Chapter 4 - The Order
Julian’s thumb pressed the screen once.
He raised the phone to his ear, his gaze locked entirely on his wife in the red dress.
"Freeze every account they control!" he barked into the receiver.
His voice was no longer a roar; it was a cold, precise blade.
The woman in red took a sharp breath, her hand flying to her throat.
"Julian, what are you—"
"Imprison my wife in her own house!" Julian cut her off without breaking eye contact.
He lowered the phone slowly, his breathing deep and even.
The woman’s jaw dropped open.
Her manicured hand moved from her throat to her cheek, her fingers digging into her own skin in disbelief.
"You can't do this to me," she gasped, her voice suddenly thin and stripped of power.
"This is my home!"
"Not anymore," Julian said flatly.
He took two steps forward, his heavy shoes crunching against a stray drop of dried wine.
He stopped right beside Elena, his shadow completely shielding her from the red dress.
The woman in red stumbled backward, her heel catching on the edge of her own silk hem.
She grasped at the banister, her face pale beneath her heavy makeup.
May you like
The house grew instantly, terrifyingly quiet.
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