exactly the way he liked it. “I’m just… I’m so scared. The police have been asking me terrible things.”
Julian scoffed, a dark, arrogant amusement in his eyes. He slipped his hands into his pockets. “The police are insects, Clara. They don’t understand the pressures of our world. I lost my temper the other night. Men under immense financial pressure make mistakes. You know I love you. You know everything I do is for this family.”
“You broke my arm, Julian,” I whispered, stepping further into the concrete room. “You left me on the floor.”
“I disciplined a hysterical situation,” he countered smoothly, the mask already slipping. He couldn’t help himself. His narcissism was his greatest weakness. “You were threatening to embarrass me. I simply restrained you. You’re lucky I was there to cover for your clumsiness at the hospital. Without me, Clara, you have nothing. I own the apartment.
I own the bank accounts. You don’t exist on paper without my signature.”
Keep him talking, Agent Miller’s voice crackled faintly in my ear.
“They asked me about money, Julian,” I pushed, wrapping my good arm around my stomach. “They asked me about offshore companies. They showed me a life insurance policy. Two million dollars, Julian. Why is there a policy on my life that I never signed?”
Julian’s eyes narrowed. The charming facade vanished entirely, replaced by the cold, calculating predator I had seen in the kitchen. He took a slow, deliberate step toward me.
“You’ve been talking to federal agents,” he stated, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper.
“I didn’t tell them anything!” I cried, backing away, my heart hammering. “I swear, Julian, I played dumb. But I need to know the truth. Were you going to kill me? Were you laundering drug money?”
Julian laughed. It
