Chapter 663 Julian's Revenge: He Has Never Been This Ruthless 2
Julian and Taylor were walking Luna to the car when Cressida came hurrying after them.
Dusk had settled, the fading light softening her gaunt features but doing nothing to hide the guilt in her eyes.
Her voice trembled. "Julian, I am her mother!"
Julian's back stiffened. A moment later, he opened the rear door and spoke to Taylor in a low, steady tone. "Take Luna inside."
Taylor understood. He meant to deal with Cressida himself. Without sparing Cressida a glance, she carried Luna into the car. Through the glass, she and Julian held each other's gaze for ten long seconds before he finally turned away.
Under the streetlights, Julian faced Cressida.
"Mother?" His voice was cold. "Do you even deserve that title?"
Cressida knew the game was over. After tonight, getting near Luna again would be nearly impossible. She guessed Julian might take the girl abroad, and her tone softened. "Julian, I was Efrain's wife. Luna is the proof of our love. You can't keep her from me."
Her voice rose again, sharp and desperate. She jabbed a finger toward the car. "You let some stranger take care of my child. You let her steal my daughter from me! Julian, are you really that cruel?"
To anyone else, her performance might have been convincing. But not to Julian.
Her lies had already cost Efrain his life. He would not let her harm anyone else he cared about. Still, he gave her one last way out. "Leave Evergreen City. Never show your face to Luna again."
It was more mercy than she deserved. But Cressida's pride wouldn't allow it. She stared at him, incredulous. "Fine, you don't love me. But how dare you drive me away? How dare you deny me my own child?"
Her voice turned venomous. "As long as I'm here, the two of you will never be happy. You can't get rid of me, Julian."
"Is that so?"
He stood beneath the streetlight, its glow falling over his shoulders but leaving his face in shadow. His eyes were darker than the night, and there was something in them that could chill the blood.
Cressida didn't recognize it. If she had, she might have realized she would one day regret this moment.
Julian turned without another word, climbed into the car, and shut the door. In his mind, her fate was already sealed.
The air was bitterly cold.
The glass separated two worlds — warmth inside, freezing wind outside. No one cared about the woman left shivering in the street. Julian least of all.
Cressida stood there, watching the black car pull away until it disappeared into the dark.
Julian kept his eyes on the road. At a red light, he glanced back to speak to Taylor and Luna. The little girl clung to Taylor's arms, still shaken. Taylor stroked her hair.
"Let's not go to Emerald Harbor for a while. She'll feel safer somewhere familiar."
Julian gave a quiet nod.
"Tomorrow we can take her to my uncle's," Taylor added. "Jacob and Serafina's baby is about seven months old — adorable. I think Luna will love it."
Julian met her eyes in the rearview mirror. He trusted her completely. She had studied child psychology, and he didn't question her judgment.
The black SUV sped through the night and pulled into the villa's driveway.
Kellan and Kennedy, both highly educated, didn't overwhelm Luna with questions. They simply hugged her. Kennedy carried her to the bathroom, washed her little hands with a duck-shaped soap, and made her giggle.
Luna's sunny nature returned quickly; she wasn't one to hold grudges.
When they came out, Kennedy looked around. Julian was nowhere in sight.
Taylor served Luna a small bowl of steaming oxtail soup. "He said he's in the study, taking care of something."
A mother knows her son. Kennedy guessed enough to sigh quietly. "Then let's eat."
Upstairs, the study was cold — the heat left off on purpose.
Julian sat at his desk, phone pressed to his ear, his laptop open to a set of confidential banking records. Cressida's records.
The blue glow lit his face, sharpening the hard lines.
A young man's voice came through the phone. "Mr. Learmond, rest assured. For twenty million, I'll make sure Ms. Lawson invests everything she has. She'll lose it all. In the market, the only danger is if she refuses to take the bait."
Julian held a cigarette between long fingers, inhaled, then set it in the ashtray.
His tone was flat. "Do what you need to. Text me if there's a problem."
He ended the call and opened a photo folder. One image looked strikingly like him — but without the faint red mole between his brows.
Kevin Chapman. A sharp player in the finance world. Julian had met him by chance, tested him with a portion of his wealth, and watched him turn a profit. The man had skill.
But now, Julian didn't want Cressida to make money. He wanted her ruined.
Leaning back in the leather chair, he turned a lighter in his hand, a cold smile tugging at his lips.
What happens to someone when they lose both love and fortune? Especially someone as proud as Cressida?
Taylor stepped inside just in time to see that smile.
"Julian?" she asked softly.
He blinked, the warmth returning to his face, though a trace of that earlier darkness still lingered in his eyes.
Taylor wasn't surprised. She had never believed Julian was only gentle. Men who built empires didn't get there by kindness alone. In that, he was more like Jacob than his late brother Efrain.
She closed the door behind her and crossed the room. "Your mother asked if you're coming down for dinner. If not, she'll have a plate brought up."
He wasn't hungry, but he wasn't one to dampen the mood.
"I'll have pasta," he said with a faint smile.
"All right. I'll tell her."
She turned to leave — but his hand caught hers.