My Stepbrother Wants Me-Chapter 113: The Devil Smiles

Julian’s POV

"Julian," Catherine whispered against my chest, her voice pulling me back to the present. "I’m confused. What do you mean by ’you took care of her’? If Richard finds her... if he starts asking questions about who was in the house while he was gone..."

I felt a slight pang of guilt. I’d been so busy with the whole Richard mess that I hadn’t realized I’d left her in the dark.

"Lucy isn’t here with us anymore," I said quietly. "I managed to get one of the junior staff to get her out of the house the moment I heard Richard’s car pull into the driveway."

Catherine pulled back abruptly, her eyes wide with shock. "What? You got her out? Why didn’t you tell me?"

"My head has been filled with so much," I said, rubbing the back of my neck, feeling the genuine exhaustion weighing on my bones. "It completely skipped my mind. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you out of the loop. I’m sorry."

She stared at me for a beat, her expression hard to read. Finally, she let out a long, shaky breath and nodded. "Okay. I get it. Everything is moving so fast. Where is she now?"

"She’s at a hotel," I explained. "She will remain there for now, until she’s strong enough to go back to her city.."

Catherine didn’t say anything else. We spent a few more minutes in the old building, and after a few hugs, smooches and kisses, we returned to the house. Catherine went first. I waited exactly thirty minutes, before I followed.

—

The next morning, I was woken up by Richard’s demand for a "formal family breakfast." In this house, that wasn’t an invitation; it was a summons to a performance.

When I entered the dining room, the smell of expensive coffee and smoked salmon hit my nose. Richard was already there, seated at the head of the table, reading the morning headlines on his tablet. He looked... refreshed. His "good" mood was a sharp contrast to the monster he was yesterday. What was he up to now? A smiling Richard was always more dangerous than a screaming one.

Lisa and Catherine were already seated. Lisa looked pale, her eyes fixed on her coffee cup, while Catherine had her "mask" firmly in place; polite, distant, and perfectly composed.

"Julian, always the one who keeps everyone waiting. Glad you finally joined us," Richard said, not looking up. "Sit. We have much to prepare for."

I sat, the chair scraping against the floor. "Good morning."

"It is indeed a good morning," Richard agreed, finally setting the tablet aside. He leaned back, a look of smug satisfaction on his face. "The morning polls are in. Our ’victim’ narrative is playing beautifully. The public loves a comeback story, and tonight, at the Founders’ Gala, we are going to give them exactly what they want."

He paused, looking around the table at each of us. "Tonight is hosted by Arthur Sterling. You all know the name. He’s the largest donor to the party, the man who controls half the media outlets in this state. If Arthur is impressed tonight, the Senate seat is as good as mine."

He reached down to his lap and pulled out two velvet-lined boxes that had been hidden under the table. He slid one toward Lisa and the other toward Catherine.

"A token of my appreciation," Richard said, his voice dripping with a performative kindness that made my skin crawl. "For your loyalty. For being the women this family needs."

Catherine opened her box, revealing a diamond necklace that shone like ice. I watched her expression. She looked impressed, but I saw the way her throat tightened. To her, it was jewelry. To me, it was a tracking collar or better still, a golden leash meant to remind her exactly who owned her.

Lisa, however, didn’t move. She stared at the box in front of her with zero interest.

"Baby?" Richard prompted, his voice dropping an octave. "Don’t you want to see what I got for you?"

Lisa shook her head and tentatively opened the box. Inside was a heavy emerald set in gold. She didn’t smile or gasp. She looked... trapped.

"It’s beautiful, Richard. Thank you," she whispered, her voice sounding thin and brittle.

Richard’s eyes narrowed. He noticed her lack of enthusiasm, and I saw the subtle shift in his posture, the predator sensing a lapse in the prey’s performance. He reached across the table, his large hand stretching toward hers.

"Is something wrong, darling? Don’t you like it?"

I watched closely. As Richard’s hand moved closer to her, Lisa flinched.

I felt my heart hammer against my ribs. I looked at Catherine, but she was busy adjusting the necklace in its box, seemingly oblivious to the micro-interaction. She had no idea what her mom was going through but I clearly knew what that flinch meant. I had done it myself a thousand times.

Richard’s hand froze mid-air. He didn’t retract it. He kept it there, hovering over her, his eyes locking onto hers with a cold intensity.

"You seem on edge, Lisa. Is the excitement of the Gala getting to you?"

"I... I just didn’t sleep well," Lisa stammered, forcing a small, pained smile. "The necklace is stunning. Truly."

Richard slowly withdrew his hand, his gaze staying on her for a beat too long before he turned back to the table. "Good. Because tonight, the ’United Vaughns’ must be perfect and with no flaws or cracks."

He picked up a piece of toast with a calm and methodical move. "Sterling expects elegance. Everyone expects strength. We are a family that has been attacked and has emerged stronger. That is the only story people are allowed to hear."

He looked Lisa directly in the eye, his expression shifting into something jagged and cruel. "And honey? Make sure that the bruise is properly hidden. I’ll get the perfect makeup artist to fix it for you. We can’t have people thinking things."

The silence that followed was suffocating.

I gripped my fork, the metal biting into my palm, realizing that Lisa’s bruise could be from him. Had he started hitting her already?!