Part 3: The Investigation Begins
Part 3: The Investigation Begins
Julian Sterling couldn't sleep.
For three straight nights.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the same thing.
Elias standing on the airport tarmac.
Looking at him.
Not with anger.
Not with hatred.
But with absolute indifference.
As if Julian no longer existed.
And somehow, that terrified him more than anything else.
Because Julian knew something nobody else did.
The Sterling family believed his greatest crime was framing Elias.
They thought the fake accusations had been the beginning and the end of it.
They were wrong.
Very wrong.
Julian stared at the bottle of whiskey on his desk.
His hands were shaking.
Because he knew exactly what would happen if Damien Lancaster discovered the whole truth.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Julian."
Victor's voice.
"Come downstairs."
Julian immediately felt a chill.
Something was wrong.
When he entered the main hall, every member of the Sterling family was already there.
No one was speaking.
No one looked relaxed.
At the center of the room sat three unfamiliar men in dark suits.
The atmosphere felt suffocating.
Victor's expression was grim.
"Sit down."
Julian obeyed.
One of the strangers opened a briefcase.
He placed a badge on the table.
Federal investigator.
Julian's heartbeat instantly accelerated.
The investigator folded his hands.
"Mr. Sterling."
His eyes locked onto Julian.
"We are conducting an inquiry into activities connected to Saint Gabriel Reform Academy."
Julian forced a smile.
"I already told everyone. I submitted those reports because Elias was dangerous."
The investigator didn't react.
Instead, he slid a document across the table.
Julian's blood froze.
It was a bank statement.
His bank statement.
A transfer worth fifty thousand dollars.
Sent two years earlier.
To a senior administrator at Saint Gabriel.
The room went silent.
Victor slowly turned toward him.
"What is this?"
Julian's mouth went dry.
"I..."
The investigator placed another document beside it.
Then another.
Then another.
Wire transfers.
Encrypted messages.
Phone records.
A growing mountain of evidence.
Each piece hit harder than the last.
Finally, the investigator spoke.
"Our preliminary findings suggest that someone paid academy staff to ensure Mr. Elias Sterling received special treatment."
Mrs. Sterling frowned.
"Special treatment?"
The investigator's expression darkened.
"Extended isolation."
Another file landed on the table.
"Additional punishments."
Another file.
"Restricted medical care."
Another.
"Physical discipline."
Mrs. Sterling suddenly covered her mouth.
Her eyes widened in horror.
Julian felt sweat running down his neck.
No.
No.
No.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
The records should have disappeared years ago.
The academy had promised him that.
Then the investigator delivered the sentence Julian feared most.
"The request originated from Julian Sterling."
The room exploded.
Victor lunged to his feet.
"You paid them?"
His voice sounded inhuman.
"You paid them to hurt him?"
"Dad, listen—"
A slap echoed through the mansion.
Julian's head snapped sideways.
Mrs. Sterling stood trembling.
For the first time in her life, she had struck her biological son.
"You monster."
Tears streamed down her face.
"You sent your brother to hell."
Julian tried to speak.
Tried to defend himself.
But no words came.
Because deep down he knew they were right.
He had hated Elias for years.
Hated the attention he received.
Hated the affection people occasionally showed him.
Hated the possibility that Elias might someday inherit part of the Sterling fortune.
So Julian had destroyed him.
And he had enjoyed watching it happen.
Until now.
Until the consequences arrived.
One of the investigators received a message.
He glanced at his phone.
Then his expression changed.
The room became quiet.
"What happened?" Victor asked.
The investigator looked up.
"The Lancaster family has officially joined the inquiry."
Julian's stomach dropped.
No.
The investigator continued.
"They have hired twenty-seven law firms."
Silence.
"Four private intelligence agencies."
More silence.
"And a team of former federal prosecutors."
Mrs. Sterling looked stunned.
Victor looked sick.
But Julian...
Julian looked terrified.
Because he understood what the others didn't.
This wasn't an investigation anymore.
It was a hunt.
And Damien Lancaster had unlimited resources.
The investigator stood.
"We expect additional arrests soon."
The word arrests echoed through Julian's mind.
Arrests.
Not lawsuits.
Not settlements.
Arrests.
As the investigators left, Victor remained standing motionless.
Minutes passed.
No one dared move.
Finally, he spoke.
Without looking at Julian.
"Tell me everything."
Julian swallowed.
"Dad—"
"Everything."
His voice was deadly calm.
For the first time, Julian realized his father wasn't trying to protect him anymore.
He wasn't even looking at him as a son.
He was looking at him the same way Damien Lancaster probably was.
As a criminal.
At that exact moment, hundreds of miles away, Elias sat inside the Lancaster estate.
The mansion overlooked the ocean.
The view was breathtaking.
Yet he barely noticed it.
His attention remained fixed on the folder lying in front of him.
A folder labeled:
SAINT GABRIEL CASE.
Damien Lancaster sat beside him.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Damien quietly asked,
"Are you ready to know everything?"
Elias stared at the folder.
His hands slowly tightened.
For years, he had believed he already knew the truth.
Now he wasn't so sure.
Because according to the investigators...
Someone at Saint Gabriel had been receiving instructions.
Instructions from outside.
Specific instructions.
Orders about which punishments to use.
Which privileges to deny.
How far to push him.
And those instructions came from someone he once called family.
Elias finally opened the folder.
The first photograph slipped out.
The color drained from his face.
Because staring back at him...
was proof that Julian Sterling had not acted alone.
Someone else had helped destroy him.
Someone much closer.
May you like
Someone whose betrayal would hurt far more than Julian's ever could.
And the name was waiting on the very next page.
