Chapter 7 - The Man in the Grey Suit
Miles away, in the glass-walled boardroom of Harrow Enterprises, Julian stared out at the city.
The rain beat relentlessly against the reinforced windows.
His mother sat at the head of the long mahogany table.
She was flanked by three high-priced corporate fixers.
"I want her found yesterday," Evelyn commanded, her voice cold as ice.
"We have eyes on the highway cameras, Mrs. Harrow," the lead fixer said.
His name was Silas, and he wore a cheap grey suit that hid a very expensive firearm.
"She ditched the GPS tracker," Silas added, his tone entirely void of emotion.
"Then use the license plate!" Evelyn snapped.
"We ran it. She took the interstate going north."
"She is a desperate woman with no resources," Evelyn sneered.
"We froze her accounts."
"She might have cash, Mother," Julian interjected quietly.
Evelyn snapped her gaze to her son.
"Where would she get cash?"
"She is resourceful."
"She is a parasite."
Julian clenched his jaw, pressing the inside of his cheek to stop himself from shouting.
He hated this.
He hated what his family had become.
"If she goes to the press with whatever she has, we are ruined," Julian said.
"She has nothing but lies," Evelyn insisted, though her knuckles were white as she gripped the armrest.
"Then why are we hunting her like an animal?" Julian challenged.
The boardroom fell dead silent.
Silas and the other fixers looked away, pretending not to hear the family dispute.
"Leave us," Evelyn ordered the men.
Silas nodded and ushered his team out of the room.
Once the heavy oak doors clicked shut, Evelyn turned her venom on Julian.
"Are you forgetting your place in this company?" she asked softly.
"I am the CEO, Mother."
"You are the CEO because I allow it."
"I am trying to save us from a public relations nightmare."
"No, you are protecting that woman."
"I am protecting Lily!" Julian yelled, slamming his hand on the table.
Evelyn did not even flinch.
"Lily is a Harrow asset."
"She is your granddaughter!"
"She is the key to the majority shareholder votes."
Julian felt a wave of profound disgust wash over him.
"You really don't care about her at all, do you?"
"I care about power, Julian."
"Without it, this family is nothing."
"I won't let you hurt Claire."
Evelyn stood up slowly, ignoring the pain in her bruised shoulder.
"You are too late to stop me."
"What did you do?" Julian demanded, his blood running cold.
"Silas isn't just looking for them."
"Mother, what did you authorize?"
"I authorized a permanent solution to our Claire problem."
Julian backed away from the table in horror.
"You hired a hitman."
"I hired a professional cleaner."
"I'm calling the police," Julian said, reaching for his phone.
"Do that, and you will be arrested as my co-conspirator," Evelyn smiled.
"I had nothing to do with this!"
"Who do you think signed the authorization for Silas's retaining fee?"
Julian stared at his mother, the realization crashing down on him.
"You slipped it into the quarterly expense reports."
"You signed it this morning, Julian."
"You framed your own son?"
"I insured your loyalty."
Evelyn walked past him, her expensive perfume leaving a sickening trail in the air.
May you like
"Now, be a good boy and go manage the board members."
"I will handle our fugitive problem."
