Chapter 360
Chapter 360:
She looked down at her wrist. There was a faint red mark where Catherine’s nail had grazed her.
She walked to her desk and pressed the intercom.
“Zhang,” Skye said. “Contact HR. Blacklist Catherine Thorne from the building. If she steps foot in the lobby again, call the police p>
“Yes, Ms. Sterling,” Zhang replied, his voice filled with awe.
Skye sat down in her chair and swiveled to face the window again.
Her phone buzzed on the desk.
It was a text from Dominic.
You declared war on my mother. You have no idea what you just started. You will pay.
Skye picked up the phone. She typed a single emoji, an hourglass, and hit send.
Let them come. She was done being polite.
The adrenaline from the confrontation with Catherine Thorne had barely subsided when the intercom buzzed again.
This time, the interruption didn’t come with the chaotic energy of an invasion, but with a rhythmic, polite cadence.
“Mr. Julian Vance is here to see you, Ms. Sterling p>
Skye frowned, checking the calendar.
It had been only days since the collapse of the Kensington empire and her return to the office, and the last reports she had from the hospitals said Julian was still in critical recovery following his long stint in the ICU.
“Send him in,” Skye said, her voice laced with concern.
The door opened slowly.
Julian didn’t walk in. He was wheeled in by a stern-looking nurse who seemed ready to sedate him at the slightest provocation.
Julian looked terrible. His skin was the color of parchment, translucent enough to show the blue veins beneath. He had lost weight, his cheekbones sharp enough to cut glass. His leg was encased in a heavy brace, propped up on the wheelchair’s support—a lingering result of his deteriorating condition that had put him in the hospital in the first place.
But his eyes—those gray, calculating eyes—were as sharp as ever, burning with a feverish intensity.
𝖸о𝘶𝗋 ոe𝘹𝗍 𝘳е𝘢𝗱 𝗶𝘴 𝗼ո 𝖻еlո𝗼𝗏𝘦𝗹𝘴.𝗰𝘰𝘮
“I heard screaming in the lobby,” Julian said, his voice raspy, lacking its usual smooth timbre. “Catherine Thorne p>
“She tried to slap me,” Skye said, rushing to the sideboard to pour him a glass of water instead of coffee. “I had security escort her out. Julian, what are you doing here? The doctors said you needed another month of observation before you could even sit up properly p>
“Doctors are pessimists,” Julian wheezed, accepting the water with a trembling hand. “And hospitals are boring. Besides, boldness is required. You realize the Thornes hold grudges like they hold real estate—forever p>
“I’m counting on it,” Skye said, sitting opposite him on the sofa, eyeing his fragility with worry. “Dominic needs to be angry. Angry men make mistakes p>
Julian took a sip of water, watching her over the rim of the glass.
“Speaking of mistakes… or opportunities, depending on how you look at it p>
He signaled to the nurse, who handed him a thick manila envelope.
He slid it across the glass surface toward Skye.
Skye looked at it. There was no label. Just a heavy, ominous weight to the paper.
“What is this p>
“Your ticket into the inner circle,” Julian said. “Or, specifically, Lucian Graves’ inner circle p>
Skye frowned and opened the envelope.
Inside was a contract—a standard talent agency agreement, but the terms were astronomical.