and drove it into my stomach. I doubled over, gasping for air.
“Stupid,” Julian spat. “You never should have married her. You never should have touched what’s mine.”
He raised the poker I had dropped. Vanessa stood behind him, watching, eyes bright with anticipation.
“Now,” Julian said, “tell me where you hid them. Or I make you watch while I find them myself.”
I gasped, struggling to stand. “They’re safe. And the police—”
“The police are occupied. Remember?” Julian stepped closer. “Last chance.”
Then—from upstairs—a voice rang out. Clear, steady, and terrifyingly calm.
“Put it down.”
May you like
Julian froze. He and Vanessa both looked up.
Standing at the top of the stairs, holding Elena’s heavy brass candlestick in both hands, was Clara.
