Chapter 288 · My Hockey Roommate’s Filthy Desires

Chapter 288

LEONIE'S POVThe damp, musty smell of concrete and rust filled the dark interior of the abandoned warehouse.I sat on an upturned wooden crate near the dusty window frame, taking a long drag from my thin cigarette.Outside, the gray sky over the industrial district was heavy with cold rain. Down below, parked in the shadows between two rusted shipping containers, sat our rental SUV."Put that phone down, Julian," I said, my voice sharp and flat in the quiet space. Across the dimly lit room, Julian was pacing back and forth like a caged animal. He didn't hear me at first.He was staring at the glowing screen of his cell phone, his thumb rapidly scrolling through endless news feeds and social media comments.His knuckles were raw, his hair was unwashed, and the expensive designer suit he had worn to the arena two days ago was wrinkled and stained."They're taking down my banner from the home arena," Julian whispered, his voice trembling with a terrifying blend of shock and pure rage.He stopped pacing, his dark, bloodshot eyes locking onto mine. "Henderson personally signed off on the release form. They wiped my name off the locker room doors, Leonie. Eight years. I gave that franchise eight years of my life, and they wiped me out in eight minutes.”"I told you to turn that phone off," I repeated coldly, taking another slow puff of my cigarette and blowing the blue smoke toward the high concrete ceiling."You are looking at yesterday’s news. Your hockey career is dead, Julian. The sooner you bury it in your mind, the sooner you can focus on what actually matters.""Focus on what?" Julian shouted, his voice echoing loudly against the hollow brick walls. He slammed his fist against a metal support beam, making the rusted chains above us rattle violently."Look around us. We are sitting in a rat-infested warehouse like common criminals! I am a professional athlete! I had multi-million dollar endorsements. And now I can't even check into a hotel without worrying about the federal police."I slowly stood up from the crate, tossing the cigarette butt onto the concrete floor and crushing it beneath the heel of my designer boot. I walked over to him slowly, keeping my steps measured, my posture completely unbothered."You are a criminal because you let your childish temper control you on live television," I said smoothly, stopping right in front of him."You let Brandon box you into a corner, and then you gave him exactly what he wanted, you destroyed yourself so he wouldn't have to."Julian flinched, his jaw tightening so hard a muscle twitched beneath his skin. "Brandon didn't do this. I snapped—""Brandon forced you to snap,” I snapped back, my voice dropping into a lethal, low whisper. I reached out, grabbing his leather jacket by the lapels and pulling him down until his bloodshot eyes were inches from mine."Brandon took your woman. He took your daughter. He bought off your lawyers, he wiped your servers, and he handed your career to the press on a silver platter. And while you sit here crying over a stupid rubber puck and a jersey, Brandon is sleeping in Aria's mansion, playing daddy to your little girl."Julian gasped, his chest heaving as my words hit every raw, exposed nerve in his body. "Don't talk about Amelia," he growled out, his fingers tightening into violent fists at his sides."Why shouldn't I?" I cooed softly, changing my tone in an instant. I let go of his jacket and gently smoothed out the wrinkled fabric over his chest, brushing a lock of messy brown hair away from his forehead."Amelia is your flesh and blood, Julian. Today is her sixth birthday. Did you know that?"Julian froze. His eyes went wide, the harsh anger draining out of his face, replaced by a sudden, hollow look of deep heartbreak. "Her... her birthday?""Yes," I lied effortlessly, keeping my voice sweet as honey. "Right now, as we speak, Brandon is throwing a massive party for her at Aria’s estate. He bought her a crown. He hired ponies. He is standing on the lawn of your ex-wife’s home, showing the whole world that he is the man who provides for your daughter while you rot in the dark."Julian swallowed hard, his voice cracking. "She... she loves him. In the recordings... She called him Daddy.""Because she's six years old and doesn't know any better," I hissed softly, pressing my hand against his chest, feeling his heart hammering wildly beneath his ribs."Aria lied to her. Brandon manipulated her. But you can change all of that today, Julian. You can take her back."Julian looked down at me, his eyes filled with desperate, frantic confusion. "How? Brandon has guards everywhere, Leonie. His security detail is like a private army."I smiled, a slow, toxic curl of red lips in the dim light of the warehouse. I reached into my trench coat pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, smoothing it out against his chest."Every security system has a hole, my dear," I whispered, pointing to a blue line mapped out on the paper."Brandon is watching the main gates and the front driveway. He thinks he's smart. But he doesn't know that I purchased the underground service route access from an old utility worker who used to serve Aria's father."Julian stared at the diagram, his breathing ragged. "An underground route?""It leads right beneath the mansion's service kitchen," I explained, leaning closer to his ear."While Brandon is busy checking party guests and caterers at the front gate, you and I are going to use the shadow entrance. You are going to walk inside that house, take your daughter, and show Brandon that he cannot destroy a Vance and walk away clean."Julian stared at the paper, the wild, desperate fire returning to his eyes. He squeezed his hands into fists, his knuckles turning stark white."He took everything from me," Julian whispered, his voice trembling with dark resolve. "He took my life. My name. My daughter.""Then let's go take her back," I murmured softly, patting his cheek with my gloved hand. I turned away from him, looking out the dark warehouse window toward the distant skyline of the city.Julian was a fool, a broken, emotional wreck who thought this was about his pride and his daughter. He didn't realize that Amelia was just my leverage, and Julian was nothing more than my shield.Brandon thought he had locked the doors to his fortress. But he had no idea that we were already underneath it.

Chapter 288