Chapter 8 - The Sibling’s Vengeance"Julian," I breathed, my knees shaking so violently I could barely remain standing. "You're supposed to be dead."
"Dead? Oh, please," Julian laughed softly, stepping into the red-lit room. The silver anchor cufflink gleamed on his left wrist. "Adrian is a master of brute force, but he’s always been an idiot when it comes to family. He thought a staged boating accident in international waters would get rid of me? I owned the captains who signed the reports."
He took another step closer, raising the pistol slightly. "And you... you must be the wet nurse. The replacement mother. It's almost poetic, isn't it? Dying in the same room where my sister's memory is worshiped like a shrine."
"Adrian isn't going to let you walk out of here," I said, trying to buy time, though my mind raced desperately for an exit. "His men are searching every inch of this estate."
Julian chuckled, a dark, chilling sound. "His men? My dear Hannah, do you really think Victor Vance worked for Adrian out of loyalty? Victor has been on my payroll since before Isabel was even pregnant. The guards down in the tunnels right now are walking into a crossfire of trip mines and automated turrets. By the time Adrian realizes he's walking into his own grave, it will be over."
Julian shifted his grip on the gun, aiming directly at the bundle in my arms. "Now, hand over my nephew. Let's make it quick."
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My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. I looked down at tiny Lucas, who had started to wake up, his little face scrunching up as if sensing the mortal danger in the room.
I couldn't fight him with brute force. I didn't have a weapon. But I had something Julian didn't expect: a mother's desperate fury.
