Chapter 55 Unplanned Set Up
“We need to talk.” Damien’s words breathed like poison between them.
Julian paused briefly, his eyes sweeping over Damien’s frame as though measuring the inconvenience of his presence.
“You should give me a chance to speak this time around. We need to have this talk and get it done with. Just this once.” Damien added, his tone carrying desperation.
Julian did not respond immediately. He simply studied him with that same unreadable expression Damien had grown to hate since childhood. It was the expression of someone who never reacted impulsively. Someone who always remained five steps ahead.
Finally, Julian turned toward the entrance.
“Ten minutes,” he said calmly.
That was all.
He did not invite Damien. He simply walked inside, expecting him to follow.
And Damien did.
They moved through the pristine lobby and into the private elevator reserved for Julian alone. The ride upward was silent, suffocating, filled with unspoken hostility.
When they reached the executive floor, Julian led him into his office.
The space was vast, elegant, and minimal. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city below, offering a view that reminded Damien exactly how far Julian had climbed. Envy tightened his throat as he mentally evaluated the effort put into this building.
Julian walked behind his desk but didn’t sit.
Instead, he removed his gloves slowly, before placing them on the gleaming surface of his desk.
He turned his neck sideways, bones cracking. “You have ten minutes,” he repeated.
Damien started to speak.
“Have you given Seraphina the will?”
Julian’s eyes narrowed, his expression remaining stoic.
“That is no longer your business.”
Damien’s jaw flexed.
“It is my business,” he said firmly. “Because the will is fake.”
Julian’s gaze sharpened slightly.
He said nothing.
That silence unsettled Damien more than any words could have. That was enough response. Because Damien knew that look.
Julian did not believe him.
He exhaled sharply.
“Fine,” he said. “It is real.”
Julian’s eyes remained fixed on him, patient, and waiting for him to say something that might finally pick his interest even though he doubted there was any.
Damien forced himself to continue.
“You have to understand something. I do not want Seraphina misunderstanding the situation. Especially if she finds out I was involved in retrieving it without knowing why.”
Julian tilted his head faintly, his attention sharpening further.
Damien pressed forward.
“The truth is, I had the opportunity to get the real will from Talia. I took it because I wanted to help Seraphina reclaim her rightful place as the true Moreau heiress.”
Julian let out a quiet snort.
The sound carried pure disgust.
“Since when did you start caring about Seraphina that much?” Julian asked, voice calm as ice.
Damien’s jaw hardened.
“Seraphina and I dated,” he said. “We were engaged. Remember? I proposed to her.”
Julian’s lips curved into a dark, humorless smile.
“And yet you had no difficulty badmouthing her during your interview weeks ago.”
Damien’s eyes flashed.
“I did not badmouth her,” he snapped. “Whatever I said was to save face. Her engagement to you came out of nowhere. It blindsided me.”
Julian said nothing.
Damien continued, his frustration rising.
“I was triggered because you proposed to her publicly at an event that we didn’t even know you orchestrated until you were introduced. You humiliated me. You purposely did that to throw me off. You invited me and father under the guise of another name.”
“Zenith One is my company’s name. I didn’t hide.” Julian said, voice still leveled.
Damien clenched his fists, searching for the right words to say. Julian stepped around the desk now, closing the distance between them.
“You came here to talk about the will?” Julian asked quietly. “Or is this about something else?”
Damien hesitated.
Julian’s gaze darkened.
“Let me guess,” Julian continued. “You are concerned about the Moreau inheritance.”
Damien immediately felt attacked, the need to defend himself burning brighter than fire.
“Is Father’s empire no longer enough for you?” Julian asked coldly. “At least, you no longer have me to share that with. Or is your greed simply endless?”
Color drained from Damien’s face.
Julian stepped closer.
“Seraphina is mine now,” Julian said, his voice low, controlled, and absolute. “And I do not tolerate interference when it comes to her.”
The possessiveness in his tone ignited something volatile inside Damien.
“Yours?” Damien repeated, anger surging. “She was never yours, Julian. You’re doing this to get back at me. I know.”
He laughed bitterly, then continued. “You can wed her, but Seraphina will come back to me. You are no match, Julian.”
Julian raised a brow, feeling slightly disappointed that Damien was still as impulsive as ever. Never understanding how to have a fair conversation without littering his emotions all over the place.
Sometimes, he hated to remember they are twins.
“I won’t repeat myself, Damien. Get her name off your tongue, and maybe you won’t have to regret the words you’ve swallowed.”
Just when he half-expected Damien to understand he was in no mood to banter with him, Damien retorted.
“Okay then. Since you’ve refused to reason with me like a normal human being, we can call this war.”
If Julian was just a little bit irritated before, he was very annoyed now. He laughed.
But there was nothing amusing in the sound.
“Well, the height of war was when you framed me for a murder I did not commit.”
Damien froze.
Julian stepped closer, his expression hardening now.
“You lied,” Julian continued. “You told Father I killed him.”
The memory surged between them, raw and poisonous. Julian’s eyes gave away his buried pain but he didn’t care at the moment.
“That lie- cost me everything.”
Damien clenched his jaw. “I was terrified,” he said.
Julian’s eyes narrowed, waiting for more.
“I did not mean to kill him,” Damien admitted. “But he deserved it.”
The confession danced across the room.
Damien’s voice grew strained.
“I knew Father favored you. I knew he would be more lenient with you than with me. So I shifted the blame to you. I didn’t know he was going to chase you out.”
Julian stared at him. Not surprised. Not shocked.
Only confirming what he had always known.
“And you have lived comfortably with that decision ever since,” Julian said.
Damien said nothing.
Julian’s voice turned cold again.
“Your ten minutes are up.”
He turned away dismissively.
“You can leave.”
Damien’s hands trembled at his sides.
“Seraphina is mine, Julian. You have to let go. There is no option.” Damien said suddenly.
Julian stopped. He couldn’t believe that Damien had easily moved past the sensitive history between them to talk about what will benefit him. Now, he loathed his presence. He didn’t only want him to leave, he wanted to leave words that he would remember and keep shivering till he reach home.
So- Slowly, he turned back.
His eyes were so cold as he started speaking, “We shall see. I wonder who she would choose between the brother who cheated on her with her stepsister and deceived her for wealth…”
He paused, his voive dropping.
“…and the brother who saved her and she had a child for.”
Damien went completely still.
His mind struggled to process the last words. “What did you mean?”
Julian’s lips curved faintly.
“I will leave you to do the calculation yourself. You’re just a loser, Damien.”
Damien couldn’t focus on the insult. Instead, realization dawned slowly and horrifically.
Julian watched him unravel. Now, this was the only part he got to enjoy from his twin being here.
“So now,” Julian said calmly, voice slightly above a whisper “get the fuck out of my office.”
His tone left no room for argument.
Damien’s hands trembled visibly.
Even though he had a lot to say, he forced himself to move, refusing to let Julian see the full extent of his reaction.
His thoughts spiraled violently as he turned and stormed toward the door.
The moment he stepped outside, his composure cracked completely.
Seraphina.
Julian.
A child. How? Was he referring to Phoenix?
His chest tightened with a mixture of rage, disbelief, and weakness.
If that was true, then he had underestimated the matter on ground.
Behind him, Julian remained standing in the center of the office.
He waited, listening until the sound of Damien’s footsteps faded completely.
Only then did Julian move.
He returned to his desk and sat down slowly, his expression one of satisfaction.
Julian relaxed into his chair thinking that he had overrated Damien though he had always known he was an impulsive fool, but didn’t expect him to speak so carelessly like that in his office. And now, Damien had spoken to his doom.
He reached into the inner pocket of his suit and withdrew a small device.
A recorder.
He pressed play, and Damien’s words from earlier filled his office space.
A dark smile spread slowly across his face.
Damien had unknowingly walked into his office to set himself up. And when the time came, Julian would use Damien’s own words to destroy him completely.
He just needed the right moment.