Chapter 1 - The Unwelcome Guests
The makeup bag sat exactly where Julian had thrown it on the mattress.
I did not touch a single drop of the green concealer.
Instead, I packed a small duffel bag with my laptop and the encrypted hard drives.
The clock in the living room chimed twelve times, signaling the arrival of my personal nightmare.
I heard the front door unlock with a loud, confident click.
Julian’s voice echoed down the hallway with an exaggerated, fake cheerfulness.
He was loudly telling his mother how excited I was to discuss selling the townhouse.
Eleanor replied with a snide remark about how I finally learned my proper place in the family.
Their footsteps grew louder as they walked into the main living room.
Then, the cheerful laughter died in an instant.
I walked out of the hallway, letting the harsh afternoon light illuminate the dark, swollen bruises on my face.
Julian stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes darting frantically from my bruised cheek to the large suitcase by the door.
Eleanor gasped and instinctively clutched her expensive pearl necklace.
But they were not staring at my injuries or my packed bags.
They were staring at the imposing figure sitting calmly on my velvet armchair.
My father, Marcus Vance, slowly stood up from the chair.
He was a retired federal judge who still commanded rooms with his mere presence.
Julian swallowed hard, his arrogant confidence evaporating into thin air.
My father looked at Julian’s perfectly pressed suit, and then he looked at my battered face.
He took a step forward, and Julian instinctively took a step back.
Julian desperately tried to explain that I had fallen in the shower that morning.
My father did not raise his voice, but his tone was sharp enough to cut through steel.
He told Julian that he had already listened to the audio recordings from the security system.
Eleanor tried to intervene, loudly claiming that this was a private marital dispute.
My father pulled a thick manila folder from his leather briefcase and tossed it onto the coffee table.
He announced that it was not a marital dispute anymore.
He looked Julian directly in the eyes and delivered a devastating blow.
My father revealed that he had just handed the evidence of Julian's massive bank fraud to the federal authorities.
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Julian’s face turned ghostly white as the reality of his situation set in.
But before Julian could speak, the sound of heavy police sirens filled the street outside my house.
