Chapter 21 - The Price of Truth**
Julian stood up slowly, the heavy wool blanket slipping from his shoulders onto the damp pavement.
He stared at the woman who had lived in his home, cooked his meals, and protected his child for six long years.
“You knew who killed my mother,” Julian said, his voice trembling with a mixture of rage and profound grief. “And you stayed in our house as a maid?”
“I stayed to keep you alive, Julian,” Clara said, her voice filled with desperate sincerity. “Your father threatened to destroy anyone who investigated her death.”
“I gave up my entire life, my career, and my real identity to stay inside that mansion so Howard Sterling could never touch you or Leo,” she added.
Julian turned his back to her, looking down at little Leo, who was sleeping peacefully inside the ambulance cab.
“I want you to leave, Clara,” Julian said flatly, his voice devoid of all emotion.
Clara froze, her hands trembling slightly inside her dark coat pockets.
“Julian... please,” she pleaded softly.
May you like
“Thank you for saving my son tonight,” Julian said, without turning around. “But I cannot look at your face without seeing my mother’s ghost.”
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