Page 102 of Goldflame

My thumb hovers over the send button on my phone, hesitating for just a second before pressing down.

Where are the fucking pictures? It’s been two weeks.

I toss the phone onto my father’s desk—my desk now—watching it slide across the polished surface. Fourteen days. Fourteen fucking days since I handed Aurelia over to Lorenzo, and the bastard hasn’t sent a single picture. One single image to show me she’s suffering and being properly punished.

Also, to show me she’s still alive.

My chest constricts at the thought and I start pacing the length of the office. The walls feel like they’re closing in, the gold leaf on the bookshelves looking dull in the evening light.

What if Lorenzo’s killed her? What if I’ve made a mistake? What if?—

I stop myself. Lorenzo wouldn’t dare. He’s Consortium, and while he may be new, he knows the rules. You don’t destroy another man’s property, especially not when you’ve paid for temporary use. And Aurelia is mine. Has always beenmine.

Even when she was Adrian’s.

God, I’m fucking pathetic. The truth sits like acid in my stomach—I just want to see her. Even broken, even suffering, even hating me with every fiber of her being… I just need to know she exists in the same world I do.

My phone buzzes, and I lunge for it, nearly knocking over the bottle of whiskey I’ve been working on all afternoon.

It’s not Lorenzo, only Valentine with some bullshit about shipment documents. I swipe the notification away, disgusted.

Maybe I should just go to Lorenzo’s estate. I could show up and demand my property back. Fuck the deal, fuck the promised time, fuck the appearance of weakness. I could take her back today.

I stop pacing to stare out the window. That’s one idea, but do what with her, exactly? Lock her in Adrian’s room again? Watch her spiral further into madness?

I walk to the window and touch the cool glass, staring out at the skyline. When did everything get so fucked up? When did I become this person—this pathetic, twisted shadow of myself?

The door to the office swings open without a knock. Only one person would dare enter without permission, and I actually don’t want to see her right now.

I glance over my shoulder as my mother glides in,dressed in midnight blue silk that makes her pale skin look ghostly. Her stab wound has mostly healed by now, but there’s still a stiffness to the way she moves, something that hints at lingering internal pain.

“Julian,” she says, her voice gentle but firm. “The guests are arriving.”

I stare at her blankly. “What guests?”

“For the gathering tonight, of course. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten.”

Goddamnit.I remember now—another fucking social event she organized without asking me first.

I spit my words out. “Will you stop with these fucking parties? Christ, it’s like you can’t go three fucking days without throwing one.”

My mother doesn’t flinch at my tone. If anything, her posture becomes more rigid, more controlled. “It’s too late for today,” she says calmly. “The guests are already here, and they’re expecting to see their leader.”

The word feels like a collar around my neck, tightening with each passing day.Leader.What a fucking joke.

“Besides,” she continues, moving closer and resting a hand on my arm, “this gathering is to appease some of the members you’ve managed to irritate with your recent decisions.”

“My decisions?” I jerk away from her touch. “You mean the ones I’ve been forced to make without any real guidance? The ones where I’m trying to clean up the mess Father left?”

“After tonight,” she drones on, unfazed, “I can pause the gatherings for a few weeks to give you more time toadjust. But this is simply how the Consortium operates. Eventually, you’ll come to appreciate them. Need them, even, as your father did.”

I laugh. “I don’t think I’ll ever reach a point where Ineedto parade around like some circus animal for the Consortium’s amusement.”

“Julian—”

“Fine,” I cut her off, reaching for my drink and finishing it in one burning swallow. “I’ll be there. It’s a distraction, at least.”

Relief smooths the lines around her mouth. “Wonderful. Wear the navy suit. It brings out your eyes.”

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