Chapter 3 - THE WOLF IN THE SUITE"Julian," John said smoothly, instinctively stepping slightly to the side to shield Sophie from Julian's line of sight. "What are you doing here?"
Julian recovered his composure instantly, flashing a practiced, sympathetic smile as he walked closer. "The driver said your phone was off, John. You shouldn't be out here alone in the snow, torturing yourself on Christmas morning. The board needs you. Some anonymous documents were leaked to the financial press overnight regarding an old R&D initiative called... well, Project Phoenix."
John felt the air lock in his lungs.
Project Phoenix was leaked.
Which meant someone inside the inner circle knew about it, and they were already spinning the narrative before John had even laid eyes on the evidence.
"What do you know about Project Phoenix, Julian?" John asked, his voice dropping into the quiet, lethal register he used when closing hostile takeovers.
Julian chuckled softly, though his eyes remained hard as glass. "Me? Nothing at all, John. Just that it was a defunct division your late wife, Helen, used to fund through some philanthropic trust five years ago before it was scrapped. Rumor is, the press is trying to spin it as some kind of corporate negligence on our part. We need to head back to headquarters immediately and manage the PR fallout."
John looked at Julian, seeing the man he had trusted like a brother for twenty years. But for the first time, John noticed the subtle details: the offshore accounts Julian had requested to open last quarter, the strange discrepancies in the R&D budget, and the way Julian was looking at Sophie with undisguised menace.
"Go to the car, Sophie," John instructed quietly, never breaking eye contact with his COO.
"Mr. Blackwell—"
"Go," John repeated firmly, slipping the brass key into his inner pocket. "My driver will take you home. Stay there until I call."
Sophie nodded, running quickly toward the waiting vehicle where John’s loyal chauffeur, Marcus, held the door open for her.
As the car pulled away, Julian’s smile vanished completely.
May you like
"You're making a mistake, John," Julian said, his voice dropping its friendly facade. "That little girl has things that don't belong to you. Or rather, things that belong to Blackwell Industries."
"Nothing that belonged to Helen belongs to this company, Julian," John replied coldly. "And if you ever look at that child again, there won't be enough lawyers in New York to keep you out of federal prison."
