He had Eleanor taken straight to the basement of the Ashford Estate.
The basement was dark and damp, the place Julian had always used to deal with subordinates who stepped out of line. On certain nights, you could hear sounds coming from down there that no one asked about.
The composure Eleanor had been forcing finally broke apart. Her eyes filled with raw terror.
"Julian, what are you doing? I haven't done anything wrong. Why are you punishing me? Don't you love me anymore?"
He said nothing. His grip on her was absolute, fingers locked around her like iron, hard enough to leave marks. Whatever she did, crying, screaming, pleading, he didn't react. He was somewhere else entirely.
All he could see was Vivi's face. That stillness. That hollow, extinguished look in her eyes.
He had been
