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Chapter 111 Dark Threats and Darker Tactics
Julian’s voice crackled through my phone, raw with desperation and fury. “You think you’re so clever, Hazel? You think you can just walk away from me and into Sterling’s
arms?”
I gripped my steering wheel tighter as I navigated through evening traffic. His words were venomous, but I refused to let him hear my fear.
“Our relationship is over, Julian. Has been for months. What I do now is none of your
business.”
“You stupid, ungrateful bitch!” His voice rose to a hear scream. “After everything I did for you! I made you who you are!”
I almost laughed at his delusion. “You made me? I built my career myself while you were busy cheating with my stepsister.”
“If I can’t have you, neither can he,” Julian snarled. “You think I don’t have connections? You think I won’t destroy everything you’ve built with Sterling?”
A chill ran down my spine. This wasn’t the Julian I’d known for six years. This was someone unhinged, dangerous.
“Julian-
“I know people who can make Sterling’s business troubles look like a picnic. Don’t test me, Hazel.
I pulled into my apartment complex parking lot, my hands shaking. “You’re threatening me now? Really?”
“It’s not a threat. It’s a promise.” His voice had gone frighteningly calm. “Come back to me, or watch everything burn,”
Something snapped inside me. The fear morphed into rage, burning away my last shred of affection for this man.
“Listen carefully, Julian. I will never come back to you. Not if you were the last man on earth. Not if my life depended on it. I took a deep breath. “And if you ever threaten me
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again, I’ll make sure the whole world knows what kind of man you really are.”
I hung up before he could respond, then turned off my phone completely. My hands were still trembling as I rode the elevator to my floor. Julian’s mask had finally dropped completely. Any lingering doubt about ending our relationship had just been obliterated.
Inside my apartment, I leaned against the closed door, willing my racing heart to calm. The threats against Damien worried me most. Julian might be desperate enough to do something truly destructive.
My landline rang, startling me. Few people had that number. I approached it cautiously.
“Hello?”
“Hazel. Damien’s voice was like a balm. “Are you alright? I’ve been trying your cell.”
“I turned it off,” I admitted. “Julian called. It wasn’t pleasant.”
“I’m five minutes from your place. Would
you
like company?”
I hesitated only briefly. “Yes. Please.”
While waiting, I made coffee and tried to compose myself. By the time Damien knocked, I’d managed to stop shaking, but the moment I opened the door and saw his concerned expression, my carefully constructed facade crumbled.
He stepped inside and immediately pulled me into his arms. “What happened?”
I led him to the sofa and told him everything about Julian’s call. Damien’s expression darkened with each passing second.
“He threatened you? Threatened us?”
I nodded, wrapping my hands around my coffee mug for warmth. “He’s completely lost it. Said he would destroy you if I didn’t come back to him.”
Damien’s jaw tightened, but his voice remained calm. “Julian Grayson is the least of my
you. concerns. I’m more worried about
“I’m fine,” I said automatically.
“Are you?” Damien tilted his head. “You look pale. And you’re still shaking.”
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I set down my mug before I could spill. “It’s just… I never thought he’d go this far. There’s something else too…”
“What is it?”
“Giselle Grayson tried to drug me at a family dinner months ago, I confessed. “The drink she prepared for me–I switched our glasses when she wasn’t looking”
Damien’s eyes widened. “She drugged herself? What happened?”
“She got incredibly disoriented and approached some men at the bar. When she left with them…” I swallowed hard. “I have video evidence of everything–including Julian’s father saying they’d handle‘ the security footage!
“And you’ve kept this to yourself all this time?” Damien’s tone wasn’t accusatory, but I still felt defensive.
“It was my insurance policy. I never wanted to use it unless absolutely necessary.”
Damien reached for my hand, his thumb stroking my palm. “You don’t have to fight every battle alone anymore, Hazel. I’m here.”
Those simple words nearly undid me. For so long, I’d had no one in my corner.
“I’m not used to having backup, I admitted softly.
“I’ve noticed.” His smile was gentle. “It’s admirable how independent you are. Frustrating sometimes, but admirable.”
I managed a small laugh. “Sorry”
“Don’t be. Just know that whatever Julian thinks he can do, I can handle it. The Graysons are playing in a league they don’t understand.”
The fierce protectiveness in his voice warmed something inside me. Damien stood, checking his watch.
“I have a late meeting I can’t reschedule, but I’ll have security stationed outside your
face. building tonight. And Hazel?” He leaned down, brushing a strand of hair from my “No more secrets between us, alright? Not even to pro
- me.
After he left, I felt both comforted and restless. I’d just settled down to work when my lawyer called with unexpected news.
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“Ms. Ashworth, there’s been a significant development in the Grayson case” he said. “Those men who left with Giselle that night? They came forward with video evider of their own.”
My stomach dropped. “What kind of evidence?”
“Footage showing Giselle was already heavily intoxicated when she approached them. She’s clearly the aggressor in the videos. Combined with your evidence of her drugging the drink…”
“The case against her is solid, I finished.
“More than solid. It’s damning. The Graysons‘ lawyer has already reached out about a
settlement.”
After ending the call, I sat in stunned silence. Everything was falling into place. Maybe now Julian would finally back off.
My phone pinged with a message from Cherry, my assistant: “Your stepmother hasn’t shown up at her job for two days. Multiple calls to her residence have gone unanswered.”
I frowned. Eleanor never missed work, no matter how heinous she felt about doing it. The woman lived to complain about her job while simultaneously refusing to give it up. A dark, satisfying thought formed in my mind. If Eleanor was hiding, perhaps it was time to smoke her out. I’d been too passive for too long.
I dialed Cherry back. “I need you to contact some debt collection agencies.”
“For the company accounts?” Cherry sounded confused.
“No,” I replied coolly. “I need the worst ones you can find. The ones with the unsavory reputation. The ones known for their… aggressive tactics.”
“Ms. Ashworth?” Cherry’s voice was hesitant. “What exactly are we looking for?”
I closed my eyes, seeing Eleanor’s smug face when she’d stolen my mother’s jewelry, when she’d tormented me as a child, when she’d surorted Ivy stealing my wedding.
“Find me agencies known for violent visits, for forcing people to take humiliating nude photos as collateral. Find me the ones that make people too terrified to report them.” My voice was ice cold, even to my own ears. “I want Eleanor to understand what true
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