Chapter 5 - The Teacher Who Wouldn’t Be Intimidated
“You’re not going.”
Julian’s tone left no room for discussion.
Unfortunately for him, Sophie did not require room.
“Yes, I am.”
“No.”
“You invited me.”
“That was before we learned Dominic may have been connected to both our fathers’ deaths.”
“All the more reason.”
Julian stood behind the desk in his study.
“You are a schoolteacher.”
Sophie folded her arms.
“And?”
“And this is not your world.”
“Apparently my father spent eleven years in your world, which means it has been standing underneath mine the entire time.”
“That does not make you prepared.”
She stepped closer.
“Do you know what happens when twenty-six third graders are given glitter?”
Julian stared at her.
“No.”
“Then don’t lecture me about chaos.”
A sound came from the doorway.
Marco coughing.
Suspiciously.
Julian looked toward him.
Marco immediately became fascinated by the ceiling.
Sophie continued.
“Dominic has known you your entire life. If you walk into dinner suddenly suspicious, he’ll notice.”
“He notices everything.”
“Exactly.”
“But if you arrive with the woman from the concert everyone is talking about…”
Julian understood.
“He’ll focus on you.”
“Which gives you time to watch him.”
“No.”
Sophie blinked.
“That was a good plan.”
“It ends with you being used as bait.”
“I prefer ‘distraction.’”
“I prefer alive.”
The words landed harder than either expected.
Silence stretched.
Sophie looked at him.
Something had changed since the concert.
Julian no longer seemed like the frightening newspaper photograph.
He seemed tired.
A man who spent his life expecting betrayal before breakfast.
“Why did you buy three seats?” she asked suddenly.
He frowned.
“What?”
“At the concert.”
“That matters now?”
“I’m curious.”
Julian looked toward the window.
“My mother loved the symphony.”
Sophie’s expression softened.
“She died?”
“Ten years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
“She and my father attended that performance every October.”
Sophie understood.
“You bought three seats because…”
“One for me. One for her. One for him.”
The simple answer broke something inside Sophie.
She had assumed arrogance.
Instead, it had been grief.
“You could have told me.”
“You were busy accusing me of owning a printer.”
Despite everything, she smiled.
Julian watched that smile a second too long.
Then said, “You’re still not coming.”
Sophie arrived at dinner at seven-thirty.
Julian opened the door himself.
His expression when he saw her was almost worth the risk.
She wore a deep green dress, simple earrings and the confidence of someone who had already decided not to be afraid.
“You’re impossible.”
“I hear that from nine-year-olds regularly.”
“They’re eight.”
“My class has mixed birthdays.”
Julian closed his eyes briefly.
“Come in.”
Dinner was held at the Romano family estate.
Not Julian’s modern lakefront property.
The original house.
Massive stone walls.
Old portraits.
Long corridors.
The kind of place built by people who expected their name to outlive governments.
Dominic Vale greeted Sophie warmly.
He was sixty-three.
Silver-haired.
Elegant.
Fatherly.
Nothing about him looked dangerous.
That made him more unsettling.
“So this is Sophie Carter.”
Sophie smiled.
“You know my name.”
“The entire city knows your name after that photograph.”
He kissed her hand.
Julian’s jaw tightened.
Dominic noticed.
So did Sophie.
Interesting.
Dinner included Julian’s uncle Vittorio, Julian’s cousin Luca and several senior business partners.
Conversation stayed polite.
Until Dominic said, “Your father was a remarkable man, Sophie.”
The table went silent.
Sophie placed down her fork.
“You knew him well?”
“Enough.”
“How did he die?”
Julian looked toward her.
Dominic did not flinch.
“Car accident.”
“You’re certain?”
“As certain as anyone could be.”
“Were you there?”
Vittorio looked sharply at Dominic.
Julian watched both.
Dominic smiled.
“No.”
Lie.
Sophie knew it instantly.
Not because she had proof.
Because Dominic answered too quickly.
Dinner continued.
Later, Sophie excused herself.
She walked toward the restroom.
Then deliberately took the wrong hallway.
A study door stood partially open.
Voices came from inside.
Dominic.
Vittorio.
Sophie stopped.
“You should have destroyed the storage records,” Dominic whispered.
“I told you Carter’s daughter knew nothing.”
“She knows something now.”
“Because Julian dragged her into it.”
“No. Because someone sent her the key.”
Silence.
Then Vittorio said, “That wasn’t me.”
Sophie’s pulse quickened.
Dominic answered.
“Then we have another problem.”
Footsteps moved toward the door.
Sophie hurried down the hallway.
A hand grabbed her wrist.
She nearly screamed.
Julian pulled her into an alcove.
“What are you doing?”
“Listening.”
“You’re terrible at following instructions.”
“I never agreed to any.”
He looked toward the study.
“Who’s inside?”
“Dominic and Vittorio.”
Julian’s expression hardened.
Sophie whispered what she had heard.
Before Julian could answer, Dominic stepped into the hallway.
He saw them.
For half a second, nobody moved.
Then Dominic smiled.
“Well.”
His eyes dropped to Julian’s hand around Sophie’s wrist.
“Am I interrupting something?”
Julian did not release her.
“Yes.”
Sophie looked at him.
Dominic’s smile widened.
“Then I apologize.”
He walked away.
Once he disappeared, Sophie whispered, “That was your solution?”
“He was suspicious.”
“So you pretended we were making out?”
“We were not making out.”
“You looked like you were considering it.”
Julian looked at her.
Sophie’s breath caught.
The hallway suddenly became very quiet.
His hand was still around her wrist.
Not tight.
Warm.
He released it slowly.
“We should go.”
“Yes.”
Neither moved.
Then Julian’s phone rang.
Marco.
Julian answered.
His expression changed instantly.
“What?”
Sophie’s stomach tightened.
May you like
Julian looked at her.
“Your apartment is on fire.”
