Chapter 8 - Julian Wanted Claire Dependent on Him
The motive was not hidden money.
No secret inheritance.
No paternity revelation.
It was something more personal.
Julian had spent years believing Claire had chosen the wrong life.
He had been in love with her in college.
She knew he once had feelings.
She believed they ended.
They hadn’t.
After our baby was born and our marriage became strained, Julian saw an opening.
At first, he wanted Claire to confide in him.
Then to distrust me.
Then to rely on him.
His private messages to a friend later revealed the progression.
She finally sees Marcus doesn’t deserve her.
Then:
She calls me before she calls him now.
Then:
Once she gets away, she’ll understand who actually showed up for her.
He didn’t need Claire to become his romantic partner immediately.
He needed her isolated enough that he became essential.
The false custody plot served that goal perfectly.
If Claire believed I intended to take the children, she would stop talking to me.
She would plan in secret.
She would need help.
Transportation.
Cash.
A safe address.
Advice.
Julian supplied all of it.
He wasn’t rescuing Claire from me.
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He was creating the danger he could then rescue her from.
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