Chapter 12 - The Serpent in the Garden
Julian felt the ground sway beneath his feet.
He slowly turned his head to look at the household staff working in the garden.
There was Arthur, the loyal butler who had served the family for twenty years.
There was Chef Pierre, who had cooked for Clara for a decade.
And there were three other long-time housekeepers moving quietly around the estate.
"Dr. Harrison, are you absolute sure about the date of that purchase?" Julian asked, keeping his voice dangerously low.
"Positive, Mr. Sterling," the toxicologist confirmed over the phone.
"The chemical compound is a rare military-grade toxin called N-22."
"It requires high-level security clearance to acquire."
"Someone inside your inner circle has been orchestrating this long before Victoria stepped in."
Julian slowly hung up the phone.
Chloe noticed the sudden change in his expression.
"Julian? What's wrong?" she asked, stepping closer.
"Your face is completely pale."
Julian looked at Chloe, his mind racing wildly.
Could he trust her?
Yes, she had risked her life to save Lily from the fire.
She had fought Victoria with her bare hands.
"Chloe, take Lily inside to her bedroom right now," Julian said softly but firmly.
"Lock the door from the inside and do not open it for anyone except me."
"Julian, you're scaring me," Chloe said, her heart accelerating.
"Just do it, please," Julian pleaded.
Chloe didn't argue.
She scooped Lily up into her arms and hurried quickly up the stone stairs toward the master suite.
Julian turned around and walked directly toward the basement security center of the mansion.
He swiped his master keycard and opened the heavy steel door.
Inside sat Arthur, the old butler, meticulously reviewing the daily logistics logs on a monitor.
Arthur turned around and bowed respectfully.
"Is everything alright, Master Julian?" Arthur asked in his usual calm, refined tone.
Julian walked over and leaned both hands heavily on Arthur's desk.
"Arthur... where were you the night Clara died?" Julian asked directly.
Arthur's eyes twitched slightly before he restored his calm expression.
"I was in the wine cellar cataloging the new delivery, sir."
"You know that as well as I do."
"Show me the log files for that night," Julian demanded.
"Master Julian, those archived logs were corrupted during the system upgrade last week," Arthur replied smoothly.
May you like
Julian pulled out his personal sidearm from beneath his jacket and pointed it straight at Arthur's head.
"Try answering me again, Arthur," Julian growled.
