Chapter 130: When Secrets Bleed

Chapter 130: When Secrets Bleed
Two months ago, when the leaks had started. When Crane had suddenly gotten bolder.
Julian frowned.
His hands moved faster, digging through the metadata. The source of some of these files—where had they come from originally?
He froze.
The access point was a familiar one.
An encrypted server he recognized all too well.
Because it wasn’t Crane’s server.
It was his.
His private, internal server at Styles Industries.
The one only a handful of people had clearance to.
The only explanation was that someone close to him had leaked them.
Someone he trusted.
Someone... he loved.
Julian leaned back in his chair, stunned.
Lexi.
It couldn't be.
His mind raced back to small things—things he'd ignored because he loved her too much to question.
Her sudden disappearances. Her panic when certain topics came up. Her distant look sometimes, as if she was drowning in guilt.
He gritted his teeth, breathing heavily.
She had betrayed him once.
Maybe not now. Maybe now she was trying to fix it.
But the damage had been done.
And he, like a fool, had welcomed her into his bed, into his heart, while she carried the knife that wounded him.
Julian slammed the laptop shut.
The storm outside mirrored the storm raging inside him.
Across town, Lexi sat curled on her couch, knees pulled to her chest, staring blankly at the silent television.
She felt hollow.
Exhausted.
She should feel victorious. She had helped Julian finally corner Nicholas Crane.
But she couldn’t shake the feeling that the ground beneath her was about to give way.
Her phone buzzed.
Her heart leapt.
Julian: "Come to the office. Now."
No heart emoji. No teasing words.
Just a command.
Lexi stood up, her legs trembling.
She had no choice but to face him.
No more running.
The drive to Styles Tower felt endless.
Lexi clutched the steering wheel, her stomach a knot of dread.
When she entered the building, security let her through without a word, their faces unusually grim.
Arthur was waiting by the private elevator, his expression unreadable.
"He's upstairs," he said simply.
Lexi nodded and stepped into the elevator alone.
Her reflection in the mirrored walls looked pale and haunted.
When the doors slid open onto Julian's floor, he was already waiting.
Standing behind his desk, arms crossed, his face carved from stone.
Lexi took a tentative step forward.
"Julian—"
"Sit down," he said, his voice so cold it made her flinch.
She obeyed, sinking into the chair across from him.
For a long, agonizing moment, he said nothing.
Then he pushed a folder toward her across the desk.
Lexi’s hands shook as she opened it.
Screenshots.
Server logs.
Timestamps.
All pointing to her.
"I didn't..." she began, voice cracking.
"You did," Julian said, his eyes like frozen steel. "Maybe not intentionally at first. Maybe you were desperate. Maybe you were scared. I don't care."
Tears blurred her vision.
"I was trying to protect my father," she whispered.
Julian’s jaw flexed.
"At the cost of everything else."
"I didn’t know," Lexi cried. "I didn’t know it would get this bad. I didn’t know it would hurt you like this."
Julian laughed bitterly—a broken, hollow sound.
"You didn’t know hurting the man who trusted you would destroy him?"
Lexi opened her mouth, but no words came out.
"Did you ever love me?" Julian asked, so softly it made her heart shatter.
"Yes!" she sobbed. "God, yes, Julian. I love you. I never stopped."
He stared at her for a long, suffocating moment.
"I should destroy you," he said quietly. "I should ruin you the way you ruined me."
Lexi squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the blow.
But it never came.
Instead, Julian turned away, his shoulders heaving once.
"Get out," he said hoarsely.
Lexi looked up, stunned.
"Please," he said, not turning around. "Just go before I forget how much I loved you."
Fresh tears streamed down her cheeks.
She stood slowly, feeling like her entire body was made of glass about to break.
She walked to the door.
Paused.
Turned back.
"I’m sorry," she whispered. "More than you’ll ever know."
And then she left.
The door clicked shut behind her.
And Julian sank into his chair, burying his face in his hands.
Alone.
Just as he deserved.
Just as she had left him.
Julian sat in the darkened penthouse, staring at nothing.
The whiskey glass dangled from his fingers, untouched. The city lights outside blurred into meaningless specks. A cold rage burned inside him, hotter than anything he'd ever known. He had been betrayed. Used. Played like a fool.
First by Crane.
And worse — by Lexi.
The woman he'd let into his heart. His home. His bed.
He should have known better. Love was a weakness he couldn't afford. A weapon people would always use against him.
He tilted his head back and laughed, a rough, humorless sound that echoed hollowly off the marble floors.
"Never again," he whispered into the darkness. "Never again."
Tomorrow, he would end it.
All of it.
He wouldn't just ruin Crane — he'd obliterate him.
He wouldn't just survive — he'd rebuild himself so untouchable, no one would ever get close enough to hurt him again.
No one.
Not even Lexi.
Meanwhile, across the city, Lexi curled up on her apartment floor, shivering despite the blankets piled over her. Her face was stained with dried tears. Her body ached. Her soul felt shattered.
She had lost him.
For good this time.
And she deserved it.
But that didn’t mean she would sit back and let Nicholas Crane win.
No.
She had started this mess.
She would finish it.
Even if Julian never forgave her.
Even if he hated her forever.
Lexi pushed herself off the floor, wiping her face.
She opened her laptop and began typing furiously, heart pounding with every word.
Contacts. Leads. Dirt on Crane’s empire.
She would find his weaknesses.
She would expose him, piece by piece, until there was nothing left.
She wasn't doing it for herself.
Not anymore.
She was doing it for the man she loved.
The man she had lost.