Chapter 3 - THE TRUTH THAT CUT DEEPER THAN A BULLET
Julian noticed immediately.
Something was wrong.
Maya's room was empty.
Again.
He stood at her doorway.
Her notebook sat open on the desk.
One blank page.
The same page where she promised she would explain everything.
He picked up his phone.
Called.
No answer.
Again.
Voicemail.
His expression darkened.
Then he called Derek.
"Where is she?"
Derek hesitated.
That hesitation told Julian everything.
"Where?"
"Working."
Julian went silent.
"Working where?"
"A bakery."
The room suddenly felt colder.
"She has another job?"
"Yes."
"How long?"
Derek looked out the car window.
"Months."
Julian tightened his grip on the phone.
Months.
All those nights.
All those excuses.
All those times she looked exhausted.
He thought she was avoiding him.
But she wasn't.
She was surviving.
"Does she need the money?"
Derek didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
That one word hit harder than any threat.
Julian slowly sat down.
Because suddenly everything made sense.
The old clothes.
The tired eyes.
The way she refused expensive gifts.
The way she apologized every time she needed something.
She wasn't hiding because she didn't trust him.
She was hiding because she was ashamed.
And that realization made him angry.
Not at her.
At himself.
How could he know every enemy trying to destroy him…
But fail to notice the woman standing three feet away was falling apart?
"Send me the address."
Derek paused.
"Julian..."
"Now."
"You should talk to her first."
Julian looked toward the window.
The city stretched endlessly below.
"I have been waiting for her to let me in."
His voice became colder.
"But she keeps choosing to suffer alone."
A pause.
"Now I choose for her."
Derek understood.
The dangerous side of Julian Croft was returning.
But this time, it wasn't for revenge.
It was protection.
At 11:58 PM, Maya walked out of the bakery.
Exhausted.
Cold.
Carrying the weight of another impossible day.
She never noticed the black SUV parked across the street.
She never noticed the man sitting inside.
Watching.
Waiting.
Julian Croft had finally found her secret.
But what Maya didn't know…
Was that someone else had found it too.
And they were not planning to help her.
May you like
They were planning to use it against him.
TO BE CONTINUED...
