Chapter 3 - The Falling Empire
Julian was dragged to the study.
The doors were locked.
Arthur sat in the leather chair.
He poured a drink.
He didn't offer one to Julian.
“Your father owes me a debt,” Arthur began.
He stared at his drink.
“A debt dating back twenty years.”
Julian felt his stomach churn.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Arthur set the glass down.
“You’ve been living on his money.”
“His influence.”
“His lies.”
“And you used that power to bully my daughter.”
Julian looked down.
The floor felt like quicksand.
“She was an easy target,” Julian muttered.
A mistake.
Arthur stood up.
He moved with unexpected speed.
He grabbed Julian by the collar.
“She is the only thing I have left in this world.”
“And you made her cry.”
Arthur stepped back.
He pulled a document from his coat.
He threw it onto the desk.
“Sign it.”
Julian squinted at the paper.
It was a transfer of ownership.
The family firm.
The accounts.
The real estate.
Everything.
“This is everything,” Julian whispered.
“Exactly,” Arthur replied.
“If you sign, you walk away.”
“Empty-handed.”
“If you don't…”
Arthur didn’t finish the sentence.
He didn’t need to.
The implication was clear.
Julian’s father would find out.
The investors would find out.
The scandal would ruin them.
“I can’t,” Julian said.
“My father will kill me.”
Arthur smiled.
It was a cruel, thin line.
“Then you should have thought of that,” he said.
“Before you pushed her.”
Elena entered the room.
She looked different.
Cold.
Hard.
She held a tablet.
“The board has already been alerted,” she said.
Julian looked at her.
“You planned this?”
Elena didn’t answer.
She just tapped the screen.
“The stock is dropping, Julian.”
“By the minute.”
Julian looked at the document.
Then at the door.
There was no way out.
He reached for the pen.
His hand shook.
May you like
He signed his name.
The empire crumbled with a single stroke.
