Chapter 9 - Desperate Measures
Julian burst out of the passenger door of the sedan, looking disheveled, unhinged, and completely manic.
"Elena!" he screamed, trying to shove past the barricades. "Elena, you thief! Tell them the truth! You conspired with foreign accounts to steal my firm!"
The cameras immediately pivoted toward him. Microphones thrust in his direction as security guards stepped forward, blocking his path.
"Julian," I said calmly through the podium microphone, my voice amplified across the entire street. "I see you found time to visit. Did you bring Vanessa with you, or did she leave you the moment the cards were declined?"
The press erupted in gasps. Cameras clicked furiously, capturing Julian’s red, contorted face against the backdrop of my serene, elegant authority.
"You took my life's work!" Julian yelled, struggling against the two massive guards holding him by his arms. "I made Bell & Rose what it is! You were just an ornament! You were nothing until I married you!"
"You cut my hair off in front of your mistress yesterday afternoon," I said into the microphone, my tone measured, cold, and devastatingly clear.
The entire crowd froze. Even the traffic on Mercer Street seemed to quiet down.
"You thought that by humiliating my body, you could break my mind and force me to surrender my mother’s legacy," I said, stepping down from the podium and walking down the steps toward him, stopping just out of arm's reach. "Look at me, Julian."
Julian stared at my cropped hair, his chest heaving, his eyes wild with trapped panic.
"Does it look like I surrendered?" I asked softly.
"You'll pay for this," he spat, his voice trembling with humiliated fury. "Vanessa has the original incorporation deeds. You don't have the Sterling rights! You have nothing but debt!"
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"Actually, Julian," Rachel Hayes said, stepping forward with a sheaf of legal documents, "Mr. Croft was served with a federal indictment ten minutes ago. The Department of Justice has frozen all secondary assets under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. You aren't going to a board meeting, Julian. You are going to federal court."
Two unmarked Dallas Police cruisers pulled up behind Julian’s car, their red and blue lights flashing against the pristine morning light.