Chapter 9 - The Last Board Meeting
Silence returned to the hallway—a heavy, ringing silence broken only by the whimpering of Richard Vance lying pool of blood on the ruined carpet.
Julian stood over him, the dark pistol held loosely at his side.
Clara Mercer walked over to her four daughters, kneeling down on the glass-strewn floor and pulling all four of them into her arms. The children buried their faces in her white coat, their eerie, robotic composure finally melting into the soft, trembling tears of frightened five-year-old girls.
"They're safe now," Clara whispered, kissing each of their honey-blonde heads. "Mommy's here."
Julian looked down at Vance, then turned his gaze to Evelyn, who was sitting against the wall, unharmed but staring at him in absolute shock.
"Get your father out of here, Evelyn," Julian said softly. "The federal agents will be at the front doors in four minutes. Tell them everything. It's the only way you stay out of a federal penitentiary."
Evelyn swallowed hard, nodding slowly. "And... and you, Julian? Where will you go?"
Julian looked at his reflection in a unbroken fragment of mirror lying on the floor. His white tuxedo jacket was gone, his shirt ruined, his face smeared with soot and blood. The polished, hollow corporate prince was dead.
He turned toward Clara and the four girls.
"I have a long-overdue debt to pay," Julian said.
He stepped over the broken glass, kneeling down in front of the four little girls. The smallest one—the one who had first spoken to him in the bathroom—looked up at him through her tears. Her golden-ringed blue eyes were wide, clear, and innocent.
"Are you our daddy?" she asked quietly.
Julian felt something cold and hard inside his chest break open—a wall he had built five years ago finally crumbling into dust.
May you like
He reached out, his long, bruised fingers gently wiping a tear from her small cheek.
"Yes," Julian whispered, his voice cracking with real emotion. "I am."
