Chapter 43
LYRA
The sound of footsteps fills the warehouse before I realize what’s going on.
Alexander comes in first. He sweeps in through the side door like a conquering hero, his coat unbuttoned and hair disheveled, with the manic energy of someone riding the adrenaline high of his life.
Then again, knowing Alexander, there’s a very good chance there’s a different kind of high mixed in.
Behind him is Mrs. Lee. Four armed men flank her, two at each side. She doesn’t look in my direction. Her expression is one of hard frustration.
I can tell with just a glance that things aren’t going well for them. Whether or not that’s good news for me is another story.
Sophia remains in the same spot, phone in hand. Her makeup is smeared and her eyes are wide. Nobody acknowledges her.
“Update,” Alexander demands from Lee. “What happened at the meeting?”
“Weren’t you there?” Sophia asks.
Alexander shoots her a glare. “I mean, after I left, things got out of hand. Dobrov is dead.”
My stomach tightens at the news. I wasn’t exactly the guy’s biggest fan, but I didn’t wish him dead either.
“Julian is still alive,” Lee says, “as well as some of the other members of the council.”
I release a huge sigh of relief upon hearing the news.
Alexander goes completely still, then he laughs. It’s quick and bitter.
“He survived. Of course he did. He always survives.”
It takes all the effort I have not to grin like an idiot.
Julian’s alive.
That wasn’t part of their plan. Hopefully, the rest goes just as badly for them.
Alexander runs a hand through his hair.
“Where is he now?”
“Unknown,” Lee says. “His phone has been routing through encrypted relays since he left Brighton. Initial reports were that he was headed back into the city, possibly to his penthouse. But there’s no trace of him there. We are tracking him, but it will take time.”
“We don’t have time, Margaret.”
“We have her, and that buys us all the time we need.”
Alexander and Lee both look at me for the first time since they entered.
An uncertain silence hangs in the air. For a moment, I worry that he might lose his cool and his patience and tell one of his goons to shoot me on the spot. Behind him, Sophia regards the situation with an expression of anxiety and concern.
We both know what he’s capable of.
He doesn’t shoot me. Instead, he crosses over to where I am and crouches in front of me. He’s close enough that I can see the sweat at his hairline and his bloodshot eyes.
I’m guessing he’s been running on coke and nerves, and right now he’s running out of both.
“Hey, Ly.”
“Alex.”
He snickers. “You look tired. Sorry about the floor. I’d offer you a chair, but…” He gestures vaguely at the empty warehouse, “This place isn’t exactly Julian’s penthouse.”
I take a slow breath. Part of me wants to spit in his face. But I know that setting him off is not a good idea.
“What do you want?”
An uneasy smile. A glimpse of the pistol beneath his jacket.
“I just want to talk about Julian.”
“You don’t even deserve to say his name.”
He flashes me a hard look before standing and taking a seat on the edge of the desk near Sophia. He still doesn’t look at her.
“I deserve more than that,” he says. “After living my whole goddamn life in his shadow—you bet your ass I deserve more. That asshole thinks he can leave the country for years, then come back and steal the company away from me after all the work I’ve done.”
“You mean raiding the children’s charities to fund your parties?”
He grins and shakes his head dismissively.
“He has no idea about how much I busted my ass keeping both the company and the syndicate above water while he was gone. And neither do you. And what’s more, I kept you out of that world. My brother, on the other hand, doesn’t even give you a month of peace before you’re being shot at.”
He stands, clasps his hands behind his back, and begins pacing back and forth.
“But this conversation isn’t about rehashing all that. It’s about what Julian will actually do when push comes to shove. Because Ly, I think you might have a bit of an inflated idea of what you mean to him.”
I realize what’s going on. He’s going to try and break me down mentally in a way he’s never done before.
I brace myself.
“Don’t,” I say, knowing it’s not going to do a damn bit of good.
“You need to think of yourself as less of a girlfriend and more of a project. That’s what women like you are to Julian.
My brother is the conquering type, if you haven’t figured that out already.
He likes challenges, things to fix. And who better than a woman like you, someone he can cram into a dress like sausage into a casing and parade past his enemies as proof he can have whatever he wants? ”
“Shut. Up.”
“And don’t forget about the sibling rivalry factor.
He’s never liked me having things that he didn’t.
And that includes women. When he found out his little brother had managed to score a girl like you, that didn’t sit well with him.
And that’s why when he came back to town, his first order of business after taking the company from me was claiming you. ”
“No one claimed me.”
“Okay. If you want to think that you had a say in the matter, go right ahead. But Julian wanted you, and now he has you. And you’re pregnant. Congrats, by the way. I always thought you’d make good breeding stock.”
My stomach turns. I remember the first time he ever said that to me, how disgusted I felt. The smirk on his face makes it clear he remembers, too.
“Julian has found himself in an awful position now, one in which if he wants the crown and the company, he’s going to have to give you up.”
He stops pacing and looks me square in the eye.
“He’ll choose the crown. He’ll always choose the crown.
I would know—I grew up watching him being groomed for it, hearing Dad talk about Julian like he was the second coming, telling him to always put the family and the business first.” He steps in front of me and leans down a bit.
“You think this baby is going to change anything?”
He says the word baby like it’s the most disgusting thing imaginable.
“You think he’s some eager dad-to-be? No. That baby is just another loose end. He’ll cut you a check, put a wall around himself with his lawyers, and make goddamn sure you and that kid don’t come anywhere near him and his precious empire.”
He’s trying to get to me, trying to find my weak spot and attack it. The idea of Julian abandoning me and the baby hurts like hell to think about.
But I don’t let Alexander see that. I meet his gaze head-on, a smirk forming on my lips.
It takes him a second to notice it. But when he does, he frowns.
Then the anger hits.
“What the hell are you grinning at?”
“Do you hear what you’re saying? Alex, you’re not describing Julian, you’re describing yourself.”
The cockiness dies for a second and the mask drops, revealing a boy who’s been competing with his older brother since the day he was born.
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” he snarls.
“Of course, I do. We dated for years. You’re the one who cares only about the empire.
You’re the one who’ll shove anyone aside who gets in your way.
You’re the one who’s selfish and egotistical and wouldn’t allow a pregnant woman to block your ambitions.
You’re pathetic. You think you know Julian?
You don’t know the first thing about him. ”
Rage flashes in his eyes, and for a moment, I think he might take out a gun and end my life right there on the spot.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he mutters and turns away.
That's when I see it.
A shadow on the catwalk above. The slightest movement against the dark, a shape that doesn't belong, gliding along the steel beam fifteen feet above Lee's men. I keep my face expressionless.
Julian.
His eyes find mine, and he raises a finger to his lips before dissolving back into the shadows like smoke.
He’s here. He came for me.
My heart is hammering so hard against my ribs, I'm sure they can hear it. I force my breathing to slow down.
I have to give him time. I have to somehow make sure that this room stays distracted while he prepares for whatever he’s about to do.
A plan pops into my head. I clear my throat and speak.
“Mrs. Lee,” I say, projecting my voice loud enough that every head in the room turns toward me, including, for the first time since she walked in, Mrs. Lee’s.
But she doesn’t say a word.
“Before you do anything else, you should know something. You need to know what Sophia told me before you and Alex showed up.”
“Lyra, shut up,” Sophia hisses. I can tell she’s not sure where I’m going with this, only that whatever I have to say won’t be good for her.
I need to say it quick, plant the seed of doubt in Lee’s head. I hope it’s enough.
“He’s going to cut you out,” I say. “If the council falls back under Alex’s control, he’s going to push you out of the picture.
She said that he told her he doesn’t trust you at all.
The Triad alliance is temporary—nothing more than a useful tool to legitimize the takeover.
Then he’s going to replace you and the route with his people. ”
For a moment, Alex looks too shocked to speak.
Then he sputters, stammering as he says, “What the hell are you talking about? This is bullshit!”
Lee’s gaze stays locked on me. She remains silent.
Sophia opens her mouth, but I beat her to it.
“He’s going to do to you exactly what he did to me. And then he’s going to do it to Sophia. It’s a pattern, Mrs. Lee. He takes and takes, and he doesn’t share. He uses people. And when he’s done with them, he tosses them aside—even family.”
Alexander stands silent, totally dumbfounded.
Finally, Lee turns in his direction.
“Is that true?”
“No!” he instantly shouts, not missing a beat. “It’s not. Look at her! She’s tied up in a warehouse, scared for her life. She’ll say whatever it takes to walk out of here alive, even if it means putting us at one another’s throats!”
Lee doesn’t say another word to him. Instead, she turns to Sophia.
“Did he tell you anything of this sort, Sophia?”
Sophia is trembling. She could stop everything right now, and part of me thinks she will. But the longer I watch her, the more I can tell she’s not just overwhelmed by it all—she’s done.
“I–I can’t do this anymore,” she says.
Alex’s eyes go wide. “What? Tell her it’s all bullshit Sophia!”
“I can’t. I can’t be a part of this. The truth is, I don’t know what you’re going to do next, Alex. You stabbed Lyra in the back, and then you stabbed your brother in the back. What about me? What about your mom? Mrs. Lee? Is anyone safe in your world?”
The color drains from Alex’s face, his expression of disbelief is replaced by one of pure rage.
"You bitch—”
Alex starts toward her, his hands clenched into fists.
"Stop." Lee's voice is firm. Her men shift their hands toward their weapons, and Alex freezes. "Mr. Volkov. Step back from her."
"Margaret, this is exactly what they want—"
"I said, step back."
The argument explodes. Lee's and Alex’s men raise their guns in a terrifying standoff. Sophia is sobbing, her composure completely dissolved.
"This wasn't supposed to happen!" she wails. "None of this was supposed to happen. Alex, you said we'd be safe, you said—”
"Be quiet!" Lee snaps.
"You said no one would get hurt, you said—”
"Be quiet.”
"You promised—"
Lee pulls a pistol from her purse and levels it at Sophia’s head. Her finger settles on the trigger with practiced calm. I can tell that she is no stranger to firing a gun and is ready to do it again.
“I said, be quiet.” Lee says the words as a warning. Sophia recoils in fear.
Just then, the warehouse doors blow open, two massive steel doors hitting the concrete hard. Through the smoke walks a man.
Lee squints. Then, for the first time since she arrived, the steely, cold expression on her face vanishes, replaced with one of pure incomprehension.
“Yang?”
He's wounded. I can see the bandage beneath his coat, but he's walking without assistance. Behind him is a squad of men, weapons raised, moving in formation.
Lee freezes.
"Yang," she repeats. I can see her pulse spiking, her breathing becoming labored.
"Margaret." Yang's voice carries across the warehouse, calm and controlled. "We need to talk."
Alexander spins toward the door, gun raised, eyes wild. Lee's men don't know who to point their weapons at—Yang's strike team, Sophia, or me.
Behind Alexander—silently descending from the catwalk on a length of cable—Julian drops to the warehouse floor.
He lands without a sound.
He raises his weapon and points it at the back of his brother's head.
“Hello, Alexander.”
Alexander’s expression turns to one of despair and defeat. He doesn’t turn around. “J–Julian?”
“Good to see you, brother.”
Nobody is breathing.
Blood is about to be shed. The only question is whose.