Chapter 11 - The Fortress of Glass
Within an hour, an armored convoy led by Julian’s most loyal security detail whisked us out of Manhattan. The city lights faded into the rearview mirror, replaced by the dense, towering pines of the Adirondack mountains.
Dawn was just beginning to break, casting a pale, lavender hue over the jagged peaks as the convoy passed through three concentric security gates of an isolated estate known as Blackwood Ridge—Julian’s private, off-grid mountain fortress.
Inside the sprawling glass-and-stone compound, the silence was absolute. High-tech defense turrets guarded the perimeter, and a team of private physicians immediately attended to Victoria’s injuries and Julian’s grazed arm.
After Maya was bathed, fed, and tucked safely into bed in a reinforced guest room with two guards stationed at the door, I found Julian standing on the wrap-around terrace, staring out at the mist-covered lake below. He had changed into a dark sweater, a white bandage wrapped neatly around his bicep.
I walked up beside him, the cold morning air biting at my cheeks. Without a word, he unbuttoned his heavy wool jacket and draped it over my shoulders, just as he had done on the runway hours before.
“You don't have to carry this alone, Elena,” Julian spoke quietly, his eyes fixed on the horizon. “I know what my mother told you. I swear to you… I knew nothing about what happened to your father. If I had known—”
“I know you didn't, Julian,” I interrupted softly, placing a hand on his chest. His heart beat strong and steady beneath my palm. “You are not your father. And you are certainly not your brother.”
Julian turned to look at me, his gaze so intense, so vulnerable that it stole the breath from my lungs. “When I saw Vance holding that gun at Maya… and when I saw you standing in front of her… I realized something, Elena.”
“What?”
“For two years, I thought I was protecting you out of guilt. Out of an obligation to right the wrongs Charlotte and my family inflicted upon you,” Julian murmured, his fingers gently tracing the curve of my jawline, sending shivers racing down my spine. “But that was a lie. I love you, Elena. I have loved you since the moment you stepped into my life. And I will burn the entire world to the ground before I let Alexander take you or Maya away from me.”
May you like
Before I could answer, before my trembling lips could speak the truth of my own heart, an ear-splitting alarm shattered the serenity of the morning.
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