JULIAN POV
My phone won't stop ringing and I want to throw it in the lake.
"Mr. Cross, Channel 7 News would like a statement about—"
I hang up. It rings again immediately.
"Julian, this is the school board. We need to discuss your position on the—"
Hang up. Ring.
"You sick bastard, she's just a CHILD—"
Hang up. Ring. Ring. Ring.
Sienna takes the phone from my shaking hands. "Stop answering. Just stop."
We're back at the house. Police gave us permission to leave after six hours of questioning. The sun is fully up now. The photos have been public for two hours.
Two hours. That's all it took to destroy twenty years of building my reputation.
Mara is on the couch, scrolling through her phone. Her face gets paler with every swipe.
"They're calling you a predator," she says quietly. "They're saying you've been grooming Sienna since she was fifteen. That you're a danger to young girls. That—" Her voice breaks. "That I'm not safe around you."
Those words gut me. "Mara—"
"I know it's not true. I KNOW. But everyone else—" She shows me her phone. The comments are vicious. Cruel. Calling for my arrest. Calling Sienna terrible names. Calling me worse.
"I did this," Sienna whispers. "I ruined your life."
"No. Vanessa did this. Marcus did this. Lyra—" I stop. Where IS Lyra? She saved me at the marina then disappeared while we gave statements.
My phone buzzes. Text from an unknown number.
"Having fun yet, Daddy? This is just the beginning. - L"
Lyra. Of course.
Another text. Different number.
"Check your email. You're going to want to see this. - V"
Vanessa.
I open my email with dread. There's a message from Vanessa with a video attachment.
I click it. The video loads. It's security footage from inside my house. From last night. Me and Sienna in my office. Talking. Getting closer. The kiss.
But the video is edited. Cut to make it look like I'm the aggressor. Like I'm pushing myself on her. Like she's trying to pull away.
"Oh my God," Sienna breathes, watching over my shoulder. "That's not what happened. She edited it to make you look like—"
"Like I forced you." My hands are shaking. "She's setting me up for assault charges."
The email continues: "Send this to the police in one hour unless you meet my demands. Come to the old boat house on the north shore. Alone. Bring Sienna. We need to have a family discussion. - V"
"It's a trap," Mara says immediately.
"Obviously." I'm already grabbing my keys. "But I don't have a choice. If she sends that video to the police—"
"They'll arrest you," Sienna finishes. "Even though it's fake. Even though it's edited."
"Exactly." I look at them both. "Stay here. Lock the doors. I'll handle this."
"We're coming with you," Sienna says.
"No—"
"She asked for me specifically. She wants both of us there." Sienna's voice is firm. "And I'm not letting you face her alone. Not again."
"Me either," Mara adds. "Mom's gone crazy. She needs to see that we're not scared of her."
"I AM scared of her," I admit. "She's working with Lyra now. Or against her. I can't even tell anymore. Everyone I trusted has betrayed me."
Mara comes over. Hugs me tight. "Not everyone. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."
My eyes burn. I don't deserve her forgiveness. But I'll take it anyway.
We drive to the north shore. The old boat house has been abandoned for years. Perfect place for an ambush.
"This is such a bad idea," I mutter as we park.
"Worst idea ever," Sienna agrees. "Let's go."
The boat house door is open. We walk in carefully. It's dark inside. Musty. Empty except for old boats and fishing equipment.
"Vanessa?" I call out. "We're here."
"About time." Vanessa steps out of the shadows. She's not alone.
Lyra is with her. Holding a gun. Not pointing it at us. Just holding it. Casually. Like it's normal.
"Both of you?" I ask. "You're working together now?"
"Temporarily," Vanessa says. "We both want the same thing."
"What's that?" Sienna asks.
"You gone." Lyra points the gun at Sienna. "Out of our family. Out of our lives. Forever."
My blood runs cold. "Lyra, put the gun down—"
"Why? So you can keep screwing teenagers? So you can keep destroying families?" Lyra's hand is steady. Too steady. "I saved you at the marina because I wanted you alive to suffer. But SHE doesn't need to be alive for that."
"If you hurt her—" I start.
"You'll what?" Vanessa laughs. "You're powerless, Julian. Your reputation is destroyed. Your business is failing. Your clients are leaving. In a few hours, that edited video goes to police and you'll be arrested. You have nothing left to threaten us with."
She's right. I have nothing.
Except one thing.
"I'll confess," I say quietly. "To everything. I'll tell the police I pursued Sienna. That I manipulated her. That it was all my fault. I'll take full responsibility and she walks away clean."
"Julian, no—" Sienna grabs my arm.
"It's the only way." I look at Vanessa. "That's what you want, right? For me to suffer? For everyone to think I'm a monster? Fine. I'll give you that. Just leave Sienna alone. And Mara. They don't deserve this."
Vanessa and Lyra exchange glances. Some silent communication I don't understand.
"That's very noble," Vanessa says slowly. "But not enough."
"What more do you want?" I demand.
"Sign over your company to me. Full ownership. Every asset. Every account." She holds out papers. "Sign and we destroy the video. Sign and we leave Sienna alone. Sign and Mara gets to keep her father—in prison, maybe, but alive."
"Don't do it," Sienna says. "Julian, that company is your life's work—"
"And you're more important." I take the papers. Read them quickly. It's everything. My entire life's work. Twenty years of building. Gone.
I sign.
Vanessa smiles. Takes the papers. "Thank you. That was easier than I thought."
"Now destroy the video," I demand.
"About that—" Lyra's smile is vicious. "We lied. The video goes to the police anyway. In about—" She checks her phone. "—five minutes."
"You PROMISED!" Mara screams.
"I promised nothing," Lyra says. "I just wanted to watch him lose everything before he goes to prison. And now I have." She looks at me. "This is for Mom. For every birthday you missed. Every call you ignored. Every year you pretended I didn't exist."
Sirens in the distance. Getting closer.
"They're coming for you," Vanessa says. "Assault charges. Grooming charges. By the time they're done, you'll never see daylight again."
The sirens are loud now. Cars pulling up outside. Doors slamming. Police radios crackling.
"POLICE! Come out with your hands up!"
"This is your fault," Lyra tells Sienna. "You seduced a broken man and destroyed what was left of him. I hope you're happy."
She and Vanessa slip out the back door. Gone. Escaped. Again.
The police burst in. Guns drawn.
"Julian Cross? You're under arrest for sexual assault and contributing to the delinquency of a minor."
They're reading me my rights. Handcuffing me. Mara is crying. Sienna is screaming that it's all lies.
But nobody's listening.
As they drag me toward the police car, I see something that makes my heart stop.
Tyler Morrison. Standing with the police. Looking smug. Satisfied.
"Thanks for the tip, son," an officer tells him. "We've been watching Cross for weeks."
Tyler was the one. Tyler reported us. Tyler worked with Vanessa and Lyra.
The nice college boy who wanted Sienna. Who couldn't have her. Who decided if he couldn't have her, nobody could.
"You did this?" Sienna's voice is broken. "Tyler, WHY?"
"Because you chose HIM." Tyler's face twists with rage. "You chose a forty-two-year-old man over me. You embarrassed me. Made me look like a fool. So I made you pay."
"You destroyed an innocent man's life because your feelings were hurt?" Mara screams.
"He's not innocent. He's a predator. And now everyone knows it."
They shove me into the police car. Mara and Sienna are screaming. Fighting to reach me. Officers hold them back.
Through the window, I see Sienna collapse. Sobbing. Broken.
I did this to her. I destroyed her life by being selfish. By kissing her. By wanting her.
The car drives away. In the rearview mirror, I watch Sienna get smaller. Smaller. Gone.
My phone—they haven't taken it yet—buzzes one last time.
A text from Lyra: "Checkmate, Daddy. Game over."
And one from Vanessa: "P.S. I'm keeping the company AND pressing charges. Thanks for everything."
They played me. Used my love for Sienna against me. And I fell for it completely.
As the police station comes into view, I realize the truth: I'm going to prison.
And I deserve it.