(Julian's Perspective)
Julian's hand shook violently as he held the phone.
He abruptly shoved the phone back into the assistant's hands, turned, and bolted out of the study, striding toward the guest room.
The guest room door wasn't shut tight. Valerie was standing in front of the full-length mirror, measuring out the few haute couture dresses she had brought up from the basement. Hearing the hurried footsteps, she turned her head, instantly pasting a frail smile onto her face. "Julian, are you done with work?"
Julian closed the distance in a few steps, staring dead into her eyes.
"Half a month ago in the hospital corridor, when you suddenly fell," he asked, enunciating every word through gritted teeth, "did you intentionally step on that piece of paper?"
The smile on Valerie's lips
