Page 33 of The Light Within

“I would be delighted to share all the details with you. However, I do require some assurances first.”

Julien’s stomach clenched into a ball of ice, chilling him to the core. “What sort of assurances?”

“Assurances that we’re aligned in our understanding, you and I. While you may be my son, I harbour no illusions that we share the same perspective. We haven’t enjoyed a traditional familial bond in many years, and I’m not always convinced we see eye to eye.”

There was no love lost between the pair of them, from Julien’s perspective, but it still oddly stung to hear it laid out like that. For as long as Julien could remember, he’d detested his father. His cruel, abusive tendencies hadn’t stopped when his mother died, and he and Béatrice had escaped from their family home without looking back. Julien’s policy of bare minimum contact with him had allowed him to distance himself from the man without causing trouble for himself.

With effort, Julien schooled his face into a neutral expression. He refused to give his father any satisfaction.

“You don’t only look like your mother, Julien, but you have her sensibilities, much like your sister did.”

Julien drained the last of his coffee. The bitter residue clung to his tongue.

“Your mother had a good heart, Julien. Sometimes, I wonder if you’ve inherited too much of it. Whether you’ll be prepared to dowhat must be done.”

His father’s gaze bore into him, so intense Julien found himself speechless.

“I wonder where your loyalty will lie when the scales tip,” he mused, his voice filled with contemplation. He stirred a teaspoon around his empty mug, causing a grating, metallic scrape. “Whether it will be with us… or them.”

His father nodded to the floor, where a scrunched up piece of paper lay. Julien didn’t need to pick it up to know what it was—it was one of the thousands of posters the Arcane Purifiers had bombed Auri with after the umbraphage attack. Their logo, and the words,‘Ignorance will lead to certain peril’. The propaganda had been cleaned up, for the most part, leaving just a few scattered here and there. For a group concerned about saving the planet, they certainly didn’t mind wasting paper.

“Like Béatrice was?” Julien said, taking a gamble. But there was no way Béatrice was on record as an AP member andPèredidn’t know about it.

Surprise coloured his father’s face. It was rare Julien caught him off-guard.

“Have you stopped to consider that they might have a point? People are dying. Not just from the umbraphages. Cities are being destroyed. Half of Talwacht is under rubble!Ialmost died in the earthquake!” Sort of. It had been close for half a second. “If AP is right, then we can’t bury our heads in the sand and keep using motes while the world burns around us.”

His father leaned forward. “Lower your volume!” he hissed. “Other solutions must be explored. We depend on motetech now. Not just us moteblessed, but you’d be hard pressed to find a single person alive who doesn’t benefit from it in some small way.”

Julien brushed his hand across the table, scooping up the icy-cold snow. He sprinkled it onto the floor. “Yes, we’re really doing great things with it.”

“You’re not considering the livessaved,Julien.The fire-resistant materials being supplied to developing countries? The work our Asian cousins have been doing to develop motetech water purification systems? Not to mention the teams of gendarmerie dispatched worldwide to help in times of crisis.”

Julien shook his head. It was always the same with his father—making out he was the saviour of the masses when really it was all about financial gain. Power. Control.

“I know we’ve grown further and further apart over the years. I shoulder some of the blame for that. And I know you haven’t been the same since Béatrice died. Losing her, and your mother—it must be lonely for you. ButIam still here.”

Julien’s breath caught in his throat, his father’s rare sentimentality knocking him off kilter.

“You and I could be an unstoppable team. Jonathan Steele and I were discussing how we could accelerate your path to senior executive of MEET within five years. With your ideas, alongside your fresh perspective, HorizonTech will have a brighter future.” The building excitement in his voice was palpable.

Julien could see it now—the roadmap of his life, as laid out by Lord Lucien Montaigne. Free rein of MEET, numerous development teams at his disposal. All those designs in his sketchbook could finally be materialised. He’d have a seat at the table. Maybe he’d even be in the consortium himself one day, if he played his cards right.

“Your mother would be so proud of you.”

There. That was it. The thing that brought Julien firmly back down to earth.

His father was a fool. A fool who clearly had no concept of what the woman he abused would have thought.

His mother would not beproudto see him as his father’spawn.

He may have been able to manipulate her into staying with him through his monstrous behaviour, but Julien wouldn’t let history repeat itself.

“Shewouldbe proud of me.” Julien even almost believed it. “She would be proud that everything I achieve has been from my own merit. She’d be proud I know my own mind, and stick to it. So, thank you, but I have no plans to join HorizonTech. You can keep your empire, and I’ll build my own.”

His father leaned back in his chair, blinking at him like he was patiently waiting for a toddler to cease their tantrum. It was infuriating.

“And as for your littlesecret project, you and Jonathan Steele can do what you like, but there’s no way Cinn is going anywhere near it.”

---