Chapter 3: The Secret That Refused to Stay Dead
The doors to the ballroom were sealed.
No one left. No one entered.
Because what was about to surface could not be allowed to escape into the world—not yet.
Julian stood at the center of it all, his expression carved from steel. “Explain.”
Lydia shook her head, but her silence was already an admission.
“It was never supposed to reach you,” she said, her voice trembling. “She wasn’t supposed to exist here.”
Clara felt something inside her fracture.
“I’m standing right here,” she said, louder this time. “Stop talking like I’m a mistake you forgot to erase.”
Julian’s eyes flicked back to her—and this time, there was no mistaking it.
Pain.
“Who is her father?” he demanded.
Lydia closed her eyes.
When she spoke, it wasn’t to him.
It was to the past.
“To a man who was destroyed the night your family took everything from him.”
The room erupted in whispers.
Julian’s jaw tightened. “That doesn’t answer the question.”
Lydia finally met his gaze.
“You do.”
The words hit harder than any explosion.
Clara staggered back.
May you like
Julian didn’t move.
Because for the first time in his life, power meant nothing.
