Chapter 2 - The Estate
Emily froze in absolute terror as the bleeding man was dragged out of sight.
Her heart hammered violently against her ribs.
"I want to go home right now," Emily said, her voice shaking uncontrollably.
Julian slowly turned to face her, his dark eyes entirely unreadable.
"You cannot leave now, Emily," he said softly.
"The blizzard is rapidly getting worse, and the roads are already completely impassable."
Emily took a step back, realizing the iron gates had already locked shut behind them.
"What is happening in your basement, Julian?" she demanded bravely.
Daniel, the silent bodyguard, stepped out of the SUV and crossed his massive arms.
"You ask way too many questions for a waitress," Daniel muttered.
Julian shot Daniel a lethal glare that instantly silenced the giant man.
"My business is complicated, but you are perfectly safe here," Julian promised her.
He gently placed his warm hand on the small of her back and guided her inside the grand foyer.
The interior of the mansion looked like a modern castle, filled with priceless art and marble floors.
An elegant, older woman with piercing gray eyes walked slowly down the grand staircase.
"Julian, you brought a stray home on Christmas Eve," the woman noted with sharp disapproval.
"Mother, this is Emily Hart," Julian introduced them stiffly.
Victoria Mercer stopped dead in her tracks, her aristocratic face turning completely pale.
"Hart?" Victoria repeated, her eyes scanning Emily’s face with sudden intensity.
"Was your father Richard Hart from Brooklyn?" she asked breathlessly.
Emily nodded slowly, deeply confused as to how this wealthy woman knew her father.
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Victoria looked up at her son with absolute, unfiltered horror.
"Julian, get this girl out of our house before they find her," Victoria whispered.
