Chapter 6 - Julian Speaks From the Shadows
Grace stood so quickly the bed frame struck the wall.
“I didn’t know.”
Dominic believed her.
That surprised him.
Everything else had become uncertain.
But Grace’s horror was too immediate, too complete.
Julian continued on the screen.
“Grace, if you’re watching, your mother probably filled your head with stories about me.”
Grace whispered, “She barely mentioned you.”
Julian smiled at some past version of the room.
“Alexander Vale stole you from me. Dominic inherited his father’s arrogance, so I knew eventually he would put you somewhere I could reach.”
Dominic looked at Grace.
“You applied to Vale Tower.”
“Yes.”
“Did anyone suggest it?”
Grace hesitated.
“A recruiter.”
“What company?”
She named it.
Aaron searched.
The agency existed.
Its ownership led through three shell companies.
The final company was registered to Ashford Strategic Holdings.
Grace stared at the screen.
“He put me there.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
Julian had engineered Grace’s employment.
But why?
The video answered.
“You have something your mother stole from me.”
Grace touched the silver key.
Julian continued.
“She believed it was evidence. It wasn’t. It was access.”
Dominic looked toward the hard drive.
Julian smiled.
“Dominic, if you’re standing beside my daughter, understand this: the device under your chair was never designed to kill you.”
Dominic’s expression hardened.
“It was designed to frighten you.”
Aaron paused the video.
“That matches what specialists found. The chair device was a transmitter and proximity sensor. No explosive material.”
Dominic felt anger rather than relief.
Someone had created the appearance of an assassination attempt.
Julian continued.
“The necklace was also meant to be discovered.”
Grace frowned.
“Why?”
Dominic answered.
“To expose Marcus.”
Julian smiled on screen as if hearing him.
“Marcus became unreliable. Victoria became sentimental. I needed both removed.”
Dominic’s stomach tightened.
Victoria had been involved.
But perhaps not in the way he believed.
The video continued.
“Grace was the only variable I could count on because she has her mother’s worst habit.”
Grace stared.
“She notices things.”
Julian nodded on screen.
“She notices what powerful people assume servants will ignore.”
Grace looked sick.
Dominic understood.
Julian had used her instincts.
He placed suspicious devices where she would find them.
He arranged for her to see Marcus.
He turned her into an unwitting trigger.
“Why?” Grace whispered.
Julian answered seconds later.
“Because Dominic Vale has something I need, and he would never give it to me willingly.”
The video ended.
No explanation.
Dominic stared at the black screen.
Then one detective called from the bathroom.
They had found another hidden compartment.
Inside was an old photograph.
Alexander Vale.
Anna Bell.
Julian Ashford.
And Dominic’s mother, Catherine.
All four standing together.
On the back was a handwritten date.
Twenty-three years earlier.
Three months before Grace was born.
Beneath the date were four words.
THE NIGHT WE MADE THE DEAL.
Dominic looked at Grace.
May you like
Their parents’ lives had been connected long before either of them understood.
And whatever Julian wanted had begun before Grace was born.
