Chapter 14 - JULIAN TALKS
Julian asked to speak with Genevieve.
Sarah said no.
Genevieve said yes.
They met by secure video with Ortiz recording.
Julian appeared in a holding room without a tie. He looked ten years older.
“Gen.”
“Don’t call me that.”
He lowered his eyes.
“I didn’t kill your father.”
“You were on his boat.”
“I was looking for files.”
“You disabled the cutoff?”
“No.”
“Marcus did?”
Silence.
Genevieve leaned toward the screen.
“My father drowned. I buried him. You held my hand at the funeral. Tell me what you did.”
Julian’s face tightened.
“Eleanor said Arthur was going to destroy us. He had documents proving the vendor scheme. She told me to find them.”
“And Marcus?”
“He came because my mother didn’t trust me to finish anything.”
Genevieve almost laughed.
Julian continued. “We searched the boat. Arthur came back early. He saw us.”
“What happened?”
“He told me he was going to the police.”
“And then?”
Julian’s voice dropped.
“Marcus followed him out the next morning.”
Genevieve went cold.
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
“You knew.”
“I was scared.”
“You were rich.”
Julian flinched.
Genevieve stared at the man she had loved.
“Did you drug me?”
His eyes filled with tears.
That was answer enough.
“I only wanted you weak for a few days,” he said. “The doctors were supposed to call it exhaustion. Then the labor started early and everything went wrong.”
Sarah went rigid.
Julian kept talking, desperate now.
“My mother planned the legal side. I moved the money. Marcus handled the rest.”
Ortiz leaned into frame. “Where is Marcus?”
Julian looked toward the camera.
“I don’t know.”
May you like
Then he whispered, “But if he thinks I’m talking, he’ll come for Genevieve next.”
At that exact moment, the lights in Genevieve’s hospital room went out.
