Chapter 244 Treated as a Bargaining Chip

Chapter 244 Treated as a Bargaining Chip

Below that, there was another heart drawn — a little better than the last one, though still pretty rough.

Susan smiled and slipped the note into the nightstand drawer.

That drawer already had a small collection of notes like this. She'd kept every one of them.

She got herself ready, woke Liam up for breakfast, then brought him along to the office.

She was sitting with Liam working on some sketches when her phone rang.

She wiped her hands and picked up. "Hello?"

"Miss Johnson?" The voice on the other end was a middle-aged man — deep and polite, but carrying a kind of authority that left no room for refusal. "This is Sean's father."

Susan's hand stilled slightly on the phone. "Mr. Miller. Hello."

"Is now a good time?" Julian's tone was courteous, but with a cool distance beneath it. "There's something I'd like to discuss with you in person."

Susan was quiet for a moment. "I don't think we have anything to talk about."

"I've sent a driver to pick you up," Julian said. "He'll be outside your building in about twenty minutes."

"Mr. Miller, you—"

"Miss Johnson." Julian cut her off, his voice dropping. "I'm not asking. You're coming today whether you want to or not."

The call ended.

Susan stood there holding her phone and took a slow, deep breath.

"Mommy, I think I heard Grandpa's voice," Liam said, looking up at her with wide, curious eyes.

"You did. Grandpa needs to talk to me, so I have to go out for a bit. I'll drop you off with Daddy, and you two wait for me to come back, okay?"

Liam pouted. "Can't I come with you?"

"No, sweetie. Grandpa only invited me. If I brought you along, he'd get upset — and you don't want that, do you?"

Thinking about how kind his grandfather had always been to him, Liam shook his head. "No."

"Then it's settled."

After making the plan with Liam, she dropped him off at Sean's place and headed back to the office.

A black sedan was waiting outside her building. The driver was a man in his fifties, wearing a uniform pressed without a single crease. When he saw her come out, he opened the rear door and gave a slight bow.

"Miss Johnson. Right this way."

Susan got in. The streets outside the window shifted from familiar to foreign as the car turned onto a road she'd never been down before, finally stopping in front of the gates of the Miller family estate.

She hadn't been here in years.

The last time was not long after she and Sean had gotten married. She'd come with him, full of hope, to meet his parents — only to have Julian look her over from head to toe and send her off with a single line: "Now that you've married into this family, know your place and don't embarrass the Millers."

Years had passed, but the house hadn't changed at all.

The grey stone walls. The wrought iron gate with its carved detailing. Two rows of holly bushes in the yard, trimmed to perfection.

Even the air smelled the same — stale and heavy, with a weight that was hard to name.

A servant led her down the hallway and pushed open the living room door.

Julian was seated on the sofa, one hand resting on an ebony cane, his back perfectly straight.

He wore a dark grey suit, the top button fastened without exception, his hair combed neatly into place. The whole effect was like a well-honed old blade — commanding without raising his voice.

"Sit." He tilted his chin toward the chair across from him.

Susan sat down, spine straight, hands folded neatly in her lap.

She didn't speak. She just looked at him, calm and steady.

Julian studied her for a moment, then picked up the clay teapot from the table and poured a cup, sliding it across to her.

"Nina Johnson, right?"

Susan's fingers curled slightly, but nothing showed on her face.

"Mr. Miller, I don't think you called me here just to confirm my name. Whatever you want to say, just say it."

"Fine. I will." Julian set down his teacup and leaned back into the sofa, his gaze fixed on her like two sharp points. "Leave my son. As compensation, I'll pay you. Name your price."

The room went quiet. From somewhere in the corner, the pendulum of an old grandfather clock swung back and forth, each tick landing heavy in the silence.

Susan looked at the old man across from her and let out a small, quiet laugh.

"Mr. Miller, I think you've misunderstood something. I'm not with Sean because I need money."

Julian's expression hardened, a flicker of undisguised contempt in his voice. "Do you honestly think you're good enough for this family?"

The hands in Susan's lap slowly tightened into fists. She didn't lose her temper. "I think I'm more than good enough."

"You don't know what's good for you!" Julian's palm came down on the table. The teacup rattled. "You think just because Sean takes your side, I can't do anything about you?"

"That's not what I think." Susan stood up. "Mr. Miller, if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving."

"Stop."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a weight that didn't leave much choice.

Julian pushed himself up with his cane and walked toward her, stopping close — looking down at her from above.

"Miss Johnson, I'm done going back and forth with you. Either you walk away from Sean on your own, or I'll make you walk away. The fact that I'm sitting here having this conversation with you at all is out of respect for the time you've spent with him — a last bit of dignity I'm offering you. Don't throw it away."

Susan met his gaze without flinching. "And if I say no?"

Julian held her stare for three slow seconds, then smiled — a smile with nothing warm in it. "Then you won't be leaving today."

He turned toward the door. "Someone get in here."

The living room door swung open. Two men in black walked in — broad-shouldered, blank-faced — and took up positions on either side of her.

"Take Miss Johnson up to the room on the fourth floor," Julian said, his back to them. "She doesn't leave that room without my permission."

Susan felt her stomach drop.

She understood it clearly now. She still wasn't standing on high enough ground. To Julian, she was just a piece on a board — to be moved wherever he wanted.

She didn't fight it. She knew resistance would get her nowhere and would only make things worse.

"Miss Johnson, once Sean does what I've asked and marries Victoria, you'll be free to go. If he refuses, I'll tear your company apart, ship you out of the country, and make sure you never come near my son again."

Susan laughed, unbothered. "Is Mr. Miller only brave enough to say these things to me? If you've got the nerve, say it to your son's face."

Julian's chest heaved. "Fine. Just fine. Still running that mouth. We'll see how long you keep that up. Take her away!"