Chapter 64 Haunting Truth
Elena didn’t wait for the elevator to finish chiming. She burst through the doors and sprinted down the silent, plush carpeted hallway of the presidential floor.
Her breathing was ragged, fueled by a mixture of terror and pure, white-hot fury. Mandy tried to keep up, but Elena was moving too fast.
The two police officers Silas had stationed there stood at attention as she approached, their eyes widening at her sudden intensity, but they didn't block her path.
She slammed her palms against the heavy double doors of the suite. They swung open with a bang that echoed through the empty living area.
Julian was standing by the mahogany desk, a tablet in his hand. He looked up, his face as calm and unreadable as ever.
"You emptied the hotel," Elena screamed, her voice cracking. She didn't stop until she was standing two feet away from him.
“Calm down, Elena. What do you mean?"
"I went downstairs, Julian. I saw the lobby. I saw the empty parking lot. You kicked out hundreds of people. You bought a five-hundred-room building just to turn it into a cage for me!"
Julian set the tablet down on the desk. He didn't look angry. He looked tired. "I did what was necessary, Elena. After last night, after the pit, I couldn't risk a single person getting close to this floor who hasn't been vetted by my team. Public hotels are security nightmares. Now, I own the space. I control the exits. You are safe here."
"I am not safe!" she yelled, stepping into his personal space. "I am a prisoner! You are preventing me from making contact with the outside world. You’re cutting me off from everyone so you can keep feeding me your lies. Is that the plan? Keep me in a glass cage until I forget that you’ve been lying to me since the day we met?"
Julian stepped forward, reaching out to touch her shoulder.
His voice softened, dropping into that low, soothing tone he always used when he wanted to calm her down. "Elena, please. You’re emotional. You’ve been through a trauma. Your brain is in fight-or-flight mode. Just sit down. Let the doctor check your vitals again. We can talk when you’ve had some rest."
Elena snapped. She slapped his hand away, her eyes burning with tears.
"Don't you dare tell me I'm being irrational! I ran away because of you! I fell into that hole because you wouldn't stop lying! I am done resting, Julian. I am done being managed like a project."
She took a deep breath, her chest heaving. "No more deflecting. No more security talk. I want the truth. Right now. I want to know who Cassandra is. I want to know why there is a fully furnished hospital in the basement of our home. I want to know what Project Angel is. And I want to know the truth about Samson Miller."
Julian’s posture went rigid and the anger in his eyes seemed to dim for a split second. He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off.
"If you try to tell me I'm seeing things, I swear to everything I hold dear, Julian, I will walk out of this hotel," she threatened, pointing at the balcony. "If the police stop me, I'll find another way. I’ll jump off this building before I let you lie to me for one more second. Tell me everything."
Julian looked at her for a long time.
The silence in the empty hotel felt heavy. He realized he couldn't stall her anymore. He walked over to the sofa and sat down, rubbing his face with his hands.
He looked human for the first time, almost defeated and old.
"Sit down, Elena," he said quietly.
She sat in the armchair opposite him, her body tense, ready to bolt.
"Yes," Julian said, his voice a low vibration. "I was once Samson Miller. That was my name and that was my life."
"Everyone in Savannah thinks you’re dead," Elena said. "I saw the records. There was an accident, some sort of mountain pass."
"I had to forge that death," Julian said. He looked out at the city. "I was a Ranger. I saw things and did things that made it impossible for me to stay in the service. I wanted out, but the military doesn't just let people like me walk away. They own you. I had to create a scenario where I was gone forever so they would stop looking. It was complicated, Elena. It was violent. It’s not something I expect a civilian to understand."
"And the eye color? The fake name?" she asked.
"Reconstruction," he said. "New identity. New life. I became Julian Thorne so I could move in circles where Samson Miller could never go."
"And Project Angel?" Elena pressed. "The goal of the project was to protect me. Why? Why did I need protection ten years ago? I was a college student. I was a billionaire’s daughter."
Julian leaned forward, his eyes locked onto hers. "You were at risk long before you knew it. There were people, powerful people, who wanted to use you to get to your father. There were threats against your life that Marcus couldn't handle on his own."
Elena let out a bitter laugh. "That’s a lie. My father is Marcus Vance. He’s one of the most influential men in the country. He has his own security. He could have protected me. He didn't need to hire a dead man and turn him into a husband."
"You really think Marcus could protect you?" Julian asked. His voice held a hint of a sneer. "If he was so capable, Elena, then why did he come to me? Why did he beg for the project to start?"
Elena froze. "What do you mean he came to you? My father has no business with you. I only agreed to this marriage because of the debt. I did it to save the family name because we were going bankrupt."
Julian shook his head, a dark look crossing his face. "That is what they wanted you to believe. The debt was a cover. A story to make the marriage look like a business transaction so no one would look deeper. Marcus didn't need your help to save the company. He needed my help to save you."
"I don't believe you," Elena whispered. "My father loves me. He wouldn't—"
"Your father is a man who plays a very dangerous game, Elena," Julian said.
"You’re lying," Elena said, her voice rising again. "You’re just trying to shift the blame to him because I found you out. You're trying to make yourself look like a hero."
"Demand the answers from him, then," Julian said, standing up. "But I am telling you, the world you think you live in doesn't exist. You are the center of a war you don't even understand."
"Enough of this!" she shouted. "I want to see the files. I want to know who—"
Right then, there was a loud crash.
The double doors of the suite slammed back against the walls with a violent force.
Elena jumped to her feet, her heart leaping into her throat. Julian moved instantly, stepping in front of her, his hand reaching for the small of his back.
Standing in the doorway was Marcus Vance.
His face was red with anger, his coat was disheveled, and his eyes were wide and red with anger.
Right behind him was Eva. She was dressed in a shimmering club dress, her makeup perfect, but her expression was one of pure disgust as she looked around the empty, luxury suite.
"Mr. Vance," Julian said, his voice dropping into a low tone. "You aren't supposed to be here. My men were told to block the floor."
"Your men can go fuck themselves!" Marcus roared, stepping into the room. He pointed a finger at Julian, then at Elena. “You ungrateful little girl!"
Elena stepped out from behind Julian, her hands shaking. "Dad? What are you doing here?"