Chapter 4 - THE CONFESSION UNDER THE CHANDELIERJulian scrambled backward on his hands and knees, wiping the blood from his mouth, his eyes wide with absolute panic as I stood over him, my shadow swallowing him whole.
“You hit me,” Julian sputtered, his voice cracking with humiliation in front of Manhattan’s high society. “You broke my jaw in front of everyone! I’ll have you arrested! I’ll have you locked up in Attica!”
“Try it,” I murmured, leaning down and grabbing him by the silk lapels of his custom Brioni suit, hoisting him up until his toes barely touched the polished wood. “Try calling the police, Julian. Try explaining to the District Attorney why your IP address was used to threaten my wife and my unborn child tonight.”
Julian froze. All the color drained from his face, leaving him looking like a corpse under the makeup. “Your... your wife? Hannah? She’s... she’s your ex-wife. The divorce was finalized three months ago.”
“A piece of paper doesn't change blood, Julian,” I growled, shaking him like a ragdoll. “You thought you could break her to get to me? You thought because I let her walk away that she was fair game for your petty intimidation tactics?”
“I didn't know she was pregnant!” Julian choked out, his hands clawing uselessly at my wrists. “I swear to God, Jack, I didn't know! I just wanted her out of the way so she wouldn't try to contest the settlement! I sent her a warning to back off the property dispute! That was all!”
“A warning?” I pressed my thumb into his collarbone, hitting a nerve that made him shriek. “You sent men to her apartment. You cut off her utilities. You terrified a woman carrying my child into malnutrition and internal bleeding.”
“Jack! Jack, please!” Julian wept, all his corporate bravado completely evaporated. “We’re brothers! We share blood!”
“We stopped sharing blood the moment you threatened my family,” I said coldly.
Before I could finish the sentence, my satellite phone buzzed in my pocket.
I didn't take my eyes off Julian. With my left hand, I pulled out the phone and pressed it to my ear.
“Speak,” I ordered.
May you like
Dr. Lawson’s voice came through the speaker, breathless and trembling.
“Mr. Callahan... the baby is out. An emergency C-section. But... complications. You need to get back here right now.”
