Chapter 3: The Shattered Supremacy
Julian didn't even look at his mother. He saw the empty patio, he saw Beatrice’s strange, pale expression, and he saw the ripples in the pool. He took one look at the water and didn't hesitate. He dove in, his expensive suit tearing, his shoes kicking off as he surged downward.
He saw Elena. She was drifting toward the bottom, a ghost in the blue mosaic light.
Julian’s face was a mask of primal terror. He reached her, grabbing her by the waist, and pulled her toward the surface with all the strength of a man who had just seen his entire world on the verge of annihilation. He burst through the surface, gasping for air, and hauled her onto the poolside deck.
"Elena! Elena, wake up!" he screamed, his hands pressing rhythmically against her chest. He pushed the water from her lungs, his eyes wet with hot, angry tears.
Elena coughed, a violent, desperate sound, and suddenly, she gasped. She was alive. She turned her head, spitting out water, her hand clawing at Julian’s shirt. "The baby... Julian... the baby..."
"You’re okay. You’re both okay," he sobbed, wrapping his arms around her, rocking her body to ensure she was still there.
Only then did he look up.
Beatrice was still standing there. She had tried to regain her composure, smoothing her white jacket, her face trying to form a look of false concern. "Julian! Thank God, she slipped, she’s so clumsy—"
"Shut up," Julian said. It wasn't a shout. It was a low, dangerous growl that sounded like a warning from a cornered beast.
"Julian, listen to me, she was standing there, and—"
"I saw the footage," Julian said, his voice trembling with a rage that seemed to vibrate the very ground beneath them.
Beatrice froze. "What?"
"Leo’s watch," Julian said, his eyes burning into hers. "He hit the stream. I got the notification in the car. I saw you push her. I saw you watch her drown. I saw every single second of your hatred."
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Beatrice’s mouth opened, but no words came out. The pristine white suit was no longer a symbol of elegance; it looked like a shroud. She looked toward the driveway, where the local police, who had been alerted by Julian via the same digital stream, were already pulling up.
"You aren't my mother," Julian stood up, his tall frame looming over her, dripping with pool water and fury. "You’re a monster. And you are going to spend the rest of your life in a place that fits you."
