Chapter 13: The Final Betrayal
Chapter 13: The Final Betrayal
Three days later, Adrian asked to speak with Julian from a secure hospital ward.
Julian nearly refused.
Then Adrian’s attorney delivered a message.
Ask Elena who signed the account transfer.
Julian visited him under federal supervision.
Adrian’s shoulder was bandaged. His wrists were chained to the bed.
“You should be celebrating,” Adrian said. “A wife returned. A daughter born. A villain arrested.”
“What account transfer?”
Adrian smiled.
“You still think I acted alone.”
Julian said nothing.
“Someone authorized Elena’s removal from the Rossi accounts. Someone with authority equal to yours.”
“My signature was forged.”
“Yours wasn’t used.”
Adrian pushed a document across the table.
The authorization bore the signature of Bianca Rossi.
Julian’s aunt.
The chairwoman of the Rossi family trust.
She had raised Julian after his mother’s death and supported him through every stage of his career.
“She knew?” Julian asked.
“She financed the house where Elena was kept.”
Julian stared at the signature.
“Why?”
“Your aunt believed Elena weakened you. She wanted the marriage ended before the child could inherit voting shares.”
Adrian leaned back.
“She agreed to frighten Elena into leaving. The imprisonment was my addition.”
Julian’s disgust deepened.
“You’re blaming her to save yourself.”
“I don’t need to save myself. The evidence will bury me. I simply want you to understand that your family empire was rotten before I touched it.”
Julian left without another word.
Bianca was waiting at the Rossi estate when he arrived.
She stood in the library beside Lorenzo’s old desk.
“Is it true?” Julian asked.
Bianca did not pretend ignorance.
“I wanted Elena gone.”
“She was pregnant.”
“I didn’t know.”
“You froze her accounts.”
“I was told she stole confidential information.”
“You trusted Adrian.”
“So did you.”
The words struck with cruel accuracy.
Julian moved closer.
“You helped make my wife helpless.”
“I protected the family.”
“No. You protected control.”
Bianca’s composure cracked.
“Your father built this company with blood. You were prepared to divide it with a woman who had no understanding of our world.”
“Elena understood it better than any of us. She saw the corruption while we were still congratulating ourselves.”
Bianca’s eyes filled with tears.
“Julian, I am still your family.”
He looked around the library where he had spent his childhood.
Once, the room represented legacy.
Now it felt like evidence.
“Elena and Isabella are my family.”
“What will you do?”
Julian placed the trust authorization on the desk.
“I’m removing you from every board and surrendering these records to investigators.”
“You would destroy the Rossi name?”
“No.”
May you like
Julian looked at his father’s portrait.
“I’m going to make it worth carrying again.”
