Chapter 5 - The Confrontation|
Julian raised his hands instantly the moment he saw the barrel of my father's gun pointed directly at his chest.
"Don't shoot! Please, Mr. Hayes, don't shoot!" Julian panicked, backing up against the hallway wall, his face completely drained of color.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't, Julian," my father said smoothly, his finger resting lightly on the trigger. He didn't shake. He didn't even blink. "You walked into my daughter's hospital room and laid hands on her while she was broken. You made a deal with Arthur Vance."
Julian looked at me, his eyes wide with desperate terror. "Audrey, please! You have to tell him to put the gun down! I didn't know! I swear to God, I didn't know who Vance really was!"
I stood up from behind my desk, leaning heavily on my cane, stepping into my father's peripheral vision.
"You knew enough to sell us out, Julian," I said, my voice cold and hollow. "You tried to drag me out of a hospital bed while my ribs were cracked and my legs were shattered. All for money."
"They threatened me, Audrey!" Julian wailed, tears spilling down his cheeks. "Two months ago, a man came to my office. He showed me pictures of Chloe at her school playground! He told me if I didn't get access to your father's trust, they'd make Chloe disappear! I was trying to protect our daughter!"
"Lie," my father said flatly. "I've had eyes on Chloe's school for three years, Julian. No one approached her. You took an advance payment of two hundred thousand dollars three weeks ago and deposited it into an offshore account in Grand Cayman. I have the wire receipts."
Julian froze. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, his desperate lie completely dismantled in a single sentence.
"You traded your wife's life for two hundred grand," I whispered, the sheer horror of it settling deep into my bones. "And you used our daughter as an excuse."
"Audrey, listen to me—" Julian began, taking a step forward.
My father clicked the safety off his weapon. The sharp, mechanical sound echoed in the narrow hallway like a thunderclap.
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"Step back," my father commanded. "You're going to sit in that chair, Julian. And you're going to tell us every single word Vance told you before my patience runs out."
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