Chapter 64: The Conflict

Elena didn't retreat to the guest room. Instead, she waited in the shadows of the breakfast nook, her fingers curled around a heavy marble rolling pin—the only weapon the new security team hadn't confiscated. When she heard the front door chime and the low, urgent murmur of Elias reporting to Julianne in the study, she moved.

She burst into the room just as Julianne was sliding the manila envelope into a hidden floor safe beneath the Persian rug. The men in black vests flinched, hands hovering over their holsters, but a sharp flick of Julianne’s wrist kept them still.

"I saw the drop, Julianne," Elena said, her voice a low, dangerous vibration. "I saw Elias meet Detective Miller at the carriage house. I know Sarah isn't in Italy. I know she's in Montreal."

Julianne stood up slowly, smoothing the lapels of her wool coat. She looked at the two guards and tilted her head toward the door. They exited, the heavy mahogany clicking shut behind them, leaving the two women alone in a room that smelled of panic and expensive tobacco.

"You should have stayed in bed, Elena," Julianne said. She didn't sound angry; she sounded exhausted, the lines around her mouth deepening in the lamplight. "Paranoia is a terrible bedfellow. It makes you see monsters where there are only solutions."

"Solutions? You’re buying an exit from Teterboro! You’re planning to hand Mia over to a man who will kill her the moment he realizes she’s a biological mismatch. Why? Because you’re the one who defrauded him?"

"The police can't help us here," Julianne said, ignoring the accusation. She walked to the window, peering through the blinds at the black sedan still idling at the curb. "If you call them, they’ll bring sirens. Sirens bring curiosity. Curiosity brings Gabriel’s men through the front door with automatic weapons. Is that the future you want for your daughter?"

"She isn't my daughter. You made that very clear."

Julianne turned, and for the first time, her eyes weren't cold. They were wild. "She is my life, Elena! I didn't hire Miller to sell her. I hired him to find Gabriel before he reached the clinic. I needed to know how much he knew."

Elena stepped closer, the marble rolling pin heavy in her hand. "And? What did he tell you?"

Julianne leaned against the desk, her strength finally failing. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a burner phone, sliding it across the blotter toward Elena. The screen was cracked, glowing with a single, unread message in Portuguese.

"Gabriel didn't just find the Italian trust," Julianne whispered. "He found the hospital records from Zurich. He knows about the swap. He knows Mia is the match he was promised eighteen years ago, and he knows I lied about Julia's child dying."

"He doesn't want the payout back, Elena," Julianne's voice cracked, a sound of pure, unadulterated terror. "Vargas contacted me ten minutes ago. He isn't interested in the money or the firm. He wants the only thing that can keep him alive."

Elena felt the floor shift. "What are you saying?"

"He doesn't want money, Elena. He wants Mia."