Chapter 10 - The Truth About Julian
Julian asked to meet Sebastian without Eleanor.
His attorney arranged the meeting at a downtown law office.
Clara attended remotely with her lawyer.
Julian looked worse than Sebastian had ever seen him.
He began with the family loan.
Their father, Charles Bellamy, had taken the original $185 million to prevent a hostile recapitalization after the 2008 financial crisis.
The loan preserved family ownership.
It also became a burden Charles never disclosed to Bellamy Medical’s full board because the borrower was the separate family holding company.
When Charles died, Eleanor inherited responsibility for the debt.
Julian began helping her manage it.
Sebastian was left out.
“Why?”
Julian laughed bitterly.
“Because Dad said you were the one who could run the company if the rest of us kept the family problems away from you.”
Sebastian stared at him.
The compliment felt obscene now.
Eleanor and Julian refinanced repeatedly.
Interest grew.
They sold private assets.
Then Eleanor began using Great Lakes as a channel for money she considered “family compensation” from businesses benefiting from Bellamy relationships.
Julian knew some payments were questionable.
He told himself they would stop after the debt stabilized.
They did not.
Then Hartwell appeared.
The acquisition created an opportunity to generate forty-eight million dollars through the Great Lakes termination fee.
“Whose idea was the fee?” Sebastian asked.
Julian looked down.
“Mine.”
The major twist landed differently than Sebastian expected.
Eleanor had not forced Julian into everything.
Julian designed the Hartwell mechanism.
He created the fake Great Lakes contract.
He arranged for the termination payment.
He used Clara’s fake compliance profile.
Eleanor knew and protected him.
But Julian was not simply her obedient son.
He was the architect of the transaction.
“Why steal the physical page?” Sebastian asked.
“Because Hartwell’s attorney added the beneficial-ownership note after I thought the final binder was done.”
“Why Clara?”
Julian’s eyes moved toward the screen where she appeared.
“Because nobody inside Bellamy could sign off without triggering conflict rules.”
“So you forged my wife.”
“I thought we only needed the memorandum in the file. I never thought anyone would prosecute her.”
Clara answered.
“You didn’t need to think I would go to prison. You only needed me close enough to the blame that everyone looked at me first.”
Julian said nothing.
Then he revealed the part that changed Sebastian’s understanding of the dinner.
Eleanor had invited those specific women because several had received foundation money linked to Great Lakes.
She wanted them present if Clara confronted her.
Their testimony could describe Clara as irrational, resentful, unstable, and obsessed with Bellamy money.
The humiliation was intended to provoke a public reaction.
The camera was supposed to help.
Eleanor knew the home-security system sometimes recorded automatically when multiple guests entered through coded doors.
She expected footage of Clara screaming.
Instead, the wide-angle reflection caught Julian taking the page.
“Mom knew the camera was on?” Sebastian asked.
Julian nodded.
May you like
“She thought it would protect us.”
It had done the opposite.
