Chapter 33

The ride back to Julian's estate was thick with silence, the adrenaline from the firefight ebbing away but leaving an emotional residue neither Erica nor Julian could fully process yet. Erica clutched the leather folder tightly in her lap, her mind on her father’s secrets, but her heart pulled in another direction. She kept replaying the moment Julian had thrown himself in front of her during the fight, his body shielding hers. The way he looked at her just before the bullets flew—there had been something more, something unspoken between them.

Julian’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel, his jaw set. Erica knew he was focused, calculating their next move. His expression was stoic as always, but beneath the surface, she could sense the tension building.

As they pulled up to the estate, Julian parked the car but didn’t get out immediately. Instead, he turned to her, his dark eyes locking onto hers. There was a heaviness to his gaze, something between concern and intensity.

"Are y