Chapter 208 The confrontation

Chapter 208 The confrontation


~Chard’s POV~

Lora came home looking sad.

She didn’t say anything at first. She just walked into the living room, sat on the couch, and stared at the floor like she was still trying to process something. I knew that look. Something had happened.

I closed my laptop and walked over to her.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

She looked up at me. Her eyes were tired.“I went to see Chris today,” she said quietly.

I frowned. “Chris? Why?”

“He asked to see me. Said it was important.” She took a deep breath. “He told me something about Julian.”

My body tensed immediately.

“What did he say?”

Lora hesitated for a second before speaking.

“He said Julian isn’t who we think he is. He told me Julian has the hotel photos. The ones Elena tried to use against you. And…” She paused. “He said Julian replied to Chris’s message that night, pretending to be me. That’s how Julian knew where to find him. He also said Julian saw Chris’s face the night he attacked me at the penthouse. And he never told you.”

I felt something cold settle in my chest.

I stared at her for a long moment, trying to process what she just said.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

Lora nodded. “He was very clear. He said Julian has been playing both sides. That he wants what you have. The company. The power.”

I ran a hand over my face. My jaw was already tight.

Julian.

My own stepbrother.

I had always known he was ambitious. I knew he was bitter about not getting more from our father’s company. But this? This was something else.

He had known who attacked Lora and said nothing.

He had the photos and kept themAnd now I was finding out from the man who tried to hurt my wife.

I stood up and started pacing round the room

Lora watched me quietly.

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

I stopped and looked at her.

“I’m going to talk to him,” I said. “Tonight.”

Lora stood up too. “Chard, be careful. We don’t know how far he’s willing to go.”

I gave her a small, cold smile. “Neither does he.”

I called Julian and told him to meet me at one of the old family warehouses by the docks. Neutral ground. No cameras. No witnesses.

He arrived twenty minutes later.

When he walked in, he looked calm, like he had no idea what this was about. He even smiled a little when he saw me.

“Chard,” he said. “What’s so urgent that you had to drag me out here?”

I didn’t smile back.

I pulled out my phone, made sure the recording was on, and placed it on a wooden crate beside me.

Julian’s eyes followed the movement. His smile faded slightly.

“What’s going on?” he asked.I stepped closer to him.

“I had an interesting conversation today,” I said. “With Chris.”

Julian’s expression didn’t change much, but I saw the slight shift in his eyes.

“He told me some things,” I continued. “Things I think you should hear.”

Julian crossed his arms. “And what exactly did he say?”

I looked him straight in the eye.

“Did you pay Elena for those photos?” I asked. “The ones from the hotel. The ones she tried to use against me.”

Julian didn’t answer immediately.

I took another step forward.

“And the most important question,” I said. “Did you see Chris’s face after he attacked Lora that night? Did you see his face? Did you pretend to be her in messages just so you could find him?”

The silence that followed was heavy.

Julian stared at me for a long moment. Then he let out a slow breath and looked away.

“Yes,” he said.

The word hit me harder than I expected.

I felt my chest tighten.

“You knew,” I said. My voice was low. “You knew he attacked her, and you said nothing.”

Julian finally looked at me again.

“I saw his face that night,” he admitted. “When I chased him down the stairs. The streetlight caught him. I recognized him. And yes, I replied to his message pretending to be Lora. I wanted to know what he knew.”

My hands curled into fists at my sides.

“And the photos?” I asked. “Did you pay Elena for them?”

Julian nodded once. “I did. I wanted leverage. Against you. Against the company. I’ve been buying shares quietly for months. I have eighteen percent now.”

I felt something break inside me.

I had always known Julian was ambitious. I just never thought he would go this far.

“Father would be so disappointed in you,” I said. My voice cracked on the last word. “Even in the grave.”

Julian’s face twitched, but he didn’t say anything.

I picked up my phone and stopped the recording.
Julian watched me.

“What are you going to do with that?” he asked.

I looked at him one last time.“You’ll find out soon enough,” I said.Then I turned and walked out of the warehouse.I sat in my car for a long time after I left.

The recording was still on my phone.

I stared at it for a while, my thumb hovering over the screen. Then I opened my messages and sent it to Silas.

My most trusted contact. The one person who could make sure something like this spread fast.

I typed a short message along with it:

Make sure this gets out. Everywhere.Then I put my phone down and started the car.

As I drove home, I kept thinking about Julian’s face when he admitted everything. There was no remorse. Just cold calculation.

He had been working against me for a long time.
And now everyone was going to know.