Chapter 6 - Before Serena Could Leave
Julian found Serena on the aft deck with two suitcases beside her.
She was wearing sunglasses though there was no reason to hide tears anymore.
“Elena told the captain to stop me from leaving?”
“No,” Julian said. “I did.”
Serena laughed bitterly.
“You don’t own the yacht.”
“No. But I asked you to wait until we finish one conversation.”
“We’ve had enough conversations.”
“Not about why you carried a picture of my son for three years.”
Her face changed.
Julian held up the torn photograph inside the clear bag.
Serena stared.
“That is not what you think.”
“You’ve been saying that for twenty-four hours.”
She removed her sunglasses.
Her eyes were red.
“I was scared.”
“Of Ethan?”
“Of losing you.”
The confession came quietly.
Julian said nothing.
Serena continued.
“I loved you before your marriage ended.”
“You were my assistant.”
“I know.”
“You told me Elena was cheating.”
“I thought she was.”
“You altered emails.”
Her silence answered.
Julian felt nausea.
“You called her pretending to be me.”
“I was trying to stop her from dragging you back into the same cycle.”
“You told her I doubted Ethan was mine.”
“You did doubt her loyalty!”
“That is not permission to speak as me.”
Serena’s voice rose.
“You were miserable! She was miserable! Every day you came into that office like someone had hollowed you out. I watched you destroy yourself over a woman who wouldn’t even explain where she went.”
“She was pregnant.”
“I didn’t know at first.”
“But you knew before the divorce ended.”
“Yes.”
“And you still hid it.”
Serena looked toward ocean.
“Your mother said a baby would trap you forever.”
Julian laughed bitterly.
“My mother was wrong.”
“She was your mother.”
“And you were the woman who benefited.”
Serena turned back.
“You think I planned five years ahead? I thought you would heal.”
“And then?”
“I stayed.”
“No. You watched Elena.”
Serena’s face tightened.
“Because I knew one day she would come back.”
“Why?”
“She never stopped loving you.”
Julian went still.
Serena laughed through tears.
“That’s what terrified me. If she hated you, I could compete with that. But every report said she was alone. She didn’t remarry. She never publicly attacked you. She kept that stupid locket. She gave it to Ethan.”
Julian felt a sharp ache.
Serena continued.
“I knew if you ever saw the boy, you would ask questions.”
“So you monitored them.”
“Yes.”
“For three years.”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever hurt them?”
“No.”
“Did you interfere with their finances?”
“No.”
“Medical care?”
“No.”
“Did you contact Ethan?”
Serena shook her head.
Then Julian remembered.
Ethan had called her Aunt Serena.
“That’s a lie.”
Serena froze.
“How does he know you?”
For the first time, she looked genuinely trapped.
“I saw him once.”
“When?”
“Last year.”
Elena had not mentioned this.
“Where?”
“At a charity event in Miami.”
“Why were you there?”
Serena took a breath.
“I arranged it.”
Julian stared.
“What?”
“I knew Elena worked for the hospitality group managing the event. I wanted to see Ethan myself.”
“You went near my son without telling me.”
“I never touched him.”
“That is not the point.”
Serena wiped her cheek angrily.
“He was with Elena. I introduced myself as an old friend.”
“And Ethan remembered.”
“Yes.”
“Did Elena know who you were?”
“Yes.”
Julian turned.
Elena had known Serena had come near Ethan and still never contacted him.
Why?
He found Elena in a staff office twenty minutes later.
“You knew Serena met Ethan last year.”
Elena looked tired.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because she came with another message.”
“What message?”
Elena reached into a locked drawer and took out a small digital recorder.
“She told me if I tried to contact you again, your company would challenge me for custody.”
Julian stared.
“Did she say that on this?”
Elena nodded.
“I started recording after she mentioned lawyers.”
“Why didn’t you use it?”
“Against whom? A woman with access to your family attorneys, your company, your mother, and millions of dollars? I was raising a child on my own.”
“You could have called me.”
Elena looked at him with exhausted disbelief.
“I had spent four years receiving messages from your accounts telling me not to.”
Julian had no answer.
Then Elena pressed play.
Serena’s recorded voice filled the room:
If Julian learns about Ethan now, he will fight. Celeste left instructions. The Vance family will not allow a child carrying Julian’s blood to be raised outside their control.
Julian went rigid.
Serena’s voice continued:
If you care about your son, stay invisible.
Then another voice appeared on the recording.
A man.
Older.
Calm.
Julian recognized it immediately.
Michael Grant.
May you like
His former attorney.
Cliffhanger: The recording proved Serena had threatened Elena with a custody fight—but it also captured Julian’s former attorney standing beside Serena and helping deliver the warning.
