Chapter 7 - The Hostile Move
Peace, however, is a fragile thing when billions of dollars are involved.
On the second week of our stay in Lake Forest, while Julian was outside in the yard pushing Rose in a newly installed wooden baby swing under the oak trees, my phone rang.
It was an unlisted number. I answered cautiously.
"Clara?" a sharp, familiar voice spoke into the receiver.
It was Eleanor Hartwell.
"Eleanor," I said, my voice immediately turning cool and guarded. "I thought Julian made it very clear that you were not to contact us."
"Julian is being blinded by sentimental delusion!" Eleanor snapped, her voice tight with panic. "Clara, listen to me very carefully. You need to tell Julian to return to Chicago immediately. Arthur Pendelton is executing a board coup as we speak!"
I froze near the patio door. "What are you talking about?"
Arthur Pendelton was Hartwell Global’s oldest board member and Julian’s late father’s former business partner—a man who had spent years waiting for Julian to make a mistake so he could seize control of the company.
"Because Julian postponed the Apex merger and walked out of the ratification meeting," Eleanor explained frantically, "Arthur has called an emergency vote of no confidence for ten o'clock tomorrow morning! He has convinced thirty-five percent of the shareholders that Julian is mentally unfit to run the company due to 'personal instability'! If Julian doesn't show up to that meeting tomorrow with a unified front, he will be stripped of his CEO position and voted off his own board!"
I held the phone tightly against my ear, looking out through the glass doors at the yard.
Julian was sitting on the grass, holding a yellow daisy in front of Rose, making her laugh as he gently booped her nose with the flower petals. He looked so happy, so peaceful, so completely human.
"Why are you telling me this, Eleanor?" I asked quietly. "I thought you wanted me out of his life."
A long silence filled the line before Eleanor spoke, her tone remarkably stripped of its usual arrogance, sounding like a desperate mother for the very first time.
"Because... because Arthur Pendelton will destroy everything my husband built," Eleanor whispered. "And because... God help me, Clara... I saw the way Julian looked at you and that baby in your apartment. I haven't seen my son smile like that since his father died ten years ago. He actually loves you. If he loses his company because he was protecting you, he will pretend he doesn't care, but it will break him."
She paused, taking a shaky breath. "He needs to fight tomorrow, Clara. And he needs you by his side to show those sharks that he isn't weak—he's whole."
I stared out at Julian as he lifted Rose high into the air, her tiny squeals of joy echoing through the peaceful autumn woods.
Eleanor was right. Julian had spent the last two weeks sacrificing his world for mine. He had abandoned his pride, his comfort, and his legacy to prove his love for us. He was willing to let his empire burn just to keep us safe.
Now, it was my turn to stand up and protect his.
"What time is the meeting tomorrow, Eleanor?" I asked, my voice setting into pure steel.
May you like
"Ten o'clock," she replied.
"Tell the board we'll be there," I said. "And Eleanor... get a front-row seat. You're going to see how a real Hartwell family handles a coup."
