The boardroom of Valerius Industries was a fortress of glass and steel, overlooking the city that Dominic was trying to conquer. But today, the conqueror looked desperate.
Julian stood at the opposite end of the long mahogany table, still wearing his scrubs from the hospital. He looked exhausted, the weight of his confession to Maya still pressing on his shoulders.
“You let them take her,” Dominic accused, his voice low and dangerous. “You were supposed to be my eyes, Julian. Instead, you were playing house with the obstetrician.”
“Victoria went with him willingly,” Julian corrected, his voice flat. “Because William is her husband. And because you were using her as a battering ram against the Croft legacy.”
“I was protecting her!” Dominic slammed his fist on the table. “And now she is locked in that mausoleum with a man who thinks he owns her. I need you to get back in there. Use your credentials. Claim you need to check on the patient. Get me the security codes for the East Wing.”
“No,” Julian said.
Dominic froze. He walked slowly toward his brother. “Excuse me?”
“I am done,” Julian said, meeting Dominic’s shark-like gaze. “I am done spying. I am done hating people I don’t even know because of a grudge dad held twenty years ago. I told Maya the truth. I told her who I am.”
“You idiot,” Dominic hissed. “You blew your cover for a woman?”
“I blew my cover to save my soul,” Julian countered. “I’m out, Dominic.”
“If you walk out that door,” Dominic threatened, his voice dropping to a whisper, “I will release the file on your residency in Zurich. I will make sure the medical board knows exactly how ‘Dr. Sterling’ got his credentials. You will never practice medicine again.”
Julian flinched. Being a doctor was the only part of his identity that felt real. But he thought of Maya’s face in the parking lot–the hurt, the betrayal.
“Go ahead,” Julian said, turning his back on his brother. “Burn it down. It’s better than being your pawn.”
He walked out, leaving Dominic alone in his tower, realizing that in his quest to destroy the Croft family, he had shattered his own.