Chapter 27 - The Final Will of Julian’s Past
Julian didn’t move. For the first time since the night he broke into the Greenwich estate to pull me from Victoria's clutches, his composed, unshakeable exterior shattered completely.
"That's my father's seal," Julian said, his voice hollow, barely carrying across the vault.
"Your father?" I stared between him and the envelope. "You told me your father was an appellate judge in Boston who died of a stroke ten years ago."
"He was," Julian said, stepping toward the table as if walking through deep water. His hands shook slightly as he picked up the envelope. "He was a judge. But before that... he was Arthur Dre’s primary legal counsel in Zurich."
Eleanor watched him with a sorrowful, knowing gaze. "Jonathan Mercer was the only man who refused to sign off on Victoria's declaration of my insanity, Elena. When Matthias bought the courts, Jonathan took the Claire files, brought them here to Geneva, and placed them under perpetual seal."
"He didn't die of a stroke, Elena," Julian whispered, turning the envelope over in his hands. His gray eyes were dark with an old, festering pain. "I found him in his study with an empty glass of scotch and a bottle of digitalis. The police called it suicide. But three days before he died, he sent me a single text message: *If you ever find Eleanor Dre’s daughter, protect her with your life.*"
The room spun around me. The pieces of the puzzle fell together with terrifying clarity.
"You didn't take my divorce case by coincidence," I said, step by step backing toward Maya’s pram. The sting of betrayal was sudden and blinding. "You didn't just stumble upon my file at the legal aid clinic."
"Elena, no," Julian said, stepping toward me with desperate urgency, reaching for my hands. "I swear to you, I didn't know who you were when I first saw your petition. But when I saw your mother’s maiden name on the sealed appendix, I knew why my father died. He died protecting your existence. I stayed because... because the moment I saw you fighting for your baby, I realized you were the only innocent thing left in this entire godforsaken bloodline."
"Read the letter, Julian," Eleanor commanded softly. "Your father knew Victoria would come for you, too."
Julian broke the black wax with a trembling thumb and unfolded the single sheet of yellowed legal parchment.
As his eyes scanned the lines, a sharp, choked gasp escaped his throat.
May you like
"It wasn't suicide," Julian read aloud, his voice dropping to a dangerous, icy whisper. "Victoria didn't hire the hit on my father. It was signed by Arthur Dre’s second son. The child Victoria had before she married Arthur... the brother Matthias never knew existed."
***
