Chapter 9
"What are you doing?!" Scarlett shrieked, watching her audience, her leverage, and her protection sprint for the heavy mahogany doors. "You can't just dismiss them! My family's capos are in this room!"
The men loyal to the Vane family did not stay. They took one look at the cold, calculating fury in Julian's eyes and the armed men loyal to the Rook syndicate stepping out from the shadows, and they ran just as fast as the civilians.
Within ninety seconds, the expansive dining salon was completely empty, save for Julian, Scarlett, Molly, Ben, and four heavily armed Rook bodyguards.
The heavy mahogany doors slammed shut, sealing the room and locking Scarlett inside with her greatest nightmare.
"Did you truly believe you could run a starvation operation against my household and remain standing in my home?" Julian asked, turning his terrifying focus entirely back to the woman in the champagne gown.
Scarlett backed away from the marble ledge, her heels clicking unsteadily against the floor. She wrapped her arms around her waist, a defensive posture that crushed the luxurious fabric of her expensive dress. Her ruby earrings shook as her aristocratic bravado finally shattered, leaving only primal terror in its wake.
"Julian, you cannot believe this is real," Scarlett sobbed, her chest heaving as she tried to backpedal. "We are supposed to unite our syndicates! You cannot throw all of that away because of a misunderstanding! I will feed her! I will buy her whatever she wants!"
Julian stood immovably in his tailored dark three-piece suit. He kept his broad shoulders squarely between his son and the woman who had tormented them. He felt absolutely nothing for her. The political affection he had feigned for the sake of the syndicate merger evaporated instantly, leaving behind a cold, calculating void that craved only survival and absolute retribution.
"Are you prepared to remove the ring from your finger, Scarlett, or must I cut it from your hand?" Julian asked, his deep voice carrying a measured, lethal calm.
Scarlett flinched violently at the threat. She dropped her hands, her fair skin streaked with ruined makeup. She knew the stories of what Julian Rook did to traitors within his syndicate.
"You can't do this!" Scarlett choked out, the venom returning as self-preservation took over. "My father is Victor Vane! He commands the entire southern seaboard! He will burn your empire to the ground if you humiliate me like this!"
"Is your father a man who fights battles for foolish, cruel daughters?" Julian asked quietly.
"He will kill you!" Scarlett pleaded. "I am going to be your wife, Julian! We signed the contracts! You cannot back out now without causing a massive war!"
"Do you expect me to harbor a sadist under my roof to appease a politician?" Julian asked.
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He didn't wait for her to answer. He reached into his tailored jacket and retrieved a sleek, encrypted smartphone. He dialed a single digit and pressed the phone to his ear.
"Vincent," Julian said into the receiver, his eyes locked on his former fiancée. "Will you come to the dining salon and escort Miss Vane to the holding cells beneath the east wing immediately?"
