Chapter 6 - The Unraveling Plot
Richard was dragged away by federal authorities in handcuffs, facing charges of attempted murder, home invasion, corporate espionage, and child abuse. He was looking at twenty-five years to life in a maximum-security prison without the possibility of parole.
However, during Richard’s interrogation, the FBI discovered something far more sinister.
Richard hadn't bypassed Julian’s high-tech security system on his own. He was a small-town brute; he didn't have the technical skills to disable a $50 million perimeter power grid. Someone inside Julian’s inner circle had given Richard the security codes and paid off the night guard.
Two days after the break-in, Julian summoned me to his private study in the mansion.
The room was lit by a roaring fireplace. Julian stood near the window, holding a glass of scotch, looking exhausted and grim.
"Did they find out who helped Richard?" I asked softly, sitting in the armchair across from his grand mahogany desk.
"Yes," Julian said, turning to face me. "It was my late wife’s family. The Montgomerys."
I gasped. "Clara's parents?"
"They never approved of me," Julian explained bitterly. "When Clara died in childbirth, they tried to gain custody of Leo to secure control over Clara’s $200 million trust fund. When I refused to surrender my son, they realized they needed a way to prove I was an unfit father living in an unsafe environment."
He took a slow sip of his drink. "They monitored my flight records, saw that I hired you, and discovered Richard was hunting you. They secretly funded Richard’s travel to New York, gave him the estate’s security bypass codes, and waited for him to cause a tragedy so they could file for emergency custody of Leo."
My stomach turned. "They were willing to put Leo’s life in danger just for money?"
"Greed makes people monsters, Elena," Julian said, his eyes locking onto mine with deep sincerity. "I spent years believing that my wealth could buy safety for the people I care about. But the truth is... my wealth put a target on my son's back."
He walked over and sat on the edge of the desk right in front of me, taking my hands into his broad, warm palm.
"I need to settle this in court once and for all," Julian whispered. "The Montgomerys have filed a formal custody petition claiming I am raising Leo in a chaotic environment with an unmarried, unrelated female employee living in the house."
I felt a sudden pang of fear. "Are they going to take him from you?"
"Not if I change your status," Julian said, his gray eyes searching my face with intense emotion.
May you like
"Change my status?" I echoed, my heart skipping a beat.
"Marry me, Elena," Julian proposed softly. "Become my wife. A legally binding marriage will destroy their custody claim instantly. We can present a unified, unbreakable family unit to the court."
