Chapter 28: Julian’s Offer
Leah struck the floor hard.
The hand belonged to Julian Ashford.
He pulled Nina from the shaft before the smoke reached them.
They were inside an underground parking level beneath Ashford Tower.
A black vehicle waited nearby.
Adrian’s security team would arrive within minutes.
Julian appeared unconcerned.
“You keep setting fires,” Leah said.
“I did not start this one.”
“Everyone says that.”
Nina moved between them.
“You tracked me.”
“No. Margaret did.”
Julian showed them a device displaying several moving signals.
One signal belonged to Nina’s tracker.
Another moved through the floors above them.
“Margaret is inside the tower,” he said.
“What does she want?” Leah asked.
“The succession documents.”
“She already knows they exist.”
“She needs the original covenant and a verified descendant.”
Nina looked at Leah.
“She needs one of us.”
Julian nodded.
“Preferably alive.”
Alarms echoed through the parking level.
Julian opened the vehicle door.
“Come with me, and I will take you to Nora Ellis.”
Leah did not move.
“You expect me to trust you?”
“No. I expect you to understand that Margaret just tried to burn you alive.”
“You built the system that made her dangerous.”
“I built a company. The council built the system.”
“You authorized Hawthorne House.”
Julian’s expression remained calm.
“I authorized a protected residence for witnesses.”
“And when it became a prison?”
“I tried to close it.”
Nina laughed bitterly.
“You disappeared and left everyone else to die.”
“I disappeared because Eleanor arranged for the aircraft to go down.”
Leah stared at him.
“Eleanor tried to kill you?”
“That is her version of courage.”
Adrian’s voice came from across the garage.
“Step away from them.”
He approached with two federal agents.
Julian raised his empty hands.
“Ask your mother about Flight 702.”
“I will.”
“Ask her why Graham Voss transferred twelve million dollars to her private account after the crash.”
Adrian stopped.
Julian looked at Leah.
“The payments on Nina’s screen were real.”
“Why?”
“Eleanor took control of my hidden accounts.”
“To fund what?”
“The search for you.”
The explanation struck Leah harder than expected.
Eleanor might have spent years secretly looking for her.
Or Julian might be manipulating them all.
Sirens grew louder.
Julian moved toward another vehicle.
“Wait,” Leah said. “Where is Nora?”
“At the Ashford family estate.”
Adrian looked at him in disbelief.
“That house has been empty for years.”
“No,” Julian replied. “It has been occupied by the people your mother pretended not to know existed.”
He entered the vehicle.
Before the door closed, he gave Leah a key.
It was old and made of black metal.
“The east library.”
Julian’s vehicle disappeared through the service exit.
Adrian approached Leah.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
Nina remained several feet away.
The federal agents looked toward her.
She raised her hands.
“I’ll cooperate.”
A message appeared on Leah’s phone.
It came from Eleanor.
A photograph showed her standing inside the Ashford family estate.
Beside her was Nora Ellis.
May you like
The message contained one sentence.
DO NOT BRING ADRIAN.
