Locked Out in the Blizzard

Chapter 3 His Deadly Choice

Julian stepped out in a bespoke wool overcoat, already scowling at the weather. Serena threw herself against his chest and began to sob.

“Julian, thank God! That woman is insane. She broke in, screamed that the house was hers, and pushed me.” Serena gripped his lapels. “I was terrified for the baby!”

*Baby?*

Julian folded his arms around her. Then he looked past her and found me kneeling in the snow beside his mother. His jaw tightened for a second.

“Julian! It's your mother. She's having a heart attack. We need to get her inside now!”

His gaze moved from my thin sweater to the million-dollar fur around Serena. He kept one arm around her.

“Another pathetic game, Chloe? You hired an old woman to play sick?” He shook his head. “Is there any line you won't cross for attention?”

For a moment, I could only stare at him.

“She's your mother, you fool! Eleanor Hart. She had bypass surgery two days ago. Check your damn phone!”

He smoothed Serena's hair. “I don't have time for this circus. Serena's family is preparing a multi-billion-dollar investment in my company.”

He drew her closer. “The merger depends on our union. I won't let your theatrics jeopardize my future.”

His future. He didn't say ours. For years, my money had paid for every step of that future.

Julian released Serena and walked past us. His leather shoes passed inches from his mother's unconscious body. He didn't bend down or even look twice.

He stopped at the keypad.

“Don't.” I grabbed at his trouser leg, but my fingers couldn't hold on. “Julian, please. Look at her.”

He pressed his thumb to the biometric scanner and entered a sequence of numbers. The door frame hummed. Several bolts drove into place, and the light above the keypad turned red.

Master Override: Permanent Lockout.

I read the words twice.

Julian faced his security team. “You have your orders. Don't let them in. Let them freeze until they learn their lesson.”

He put an arm around Serena and led her toward a side entrance. Warm light spilled across the snow when the door opened, then disappeared with them.

I stopped calling his name and bent over Eleanor again, keeping my body between her and the wind.