Chapter 7 - THE UNWELCOME BROTHERThe private elevator doors slid open with a soft, pneumatic hiss.
A man stepped out into the penthouse. He was younger than Julian by perhaps three years, sharing the same striking amber eyes and sharp facial structure, but where Julian wore his power like a tailored suit, this man wore his like an unpinned grenade.
Christian Vance.
He wore a leather jacket thrown carelessly over a black t-shirt, his dark hair slightly rumpled, a bloody split lip marring an otherwise aristocratic face. In his right hand, he carried a heavy metal briefcase.
"Well," Christian drawled, his voice carrying a rough, mocking cadence as he tossed the briefcase onto the pristine white rug. "Looks like domestic bliss agrees with you, brother. Though your security perimeter downstairs is getting a little rusty."
Julian stood up slowly, towering over his brother by a full two inches. The temperature in the room dropped instantly, freezing the air between them.
"You shouldn't be here, Christian," Julian said, his voice dangerously low. "Especially not looking like you just crawled out of a gutter in the East End."
"Oh, I didn't crawl," Christian laughed, wiping a drop of blood from his lip with the back of his thumb. He glanced over at me, his gaze sharp and appraising. "Evening, Nora. Sorry to interrupt your little post-assault celebration. But I figured you'd want to see this before the federal agents kick your front door down."
I stood up, crossing my arms over my chest. "See what, Christian?"
Christian kicked the metal briefcase with the toe of his boot. The latches popped open with a metallic snap, spilling a cascade of thick manila folders, encrypted hard drives, and heavy parchment documents across the white rug.
Julian walked over, knelt down, and picked up the topmost file. His eyes scanned the first page, and for the first time since I had known him, the color completely drained from his face.
"Where did you get this?" Julian asked, his voice shaking with a fury I had never heard before.
"From our dear uncle's private safe," Christian said, grinning wolfishly. "Turns out, the man who raised us didn't just kill our father for the family business twenty years ago... he had a silent partner. Someone who funded the hit. Someone who’s been pulling the strings of Vance Holdings from the shadows."
Julian stood up slowly, the paper crumpling in his clenched fist. "Who?"
May you like
Christian’s smile vanished, replaced by a grim, dead-eyed stare.
"Your father-in-law, Julian. Nora’s dead mother’s brother. The man you thought was just a retired shipping tycoon."
