Chapter 8 - The Visitor The dinner table was set for six, though only four people sat there.
Julian. Elena. Lily. And the silence.
The guards stood near the walls like statues. The food remained untouched.
Then the front doors opened.
A man entered with the kind of confidence that did not come from wealth alone, but from knowing he had never been challenged. He was older than Julian, broader in the shoulders, and far more dangerous in the face.
His smile was polite.
His eyes were not.
“Brother,” he said. “I see you’ve made a mess of things.”
Julian did not stand. “You came earlier than expected, Marcus.”
Marcus Blackwood’s gaze shifted to Elena. Then to Lily.
“Well,” he said, “so this is the problem.”
Elena felt Lily move closer to her.
Marcus smiled faintly. “I thought she’d be older.”
Julian’s voice hardened. “You will not speak to them.”
Marcus laughed softly. “Still pretending to be the honorable one?”
The air in the room thickened.
May you like
Then Marcus placed a leather folder on the table.
“Let’s stop playing family,” he said. “You have until midnight to hand over the key.”
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