Chapter 6 - The Trust
Julian pulled Marcus aside.
“You're done.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
“You work for me.”
“I did.”
Marcus looked toward the board.
“I don't anymore.”
Julian’s face hardened.
His wife watched quietly.
“What trust account?” she asked.
Marcus hesitated.
“Your late father-in-law established it.”
Her expression changed.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
Julian interrupted.
“It has nothing to do with this.”
Marcus looked at him.
“That’s not true.”
A board member stepped closer.
“Julian, what is happening?”
Julian said nothing.
His wife turned toward him.
“You told me my father left no assets.”
“He didn't.”
“He did.”
Marcus nodded.
“There is a protected family trust.”
“How much?”
Marcus looked uncomfortable.
“Enough to matter.”
Julian stepped forward.
“Marcus.”
But the CFO continued.
“It was designed to protect your ownership in the company.”
Julian’s wife stared at him.
“Protect it from whom?”
Marcus looked at Julian.
Julian’s silence was answer enough.
“From me?” she whispered.
“No.”
Julian finally spoke.
“It was complicated.”
Her expression became cold.
“You knew.”
“I knew about the trust.”
“You knew I had it.”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
She almost laughed.
“You were trying to control me.”
Julian looked away.
Leo watched his father.
The boy suddenly seemed much older than nine.
“Mom,” he whispered.
She looked down.
“Do you want me to stop?”
She paused.
Then shook her head.
“No.”
Leo raised the phone.
“There is one more thing.”
Julian’s face tightened.
“What?”
Leo looked at his mother.
She nodded.
He pressed play.
A recording began.
Julian’s voice filled the ballroom.
“If she signs the divorce settlement, the trust becomes accessible.”
His wife’s face went completely still.
The recording continued.
“And once she signs, I control the company.”
Julian closed his eyes.
Chloe looked at him as though she no longer recognized him.
The recording ended.
No one spoke.
Then Julian whispered:
“Where did you get that?”
Leo answered.
“From your own phone.”
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👉 Julian had spent years believing his secrets were protected by money, lawyers, and silence—but his own son had found the recording that could destroy his entire plan.
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