Chapter 83: The Fracture
The morning in Portland was not the serene continuation of our dinner; it was a full-scale tactical disaster. We were on-site at the renovation project by 6:00 AM, and the structural integrity of the west wing had been compromised by a massive error in the foundation blueprints that the local firm had tried to sweep under the rug.
For four agonizing hours, the site was pure, unadulterated chaos. Contractors were yelling, the air was thick with pulverized concrete and industrial dust, and Julian was in his element—which meant he was a force of nature. He didn't lose his temper or shout; he became surgically precise, dismantling the lead engineer’s arguments with icy, devastating logic that left the man stammering. I was his shadow, running data, recalculating lo
