I saw my husband’s hand on another woman before I saw his face. / Chapter 36 / 50

Chapter 36 - The Venetian Seal

Before Julian could dive into the black water, a woman's voice echoed through the cavern, amplified by a megaphone from the deck of the tender.

"Julian Thorne! Emily Vance! You have five minutes to bring Arthur’s box to the water’s edge, or my divers will detonate the keel charges already attached to your beautiful yacht!"

My blood turned to ice. They had already found the *Aegis*.

Julian’s jaw clenched so violently the veins stood out along his neck. He stepped out from the overhang, pulling me behind his broad frame, his hand resting on the heavy grip of his sidearm.

"Helena Cassian!" Julian shouted back, his voice cutting through the crash of the surf like steel. "If your divers detonate those charges, the waterproof radio beacon inside this box automatically transmits Arthur Vance’s microfilm directly to the International Maritime Organization in London! Your family’s empire ends in twenty seconds!"

A cold, mocking laugh drifted across the water. On the bow of the tender, a woman stepped into view. She was tall, dressed in tailored charcoal linen, her dark hair swept back in a severe, elegant chignon. Her eyes were sharp, calculating, and utterly devoid of mercy.

"Julian," she said smoothly. "Always the romantic protector. You inherited your father’s gallantry, and his predictable flaws. Did Arthur really tell you this was about money? Or maritime registers?"

I stepped out beside Julian, refusing to cower behind him. "The Cassian family were thieves," I called out, my voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through my veins. "You built your fortune on sunken blood, and you murdered my father's peace to hide it!"

Helena looked at me, her gaze lingering on my face with an unsettling intensity. "Your father didn't run from my grandfather, little girl. Arthur Vance was my grandfather’s partner. Until he betrayed him, took the third key, and left my family to rot under international sanctions!"

The revelation hit me like a physical blow. I looked down at the open ledger in Julian's hands. At the bottom of the royal charter, beneath the ornate seal of the Greek crown, were two signatures written side by side in fading blue ink: