Chapter 294

<p>JULIAN'S POV</p><p>I pushed the heavy wooden door open and stepped silently into the room.</p><p>The air inside smelled like old paper, heavy polished leather, and warm vanilla. Sitting on the soft carpet in the middle of the room, surrounded by colorful picture books and wooden toys, was Aria. She was carefully fixing the bright pink bow on Amelia’s birthday dress, her dark hair falling gracefully over her shoulder.</p><p>"There," Aria said gently, her voice full of tenderness as she kissed Amelia’s forehead. "Now you look like a real princess."</p><p>Amelia giggled, touching the satin bow with her small hands. "Can we go see the white pony again, Mommy? Mr. Dominic said I could ride him."</p><p>My chest tightened so hard I could barely breathe. Looking at them, every single drop of cold rain, every bit of dark mud on my clothes, and all the terrible, embarrassing headlines in the news disappeared. They were right here in front of me. My wife. My daughter. My real family.</p><p>"Aria," I whispered.</p><p>Aria froze instantly. The gentle smile on her face died. She turned her head slowly, her dark eyes going wide with complete shock and horror as she saw me standing by the open doorway.</p><p>"Julian?" she gasped, her voice barely a whisper in the quiet room. She scrambled up off the floor immediately, backing away and pulling Amelia behind her skirt. "How... how did you get in here?"</p><p>"I came for you," I said, stepping fully into the warm light of the room. I reached up and pulled off the black baseball cap and clear glasses, tossing them onto the floor. "I came to take both of you home."</p><p>"Get out," Aria said, her voice shaking with fear and deep anger. She backed up until her lower back hit the edge of the big wooden desk. "Get out of this house right now, Julian. The security guards are everywhere."</p><p>"The guards are gone, Aria," I said, taking another step closer to her. "I made sure they were busy. Look at me, please. Just look at me."</p><p>"Don't come any closer," she yelled, holding her hand out to stop me. Behind her legs, Amelia peeked out, her small face pale and filled with fear.</p><p>"Daddy?" Amelia whimpered, her tiny voice chattering as she clutched Aria's dress. "Mommy, why is Daddy wearing those dirty clothes? Why does he look so angry?"</p><p>Amelia knew me. She recognized my face. Hearing her call me Daddy sent a wild, electric rush of energy straight through my veins.</p><p>"Amelia, sweetie, yes. It's Daddy," I said, my voice rising as I tried to smile, though my lips were trembling too hard. "Don't be scared, baby. Daddy is here to save you and Mommy. We are going to leave this bad place right now. We're going to go far away and be happy together again."</p><p>"Julian, stop it," Aria shouted, her eyes darting around the room, desperately looking for a heavy object or a phone. "We are not going anywhere with you. Leave us alone."</p><p>"I can't leave you," I said, stepping forward quickly, my hands shaking violently at my sides. "I know I made mistakes. I know I was a fool to believe the bad things people said about us. But I know the truth now, Aria. Brandon tricked you. He took your father's house, he took my career, and he took my family."</p><p>"Brandon didn't take anything," Aria cried out, holding Amelia tightly against her hip. "Brandon protected us from you. You destroyed your own life, Julian. You did this to yourself."</p><p>"No," I roared, slamming my fist hard against the edge of the tall wooden bookshelf. The loud crash made the glass ornaments rattle, and Amelia screamed in terror, burying her face in Aria's shoulder.</p><p>"You don't understand," I said, my vision blurring with hot, desperate tears. "Brandon made you think I'm a monster, but I'm not. I love you, Aria. I have always loved you. Remember the ice rink? Remember how I held your hands so you wouldn't fall? You belong to me. You are my woman."</p><p>"That was years ago, Julian," Aria sobbed, tears spilling down her pale cheeks as she pressed herself flat against the tall glass window. "That man is gone. You are acting like a lunatic."</p><p>"I am the man you love, Aria. You don’t love Julian and Amelia deserves to be with her father. She needs her parents, Aria," I said.</p><p>The madness inside my head took complete control. I didn't care about talking anymore. I didn't care about logic. I just needed to hold them. I needed to feel them in my arms so they would see that I was their protector.</p><p>I pulled the small silver canister of pepper spray out of my pocket with my left hand and lunged forward.</p><p>"Julian, no," Aria shrieked.</p><p>I grabbed Aria’s wrist with a rough, violent grip, yanking her forward. She stumbled, crying out in pain as I wrapped my free arm around her waist, trying to pull her body against mine.</p><p>"Let go of me," Aria screamed, kicking and slapping my face with her free hand.</p><p>Amelia was crying hysterically, pulling on my wet sleeve with her little hands. "Let go of my Mommy. Stop it, Daddy. Let go."</p><p>"Come with me," I growled, out of my mind, grabbing Amelia's arm with my hand and trying to pull both of them toward the door at the same time. "I'm taking you both. You're coming home with me right now."</p><p>"Help," Aria screamed at the top of her lungs, fighting against my hold with every ounce of strength she had. "Help me. Brandon. Brandon."</p><p>"He can't hear you," I yelled into her face. "He's not here."</p><p>Before I could drag them another inch toward the hall, the heavy mahogany double doors of the study flew open with a loud, violent crash that sounded like thunder.</p><p>"Get your hands off my family," a deep, terrifying voice echoed through the room.</p><p>I froze, turning my head just in time to see Brandon Sterling stepping through the doorway. His dark eyes were burning with pure, deadly rage, his chest heaving. And standing right behind his shoulders were Dominic and Antonio, their heavy black guns drawn and pointed straight at my head.</p>