Chapter 217: CAUGHT IN THE ACT
Julian’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the picture on his phone, his mind racing with anger and frustration.
Astrid had gone to Rowan’s company, despite their agreent to keep their distance.
He thought they were past this, that they had finally moved on from their tumultuous relationship. But now, it seed like Astrid was determined to stir up trouble again.
He clenched his jaw, feeling a wave of irritation wash over him. Why couldn’t she just listen for once? Why did she always have to do things her way?
Julian’s gaze lingered on the picture, his eyes burning with a mix of anger and hurt. He felt like he’d been punched in the gut, his breath knocked out of him.
Just then he heard a knock on the desk getting his attention back.
Suddenly, he beca aware of his surroundings, rembering that he was in the middle of a eting.
He looked up to see his dad’s narrowed eyes on him, a hint of concern etched on his face.
"Everything okay, son?" his dad asked, his voice low and even.
Julian forced a nod, trying to compose himself. "Yeah, everything’s fine. Just sothing urgent ca up, if you may excuse ."
His dad’s eyes lingered on him for a mont before he nodded and turned back to the eting.
Julian took advantage of the distraction to excuse himself, pushing back his chair and standing up.
As he walked out of the conference room, he felt a sense of relief wash over him. He needed to get out of there, clear his head, and figure out what to do next.
He made his way to his office, his mind racing with thoughts of Astrid and Rowan. What was she doing there?
Just as he reached his office, his phone buzzed with an incoming ssage. He glanced at the screen to see a text from his private investigator.
"Boss, I finally got the footage from the server, but it’s been tampered with. It’s very tough to get any evidence of what happened."
Julian’s eyes narrowed as he read the ssage. Tampered with? That ant soone was trying to hide sothing. At first, he had thought Astrid was too much but now he is getting interested.
He typed out a response to his investigator, his fingers flying fast across the keyboard.
"I don’t care what it takes, I need to know what happened. Find out everyone who went to the floor that day. I will pay you whatever it takes, just get
the information."
He paused, thinking for a mont before typing out a figure. "I’ll pay you 5 million dollars for every na you can get . Just make it happen."
He hit send and waited for a response, his eyes fixed on the screen. A few monts later, he replied.
"I will do my best. But like I said, it’s not going to be easy. The footage has been heavily tampered with."
Julian’s jaw clenched in frustration. He knew it wouldn’t be easy, but he was willing to do whatever it took to get to the bottom of this.
Just as he was about to respond to him, he heard a soft familiar voice behind him.
"Julian, what’s wrong? You look like you’re about to kill soone."
He looked up to see Mattie standing in the doorway, a concerned expression on her face. Julian’s eyes narrowed.
"What are you talking about, Mattie? Why are you even here in the first place" he asked gruffly, trying to brush off his anger.
Mattie took a step forward, her eyes locked on his. "I’m talking about the look on your face. You’re furious. What’s going on?"
This ti Julian’s voice was cold and detached "Leave, I am not ready to talk to you, Mattie. Whatever we had is broken, and I don’t want to revisit the past."
But Mattie didn’t move. Instead, she fell to her knees, her eyes now welling up with tears.
"Julian, please forgive ," she begged, her voice shaking. "I was wrong to cheat on you, and I was wrong to lie to you. I don’t love Stephan, I never did. He used ."
Julian’s expression was incredulous. "He used you? You cheated on
for five years, Mattie. Five years! And you are only sorry now because you have been caught."
Mattie’s face crumpled, and she began to sob. "I am so sorry, Julian. I am so sorry. I love you, and I always have."
Julian laughed, a harsh, mocking sound. "You love ? You have a funny way of showing it, Mattie. But it’s fine. I am glad you cheated on . I am glad I married Astrid. It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to ."
Mattie’s eyes widened in shock, and she reached out to grab Julian’s hands. But he pulled away, his expression disgusted. "Don’t touch , Mattie. You lost the right to touch
a long ti ago."
As he spoke, Mattie’s face contorted in pain, and she fell to the ground.
Julian sighed at this then he reached out to grab her hands again. But this ti, it was to pull her up, not to push her away.
As he pulled her up, he noticed a bruise on her face, and his eyes narrowed. "What happened to your face?" he demanded.
Mattie decided to use this to get him, her eyes welled up with tears again, and she pulled Julian’s hand to her chest.
She slid his hand under her shirt, and Julian’s eyes widened as he felt the soft skin of her chest.
But it was what he saw next that made him shocked. Mattie pulled his hand to her side, and Julian saw a large bruise covering her ribcage.
It was a brutal-looking injury, and Julian’s eyes flashed with surprise.
Just as he was about to ask Mattie what had happened, the door to the office burst open, and Astrid stood there, her eyes wide with shock.
Julian’s hand was still under Mattie’s shirt, and Mattie’s face was tilted up to his, her eyes shining with tears.
"What is going on here?" she demanded, her voice icy.
Julian’s eyes locked onto Astrid’s, and he knew he was in trouble. He slowly pulled his hand out of Mattie’s shirt, his eyes never leaving Astrid’s face.
But it was too late. The damage was done. Astrid’s eyes had seen the compromising position, and she had drawn her conclusions.
"Wow.." she let out sadly, "Sorry for the disruption, you can proceed." With that, she turned and left.
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