Chapter 2 - The Fortress Room
The words froze Julian to his core.
They will kill this baby.
Before Marcus could reach the foyer, Julian acted on pure instinct. He grabbed Elena by the waist, ignoring her faint protests, and lifted her slightly to clear the spilled liquid. He turned to his security detail—his own personal guards whom he had hired long before Marcus was pushed onto his team.
"Gabriel! Thomas!" Julian barked. "Contain Marcus. Do not let him near a phone. Take Camila to the executive lounge and hold her there."
"Julian! Are you insane?!" Camila shrieked as Gabriel blocked her path. "You’re choosing her?!"
Julian ignored her entirely. He scooped Elena into his arms—shocked by how light she felt despite her heavy pregnancy—and carried her directly into the private executive elevator, pressing the button for the penthouse suite he had booked for the weekend.
The elevator doors slid shut, sealing out the chaotic noise of the lobby.
In the quiet, mirrored cabin, Elena buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking with violent, silent sobs. Julian set her gently down on the velvet leather bench built into the elevator wall, kneeling before her on the floor.
"Elena," he murmured, gently pulling her hands away from her face. "Look at me. You're safe. I swear on my life, no one is going to touch you."
"You don't understand, Julian," she choked out, staring at him with dark, haunted eyes. "Marcus isn't your guard. He’s your mother’s handler. He was sent to make sure I never returned."
Julian felt as though the floor beneath him was giving way. "My mother? Victoria? What does she have to do with this?"
Elena let out a bitter, heartbroken laugh. "She gave me a choice eight months ago, Julian. A choice between my life... or yours."
The elevator chimed softly as it reached the penthouse floor.
Julian helped her stand, guiding her into the opulent, two-story penthouse suite. He immediately locked the heavy oak doors, engaged the electronic security deadbolts, and drew the sheer curtains across the floor-to-ceiling glass walls overlooking the city lights.
He brought her a glass of warm water and a cashmere throw blanket from the bed, wrapping it gently around her shivering shoulders. He sat down on the ottoman in front of her, his large hands carefully hovering over her pregnant stomach, desperate to touch her, yet afraid he might break what was left of her fragile spirit.
"Tell me everything," Julian said quietly. "From the beginning."
Elena swallowed hard, her fingers clutching the crystal water glass so tightly her knuckles turned ghostly white.
"Eight months ago, the day after we returned from Como," Elena began, her voice quivering. "You left early for the Berlin summit. An hour after your car pulled out of the driveway, your mother arrived at the mansion with Marcus and two doctors."
Julian’s breath hitched. "Doctors?"
"She presented me with a set of documents," Elena whispered, tears overflowing her eyelashes and trailing down her pale cheeks. "They were forged medical records stating that I was suffering from severe psychiatric delusions and that I had been secretly poisoning you with low doses of arsenic to secure your inheritance."
"What?!" Julian stood up, his fists clenching so hard his knuckles popped. "That’s absurd! That’s insane!"
"It didn't matter if it was absurd," Elena said softly. "She told me that if I didn't sign the voluntary separation agreement and disappear forever, those medical records would be leaked to the press, the board of Rossi Enterprises would strip you of your CEO position due to the scandal, and Marcus would ensure you met with a 'fatal accident' on the autobahn in Germany."
Julian felt a cold rage ignited deep within his chest—a darkness so vast it terrified him. "She threatened my life to force you away?"
"She hated me from the day you brought me home, Julian," Elena sobbed. "I was just a orphan, a gallery assistant with no family name or political connections. She wanted you to marry Camila to merge the Rossi shipping fleet with the Vance logistics empire. I was an obstacle. But then..."
Elena hesitated, her hand slowly dropping to rest on the crown of her heavy belly.
May you like
"Then what, Elena?" Julian asked, kneeling back down, his heart pounding against his ribs.
"Two days after she forced me onto a train out of Italy with nothing but a single suitcase and five hundred euros in cash," Elena whispered, looking directly into his eyes, "I realized I was pregnant with your child."
