Chapter 24
Julian
Before coming downstairs, I watched her sleep.
In the pale, pre-dawn light filtering through the blinds, Elara was a study in the kind of surrender that only happens when the truly weary finally find peace.
The fierceness was gone. Her hand was curled under her cheek, the profound exhaustion she’d been fighting for years finally claiming its victory.
I didn't turn from the kitchen island when the front door opened. I already knew the rhythm of those footsteps.
“You’re early,” I said, my voice low.
“Traffic was a dream. Where is she?”
I finally glanced over. My mother stood in the doorway of my penthouse, a single leather weekender at her feet. She was in her uniform—cashmere and tailored trousers—her gaze already sweeping the space, cataloging what she would change to make herself more comfortable.
“Still asleep. Don’t wake her.”
“Fine.” She shrugged out of her coat. “The files?”
I nudged the tablet toward her. It contained every financial report, medical invoice, and contract I’d been able to pull from the Ashworth servers. She scrolled through them swiftly. Her silence was a heavy, potent thing.
“They’re not just bleeding,” she said, setting the tablet down with a soft tap. “They’ve severed an artery and are using the company’s liquid assets to try and staunch it. It’s amateurish.”
“She feels responsible.”
“She was conditioned to,” my mother replied, accepting the espresso I handed her. “Guilt is a more effective shackle than any contract. This boy—Alastair. He’s the one who breathes down her neck?”
The memory of his sneering face in the hospital was a fresh coal in my gut. “He’s like a spectator to a fire he started, complaining about the smoke.”
My mother’s eyes, the same sharp green as mine, locked onto mine. “To truly solve a problem, Julian, you must own it. Or dismantle it. There is no middle ground with parasites.” She took a sip of her coffee. “She is remarkable. To have survived that family with her mind intact.”
“She is.”
“Then let’s get her free.”
“What did you mean,” I asked, remembering her earlier warning, “when you said Elara is wanted?”
She grinned. “I’ve heard her name in private studies, over very old whiskey.
From men who don’t typically notice other men’s wives.
Powerful men. The kind who see a brilliant woman who can run a collapsing empire alone without breaking.
” Her eyes turned cold. “They see her strength, and they are calculating.
They aren't watching out of admiration, Julian.
They're watching because they want her for themselves. Get her free, mon c?ur. Or someone else will.”
Something primal curled in my chest. “Over my dead body.”
“Then act accordingly. It would be an honor to have her as a daughter-in-law.”
An hour later, the soft pad of bare feet on hardwood made us both look up. Elara stood at the entrance to the living area, wrapped in an old sweater of mine that swallowed her. Her hair was a sleep-tousled cloud.
I watched the realization dawn—the slight stiffening of her spine, the quick, self-conscious hand smoothing her hair. The CEO was gone; in her place was a woman caught off guard by her lover’s mother.
“Ah,” my mother said, the boardroom frost melting into a real smile. “You’re awake.”
“Elara,” I said, walking toward her. “This is my mother, Vivienne. Mother, this is Elara.”
“So you’re the reason my son has developed a conscience,” Vivienne said. “And the reason he called in the cavalry at dawn. Come. Sit.”
Elara hesitated for a second before her innate grace took over. She sat, folding her hands in her lap. “Mrs. Hale. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were coming. I must look…”
“You look like a woman who has been carrying a mountain,” my mother interrupted. “And we are here to help you put it down. My son tells me you’re terrified.”
Elara glanced at me. “Terrified?”
“Of losing a group of idiots you call family,” my mother clarified. “It’s a valid fear, but it is resolved by one simple thing: stop protecting them.”
Elara recoiled, as if the truth had teeth.
“You are shielding them from consequences,” Vivienne said. “From failure. From themselves. And in return, they give you misery. That is not family, Elara. That is bondage.”
“I’m not terrified of losing them,” Elara said softly, her hands tightening. “I’m terrified of disappointing my parents. They raised me to be loyal. To honor commitments. Even when it hurts. Even when it costs.” Her voice cracked. “Even when they don’t deserve it.”
Something in my chest tightened. A dark question flickered: Did she see me the way she saw them? Another obligation? The thought dried out my throat. If she ever stayed with me because she thought she owed me for those three years, I couldn’t bear it.
Vivienne’s tone shifted, a faint undertow of empathy beneath the steel. “My dear, your parents taught you loyalty. They did not teach you servitude.”
Elara inhaled sharply.
“Loyalty,” Vivienne continued, “is given to those who protect you as fiercely as you protect them.
What you are doing for the Ashworths is penance.
You loved your parents; they birthed you and taught you.
You didn't bury yourself with them when they died, so why are you letting the Ashworths bury you alive in a life you never chose?”
“They need me,” Elara whispered. “And I can help. My parents… they’d tell me to help.”
“Would they tell you to sacrifice your dignity, health, and your entire future to clean up after grown adults who treat you like a workhorse?”
Tears dropped from Elara’s eyes. She didn’t answer. She didn’t need to.
“Your parents gave you their values,” Vivienne said, reaching across to pat Elara’s hand—a startlingly maternal gesture.
“The Ashworths took advantage of them. That is not your shame, Elara. That is theirs. We’re going to fix this company, and then we’re going to get you away from these vultures for good. ”
Elara nodded, unable to speak. I watched the weariness in her eyes begin to dissipate.
I moved quietly to the foyer, pulling on my coat. My mother’s eyes flicked to me. Make it count.
“Where are you going?” Elara asked.
I walked over, cupped her face, and kissed her forehead. “To have a conversation,” I murmured. “I’ll be back for dinner.”
I slipped out. The elevator descended in silence. Quinn was waiting in the car.
“Where to, boss?”
“The Ashworth estate.”