Chapter 7: Shadows in the Library
I waited until the soft rustle of Brook's silk robe faded entirely up the curved marble staircase before I dared exhale. The kitchen was dead silent except for the drip of a leaky copper faucet near the sink. I reached behind me, pushing the pantry door open just enough to let a sliver of grey light cut through the gloom.
"She's gone up," I whispered into the dark recess between the shelving units. "For now."
A quiet scrape of shoe leather on wood answered me. Julian stepped out from behind a stack of linen crates, his wet trench coat still clinging to his broad shoulders, casting dark patches across his frame. Water dripped steadily from the hem of his coat onto the floorboards, pooling near my black oxfords. In the dim light, the lines around his eyes looked deeper, carved by years of hiding, but his jaw remained set with that same unyielding stubbornness.
"She still has that ring on," he said quietly, his voice like gravel rubbed together in a pocket.
"She has everything, Julian," I replied, grabbing a clean linen tea towel from the counter and handing it to him. He didn't take it; he just stared at the cloth for a second before meeting my eyes. "The foundation, the estate, the accounts. The fire wiped out the official records, but she spent the last five years consolidating every piece of leverage left behind. If she knows you're alive, she won't just call the police. She'll dismantle whatever safety you've built outside this county."
Julian took the towel from my hand, wiping the rain from his forehead and the dark hair plastered to his temples. "I didn't come back for the money, Natalie. Let her keep the foundation, let her keep the title. There's a ledger in the second-floor study—the original partnership agreements from before the expansion. Without those papers, a dozen families in the valley lose their land titles by the end of the month. She's accelerating the foreclosures."
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"That study is locked twenty-four hours a day," I said, crossing my arms over my white apron. "Brook keeps the master key in her vanity drawer. Even if you made it up the back stairs, the security system trips the moment anyone touches the brass handle after midnight."
Julian tossed the damp towel onto the marble counter, his gaze locking onto mine with an intensity that made it difficult to breathe. "Which is why I need you to help me get inside."
