"Let Ellie go. I'll pay you." Julian removed his glasses, his eyes carrying a faint, unreadable edge. "The victim's family... the police... everyone has a price."
"Mr. Ashford, I think you've misunderstood the situation. Miss Eleanor Whitfield wasn't brought in for bullying."
Officer Bishop cut him off, his expression difficult to read.
He hesitated for a moment, then decided Julian deserved to know. A flicker of something close to pity crossed his face before he could suppress it.
"Someone filed a report citing severe safety violations tied to her family's construction projects. Miss Whitfield didn't just fail to cooperate. She hired someone to silence the whistleblower. Permanently."
Julian stood frozen.
He'd destroyed that evidence himself. Every last piece of it. Or so he'd thoug
