Chapter 9 - The Dragon’s Wrath
The ballroom was dead silent. Every eye was locked on the dramatic confrontation. Victoria stood triumphantly beside Marcus Thorne, while the reporters pressed forward, eager to capture the fall of the city’s most untouchable titan.
Hannah peeked out from behind Julian’s broad shoulder, her heart pounding against her ribs. It’s my fault, she thought miserably, tears blurring her vision. Because of me, he’s going to lose everything.
Julian slowly turned his head back to look at Hannah. He didn't look panicked, angry at her, or defeated. Instead, a calm, terrifying serenity washed over his striking features. He reached back, gently patted her hand to reassure her, and then turned around to face the entire room.
"Victoria," Julian’s voice rang out, cold as winter ice, carrying effortlessly across the cavernous ballroom. "You always were ambitious, but you were never half as smart as you thought you were."
Victoria sneered, stepping closer. "Save your breath, Julian. The board has already initiated emergency proceedings. Your reign is over. Hand over the keys to the empire."
"Is that so?" Julian smiled—a chilling, predatory smile that made Marcus Thorne instinctively take a step back.
Julian pulled a secure titanium tablet from his breast pocket, tapped the screen twice, and connected it to the massive, wall-sized projection screen above the ballroom stage.
Instantly, financial ledgers, encrypted bank transfers, and recorded audio transcripts lit up the display for everyone to see.
"For the past three years," Julian’s voice echoed, cold and authoritative, "Marcus Thorne’s conglomerate has been systematically embezzling funds from subsidiary accounts, using an offshore shell company in the Cayman Islands to orchestrate a hostile takeover of Vance Global."
Gasps erupted through the crowd. Marcus Thorne’s face drained of all color, turning a sickly shade of grey.
"And who do you suppose authorized those illegal fund transfers from the internal audit committee?" Julian continued, his dark eyes shifting slowly from Marcus to fix directly upon his sister. "Why, my dear sister Victoria, of course. Here are her signed authorizations, her personal communications with Marcus, and proof of the bribe she accepted to sabotage our family company from within."
Victoria stumbled backward, staring at the glowing screen in sheer horror. "Th-That's impossible! Those files were encrypted—"
"Nothing is encrypted from me, Victoria," Julian interrupted flatly. "I knew about your little partnership three months ago. I simply waited for you to walk right into the trap you set for me."
The reporters whipped around, cameras flashing furiously—not at Hannah, but at Victoria and Marcus Thorne. Sirens wailed outside in the street as federal white-collar crime investigators, tipped off by Julian’s legal team an hour prior, flooded through the ballroom doors.
Marcus Thorne was slammed against a pillar and cuffed by federal agents, while two officers stepped up to a weeping, hysterical Victoria.
Julian didn't blink an eye as his sister was escorted out in disgrace. He simply turned his back on the chaos, knelt down right in front of Hannah, and looked deep into her eyes.
"Are you okay?" he asked softly, his voice full of warmth and love, completely ignoring the reporters shouting behind him.
May you like
Hannah nodded slowly, a small, genuine smile breaking through her tears. "I'm okay, Dad."
Julian’s face lit up with a brilliant, overwhelming smile at the word Dad. He scooped her up into his arms, burying his face in her hair as the cameras flashed around them—not capturing a scandal, but the birth of an unbreakable family.
