Chapter 11

His hands shook. The panic he'd been suppressing finally broke through, and he called her number frantically, desperate to explain.

But the calls wouldn't go through. His mind was in chaos. He found Julian—only to discover that Julian's number and every other contact method had been blocked too.

Ethan's lips quivered. His eyes were glassy with unshed tears. "Julian, do you think Claire saw the stuff online? Do you think she's angry at us?"

Julian stared blankly at his phone, his whole body shaking, barely able to stand. "Ethan. Look at this."

On the screen was a video of Claire inside a private detention facility. Her hands were bound. A man was shocking her with a stun device, again and again, her body convulsing in agony.

In the footage, Claire lay crumpled at the man's feet, covered in bruises and welts, writhing on the concrete floor. Her voice was raw, broken, begging. "I'm sorry. I was wrong. Please, let me go. Please..."

The man kicked her hard and sneered down at her. "That's not nearly enough. Miss Vivienne Sterling asked us to give you the full hospitality treatment while you're in here."

Ethan was stunned into silence. Then rage flooded through him—his face contorted with fury. He wanted to tear through the screen and kill every man in that room.

But he couldn't. All he could do was watch, helpless, while Claire's screams of pain filled his ears.

In that moment, his hatred for Vivienne was absolute. And Julian was no better off. He'd always assumed Claire had simply spent a few uneventful months inside. He'd never imagined this was what she'd endured.

His mind flashed to the day Claire was released. He and Ethan had originally planned to pick her up, but Richard had stopped him. "Claire's always been reckless and she's always targeting Vivienne. Vivienne's only just settled into this family. The moment Claire comes back, she'll stir up trouble again."

"Don't go pick her up. Let it be a lesson for her."

So he'd agreed. He'd even thought it made sense—Claire was too headstrong, and Vivienne was fragile. Claire needed to learn some restraint.

But what he was looking at now was the exact opposite of everything he'd believed. It shattered every assumption he'd ever held. Vivienne wasn't fragile at all. She was calculating and ruthless.

She'd bribed people to torment Claire while she was locked away with no one to protect her. And what stunned him even more was the revelation that the assassination attempt—the one that had nearly killed Vivienne—had been staged by Vivienne herself.

In the recorded phone call, Vivienne's voice was light, almost amused. "I need you to play a part for me. Come after me with a knife, then say Claire put you up to it. I'll pay you three million when it's done."

The man on the other end sounded shocked. "Isn't she your sister?"

Vivienne laughed coldly, her tone dripping with venom. "That's exactly why I'm doing this. She's been pampered and spoiled her entire life. It's time my dear little sister got a taste of the real world."

"Once she's locked up, Ethan and Julian will both be mine."

Julian was shaking uncontrollably. He thought back to the day Claire had been released—her face gaunt and colorless, her body thin and frail. But at the time, he'd been so angry at his supposedly irrational sister that he'd felt nothing but contempt.

Now he realized he'd been wrong about everything. His mind drifted, unbidden, to the day their mother died—Grace holding Claire tightly in her arms.

Claire had been unconscious, her face white as paper. Their mother looked at him through her tears and spoke her final words. "Julian. Mommy can't be there to watch you grow up."

"You're her big brother. Promise me you'll take care of your sister. Promise me."

Julian had fought back tears, his young heart breaking, and made his vow. "Mom, don't worry. I'll take care of her. I won't let anyone hurt her. Ever."

Their mother closed her eyes. He watched, devastated and helpless, as she took her last breath. Then he lifted his baby sister from their mother's arms, her pulse barely there.

He'd sworn that day to protect Claire. And instead, he'd done the opposite. He'd believed Vivienne's lies—believed that Claire's very existence had caused their mother's death—and helped others torment her.

The pain in Julian's chest was blinding. Rage burned through him like wildfire. Vivienne. If she hadn't poisoned everything, none of this would have happened.

Ethan had seen it all too. He'd never imagined the truth could be this monstrous. His expression shifted like storm clouds, his handsome face coated in frost.

He locked eyes with Julian. Both of them radiated a terrifying fury, and Ethan ground out each word through clenched teeth: "Vivienne. I will make you pay for this."