Chapter 14 - The Discovery
Julian stopped mid-stride as he saw the young manager weeping at her desk. He immediately set the reports down and walked over, his expression darkening with deep concern.
“Lily?” Julian asked softly, resting a hand on the corner of the desk. “What’s wrong? Did something happen on the floor?”
Lily wiped her eyes quickly, trying to compose herself. “No, Mr. Calder... everything on the floor is fine. I’m just... tired.”
Julian’s sharp eyes caught the glowing smartphone screen resting beside her hand. The screen still displayed the incoming caller ID: PRICE LOGISTICS CORPORATE OFFICE.
Julian’s dark eyes narrowed instantly. He picked up the phone, looking at the call log, then turned his gaze back onto Lily’s tear-stained face.
“Richard Price called you,” Julian stated, his voice dropping into a dangerous, protective register. “What did he say to you, Lily?”
Lily tried to look away, but Julian gently placed a hand on the desk, looking directly into her eyes.
“Tell me,” Julian insisted quietly. “You don't have to carry this alone.”
Unable to hold back any longer, Lily broke down and explained the entire phone call—the eighty-thousand-dollar medical debt, the threat to transfer her sick mother, and the fraudulent affidavit Richard Price demanded she sign.
May you like
As Lily spoke, Julian’s muscular frame grew rigid. The dark tattoos on his hands flexed as his fists clenched tightly at his sides.
👉 “They tried to threaten your mother to get to me,” Julian whispered, his eyes burning with lethal fury.
