Chapter 4 - Shadows of Cross Holdings
Nathaniel stood motionless as Juliet’s words echoed off the thin walls of the apartment.
Every lie he had fed himself over the last five years—that she didn't love him, that she had found someone else, that she was cold-hearted—shattered into millions of sharp, painful shards. She hadn't abandoned him. She had taken the entire blow meant for him, carrying the weight of three lives on her shoulders in complete isolation while he sat in his Manhattan glass tower, brooding over his broken heart.
Without a word, Nathaniel pulled out his encrypted phone.
“Who are you calling?” Juliet asked defensively, wiping her tear-stained cheek.
Nathaniel ignored her, pressing the phone to his ear. “Gabe,” he said into the receiver, his voice dropping into a register so dark and cold it made Juliet shiver. “I need a full tactical security detail at an address in South Philadelphia within fifteen minutes. Unmarked SUVs, elite tier, discreet. Put a full-spectrum surveillance lock on the entire block.”
“Nathaniel, no!” Juliet grabbed his forearm. “If Arthur sees security around me—”
“Arthur Cross doesn't know where you are,” Nathaniel interrupted, turning his phone over and continuing to speak into it. “Gabe, second order. Initiate Protocol Omega on Arthur Cross. Freeze every secondary line of credit attached to his director's seat at Cross Holdings. Place three mobile surveillance teams on his residence, his office, and his offshore accounts. If he so much as breathes near an airport, secure him.”
“Understood, Mr. Cross,” Gabe’s deep voice replied before the line disconnected.
Nathaniel slipped the phone back into his coat pocket and turned to Juliet. He didn't touch her, though every muscle in his body screamed to pull her into his arms and never let her go.
“Arthur thought he had won,” Nathaniel said softly, his blue eyes burning with an intense, lethal focus. “Five years ago, I was just a corporate VP trying to satisfy the board. But today, Juliet, I own eighty percent of Cross Holdings. I own the banks Arthur borrows from. I own the security firms he hires. He is no longer a predator. He is a dead man walking who just doesn't know it yet.”
“Nathaniel, he is ruthless,” Juliet warned, her voice trembling. “He has men who don't care about the law.”
“Neither do I,” Nathaniel replied without hesitation. “Not when it comes to you and my children.”
He took a slow step toward her, maintaining a safe distance. “I am not going to force you to return to New York tonight. I am not going to drag you into my world until it is completely safe. But I am not leaving Philadelphia, Juliet. I am renting the entire top floor of the hotel four blocks away. My security team will guard this building around the clock. And tomorrow morning, I am coming back.”
May you like
Juliet looked at him, her chest heaving as she fought the overwhelming wave of exhaustion that had been building for five years. “Nathaniel... they don't know you.”
“Then I will earn them,” Nathaniel said, his voice softer than she had ever heard it. “I will earn every single smile, every single drawing, and every single second I lost. You protected them from Arthur, Juliet. Now let me protect all of you from the world.”
