A single tear slipped down Julie Morgan's cheek before disappearing into the pillow under her head. Cameron Taylor had forgotten. He'd forgotten the story behind the butterfly brooch… or maybe he'd never really cared at all.
When she was thirteen, Julie had scraped together every penny of her allowance for years just to go to that auction alone. She'd been dead set on bidding on that stunning diamond butterfly brooch. But she never even got a chance to raise her paddle—her savings fell short. Back home that night, she locked herself away and cried for a whole week. Her eyes swelled shut so bad she had to ice them, lying to Laura Taylor that she just hadn't slept well.
One evening, a week later, Cameron barged right into her room and tossed the brooch straight down in front of her. "Take it," he said. When he saw how stunned she was, he kept going in that signature impatient tone of his: "Being part of the Taylor family means you fight for what you want. And if you can't win it yourself, why the hell wouldn't you just say something? You think we're all invisible around here?"
Julie held that brooch tight, her eyes shining so bright with gratitude she could barely speak. "Thank you… thank you, Cam…"
Cameron stared at her for a minute, then flicked her forehead soft and easy. "No more crying from now on, got it?"
When her parents died, she was so little she barely even understood what happened. But the second she moved in with the Taylors, they wrapped her in love. Still—all the hard lessons about how life works? Those came from Cameron. He once told her to fight for whatever she wanted, and if she couldn't win the fight alone? He'd fight it for her.
But now? She fought, and he called her arrogant. He wants to break off their engagement. It's fucking ridiculous.
Julie was jolted awake by her phone blaring from the nightstand. It was Khloe Boyd on the line.
"Get down here now! Cameron Taylor just sent a cease-and-desist!"
Julie threw on clothes and rushed to check out of her hotel room. The receptionist smiled all sweet at her: "Miss, your room's already been paid for the whole month. You can stay as long as you'd like."
Julie insisted on checking out anyway, and transferred the leftover balance to Silas Olson, texting him: Brother, put today's room on my tab. I'll pay you back after payday.
When she pushed through the doors of Exposé Entertainment's office, Khloe's voice was already echoing all the way down the hall. "He was the one who picked out the engagement ring! He draped his coat over her at that gala last winter! We have proof of their seven-year secret relationship! And now he's suing us for defamation? This is complete bullshit!"
The second Julie ran in, Khloe shoved the legal notice straight into her arms. "Here—this is your hot mess to hold."
Julie glanced it over and almost cursed out loud. "Why the hell am I the main defendant?"
"Because they go after the person who looks weaker!" Khloe shrugged. "The whole company's getting sued, but you're getting special treatment."
"It's 'cause of Julie's article—views and shares are through the roof, girl. Your bonus is locked in this month," Ryan Dunn joked with a grin.
The rest of the team nodded in agreement. "My bet? She hit a nerve. Cam's definitely feeling the heat now."
Julie sighed, turning back to Khloe. "You said this morning it wouldn't blow up this far."
Khloe spit her lollipop out into the trash can beside her, fist clenching in frustration. "I'm this close to cursing his entire family tree back eighteen generations!"
While they were still hashing it out, the legal team walked over, asking for Julie's ID info. Cameron was specifically gunning for the Exposé article and its author. The piece dug into his hidden romance with Sophie Chavez—an all-nighter Julie pulled to get it right, and he's calling it fake news.
Julie had published it under a pen name, but the legal team needed to confirm her identity to prep for court. Judging by how hard Cameron was coming after them, a court showdown was inevitable.
Just as Julie pulled her ID out of her wallet, a hand reached over, pushed it back, snatched the legal notice, and ripped it straight to shreds right in front of everyone.
"Let him sue," Silas Olson's voice was ice cold. "If Cameron Taylor is bold enough to act, he shouldn't flinch when people call him out on it."
No one had more right to call out Cameron's coldness than Julie Morgan.
"But…" the legal rep hesitated, thrown off. Silas was always so level-headed—seeing him this visibly angry threw everyone off.
"If he dares sue, the company will handle the response. You don't have to worry about a single thing," Silas said flatly.
"But…" the lawyer tried again.
"Is Exposé Entertainment really such a big company that it can't even protect one of its own writers?" Silas's tone left no room for argument.
He wouldn't make Julie stand against Cameron alone in court. Cameron wasn't worth it.
"Mr. Taylor, we still haven't found her." Jeremiah Hoffman reported anxiously from the executive suite atop the Cloud-Taylor Group building. Cameron's temper had been absolute garbage since he got back to his estate last night.
Julie Morgan was missing.
Cameron closed his eyes, rubbing hard at his temples. "Pull her spending records."
On the desk in front of him sat a shattered phone screen and a bank card snapped clean in half.
Jeremiah still remembered how Cameron had smashed his phone in a fit of frustration last night when all his calls went straight to voicemail. The way he'd reacted when he found the half-broken bank card on her nightstand? It was enough to make anyone's blood run cold.
"I checked… Miss Morgan hasn't made any transactions at all."
Still with his eyes closed, Cameron pinched the bridge of his nose. "Hotel check-ins?"
"Checked all the local ones, no records under her name."
A dead, heavy silence filled the room.
Jeremiah didn't even dare breathe. After what felt like an eternity, Cameron opened his eyes—they were streaked red with exhaustion and rage. "What's Exposé saying?"
Jeremiah wanted to cry right then and there. "Exposé's standing firm. They won't pull the article, and they say they're ready for court whenever he is, sir…"
Bang!
Cameron kicked the solid oak coffee table right over. Shards of glass went flying, clattering and skittering across the marble floor.
Jeremiah nearly jumped out of his skin, heart hammering so hard he thought it would burst out of his chest.
This was the second straight day Cameron hadn't slept. If this kept up, Jeremiah was half-convinced he'd be the one to collapse from stress first.
"Mr. Taylor," assistant Zach Harper walked in, throwing Jeremiah a sympathetic look, "the flight's all arranged."
Cameron stood, adjusted his cufflinks, and strode straight for the door, his whole demeanor dark as a thunderstorm.
Jeremiah wanted to beg him to stay and sort this out first, but Zach subtly shook his head. Not even a family tragedy would make Cameron change his itinerary, let alone Julie Morgan—who he supposedly loathed with every fiber of his being.
Cameron's obsession with work was practically fanatical.
"Alert the police, pull all traffic cam footage in the area," he ordered Jeremiah right before he walked out.
Jeremiah hurried to scoop up the broken phone and snapped bank card out of the glass shards. Cameron didn't have to say it out loud—he knew. The phone's SIM card wasn't to be thrown out, and the broken bank card needed to be reissued immediately.
"Mr. Taylor, Mrs. Taylor just called," Jeremiah reported nervously as they boarded the plane, "she asked about you and Miss Chavez…"
Cameron tore his gaze away from his computer screen and looked up. His eyes were as cold as Arctic ice.
Jeremiah wisely handed over the new phone and the reissued bank card instead of pushing further. "We've got the police on it; we should have a lead soon."
Cameron said nothing else. He just reclined back into the plush leather couch of his private jet, watching the runway blur past as they took off.
Julie Morgan, he thought, was just as always—full of tricks, greedy for everything she could get.
