Chapter 2: The First Thing Julian Hadn't Prepared For
**— Part 2 —**
I couldn't answer him.
My throat closed around every word I tried to form.
Caleb didn't push.
He just held my hand and waited, the way he used to when we were children and I was too scared to say what was wrong.
"You don't have to protect him in here," he said.
"It's just us."
That was when I started to cry.
Not loudly — I was too afraid Julian would somehow hear me through the walls.
But once I started, I couldn't stop.
Caleb leaned closer.
"How long has this been happening?"
I shook my head.
I couldn't say the number out loud.
It felt like a confession of my own failure.
"Clara." His voice was steady but his jaw was tight.
"I need you to listen to me.
I've seen this kind of fr@cture before.
This X-ray tells a story whether you speak or not."
I wiped my face with my good hand.
"He said he'll take her.
He has lawyers, Caleb.
He has money and connections and —"
"So do I now." He squeezed my fingers.
"And I have something he doesn't."
Before I could ask what he meant, the radiology door opened.
It wasn't a nurse.
Julian stepped inside, his expression calm, his eyes moving straight from Caleb's face to mine.
"There you are," he said softly.
"I was worried."
Caleb didn't let go of my hand.
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May you like
What Julian said next — and what Caleb had been quietly preparing for two years — will leave you speechless.
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