Chapter 5 - THE THREAT IN THE DARK
A soft click echoed from the front hallway.
I snapped the laptop shut, my heart pounding against my ribs. I picked up a brass letter opener from the desk, holding it tightly in my right hand as I stepped quietly out of the study and into the darkened corridor.
"Who's there?" I called out, my voice steady despite the fear surging through my veins.
A tall figure stepped out from the shadows near the foyer.
It wasn't Nathan. It wasn't a burglar.
It was Julian Sterling—Nathan’s older brother and the black sheep of the Sterling family. Julian was a cold, enigmatic man who had walked away from the family business years ago after a bitter fallout with Nathan. He wore a dark wool coat, his gray eyes reflecting the dim light from the streetlamps outside.
"Put the letter opener down, Emma," Julian said smoothly, his voice deep and calm. "If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't have used the front door."
"How did you get in here?" I demanded, keeping the brass blade raised.
"Your mother gave me a key six years ago," Julian revealed, pulling a worn silver key from his pocket. "Before she died, she knew Nathan was dangerous. She knew what his ambition would drive him to do if he ever felt threatened."
I narrowed my eyes. "You knew about the forged signature?"
"I knew Nathan and Celeste were planning to remove you," Julian corrected, taking a slow step forward. "But you're looking at the wrong enemy, Emma."
"What are you talking about?"
Julian looked toward the study where my laptop sat glowing in the dark.
"Nathan is a weak man driven by panic and debt. Celeste is a greedy woman playing a game she barely understands," Julian said, his eyes locking onto mine with chilling intensity. "They are pawns. The forged document, the loans, the Swiss account... none of it was Nathan’s idea."
"Then whose idea was it?" I asked, my grip tightening on the blade.
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Julian leaned in slightly, his voice dropping into a razor-sharp whisper.
"The man in Zurich isn't your father, Emma. Arthur Vance died twenty-five years ago. The man being kept alive in that hospital... is the man who killed him. And if he wakes up before Friday, he will take everything your mother left behind."
