Chapter 4 - THE ULTIMATUM“I didn't sign anything, Julian!” I snapped, stepping away from the desk as if the papers were radioactive.
Julian’s chest heaved as he rushed forward, grabbing my arm and pulling me bodily out of the forbidden library. He slammed the heavy iron-reinforced door shut behind us, the loud bang echoing down the desolate hallway like thunder.
“Are you out of your mind?” Julian hissed, his grip tight on my arm. “Do you have any idea what kind of wasp nest you just kicked?”
“Your grandfather was telling me about Margaret!” I shot back, wrenching my arm out of his grasp. “Your first wife, Julian! The one your family committed to a psychiatric facility and erased like a bad business expense!”
Julian flinched as if I had physically struck him. He pressed his back against the cold wooden wall, sliding his hands down his face with a ragged groan.
“That’s… that’s family business, Ava. It’s not what you think—”
“Don't you dare lie to me anymore!” I shouted, my voice bouncing off the high ceilings. “You lied about having a son. You lied about your mother vetting me like a thoroughbred racehorse. And now I find out your family locks away inconvenient women who try to protect their children!”
“Margaret wasn't well!” Julian shouted back, his voice finally cracking, raw and desperate. “She tried to drive off a cliff with Noah in the backseat! My mother stepped in to save my son’s life! What would you have had us do? Let her kill him?”
The anger drained out of me, replaced by a chilling, hollow shock. I stared at my husband, the man I had married yesterday.
“Is that what happened?” I whispered.
Julian lowered his hands, his eyes shining with unshed tears. “Yes. Mom saved Noah. But… the cost was high. The control my mother holds over this estate, over my life, over my son—it’s absolute. That’s why she has rules, Ava. Because in this house, chaos gets people killed.”
A soft patter of footsteps echoed from the end of the hall.
We both froze.
Little Noah rounded the corner, his single blue sock trailing behind him, holding his plastic dinosaur. He stopped when he saw us arguing.
“Daddy? Are you yelling at Ava?” Noah asked, his lower lip trembling slightly.
Julian’s face softened instantly. He dropped to his knees, opening his arms. “No, buddy. Daddy’s just talking. Come here.”
Noah ran into his father's arms, burying his face in Julian’s shoulder. Julian looked up at me over his son’s head, his expression a plea for mercy.
“Ava. Please. Give us a chance. Just one week. Live here, learn how the house works, and if you still feel like you’re trapped in a cage… I’ll walk away with you. I’ll give up my stake in Ashford Enterprises, and we can leave it all behind.”
I looked at the little boy holding onto his father for dear life, and then at Julian, whose eyes held a desperate, broken sincerity.
Part of me knew it was a trap. Another part of me knew that running away wasn't an option anymore.
“One week,” I said coldly. “And if I find out there are more secrets? If I find out Margaret is still locked away somewhere in this mausoleum?”
“Then you can destroy us,” Julian whispered.
That evening, the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the Ashford estate in shades of bruised purple and gold.
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Little did we know, while we were making deals in the hallway, Eleanor Ashford was sitting in her private study down the hall, looking at live security feeds on her iPad, a thin, chilling smile playing on her lips.
She wasn't worried. Because in Ashford House, everyone played their assigned part—until they were replaced.
