Chapter 11 - The Phantom Brother
The Mediterranean sun was a fading memory by the time we returned to the relentless pulse of Manhattan.
Our honeymoon had been a beautiful illusion of peace, but New York was where the real wars were fought.
Julian and I stepped out of the black town car, the flash of paparazzi cameras completely blinding in the evening twilight.
I was no longer just the surviving heiress; I was Elena Vance, the formidable co-chair of a multi-billion dollar empire.
I wore my power like armor, walking perfectly in stride with my husband into the towering glass lobby of Vance Holdings.
But empires always attract vultures, and our absence had given them time to circle.
Elias, Julian’s head of security, was waiting for us by the private elevator with a grim expression on his scarred face.
He handed Julian a secure tablet without saying a single word.
Julian’s icy blue eyes scanned the screen, and I watched his jaw clench so tightly I thought his teeth might shatter.
"What is it?" I asked, placing a gentle hand on his tense forearm.
Julian handed the tablet to me, his voice dropping to a dangerous, lethal whisper.
"The rats are crawling out of the sewers, Elena."
I looked at the screen, expecting to see a rogue competitor or a fluctuating stock index.
Instead, it was a grainy surveillance photo taken outside a dive bar deep in the grimy streets of Queens.
Derek Hale was in the photo, wearing a stained bartender’s apron and looking like a completely broken man.
But the man sitting across the sticky table from him was the real problem.
He had Julian’s sharp jawline, Julian’s dark hair, but his eyes were a venomous, calculating green.
"Who is that?" I breathed, feeling a sudden, icy chill trace its way down my spine.
"That is Marcus," Julian said, stepping into the elevator and pulling me close.
"He is my estranged half-brother, and he was exiled from this family a decade ago for trying to assassinate our father."
The elevator doors slid shut, sealing us in a luxurious, terrifying silence.
May you like
"And now," Julian continued, his eyes burning with absolute fury.
"He is back, and he is recruiting the trash we left behind."
