Chapter 2 - The Hidden Eye
Three days later, Julian sat in his glass-walled corner office in Midtown, staring at the financial reports for a new commercial skyscraper. But his mind was eighty blocks away, in his own penthouse.
His phone buzzed. It was a notification from the encrypted server linked to the nanny cam.
Julian locked his office door, pulled down the electronic blinds, and clicked the video file.
The footage showed Chloe’s playroom. Chloe was sitting on the floor, building a block tower. Genevieve walked into the frame. She wasn't wearing her public smile. Her face was an icy, rigid mask of absolute disdain.
"Stop making so much noise," Genevieve snapped, her voice devoid of any cultured melody.
Chloe flinched, dropping a wooden block. "I'm sorry, Genny. I was just making a castle for Daddy."
Genevieve stepped forward and kicked the block tower. It shattered across the plush carpet. Chloe let out a terrified gasp, shrinking back against the wall.
"Your daddy is a very busy man," Genevieve sneered, leaning down so her face was inches from the trembling five-year-old. "He doesn't have time for your castles. He doesn't have time for you. That's why he brought me here. Because you are a burden. If you don't start being perfectly quiet, I'll convince him to send you away to a boarding school where you'll never see him again. Do you understand?"
Tears streamed down Chloe’s face. She nodded frantically, covering her mouth with her small hands to stifle her own sobs.
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In his office, Julian stopped breathing.
The bourbon glass on his desk shattered as his grip tightened, driving a shard of glass into his palm. He didn't feel the pain. He only felt a cold, atomic fury detonating inside his chest.
