Chapter 512 Callum Davies

Katia’s POV

So we went.

The drive took twenty minutes. Aiden sat in the back with his tablet, repeatedly asking whether Gail’s new house had a pool. Clara was asleep in her car seat, with one fist curled against her cheek. Julian drove with one hand on the steering wheel and the other resting on my thigh. He was quiet in the way he usually became when he was thinking about something he had not said out loud yet. I watched the city pass outside my window and tried not to imagine Gail standing in her kitchen, smiling at a man none of us had met.

Gail opened the door before we reached the top of the steps. She had Clara’s spare blanket over one arm and a smile that looked genuine. The house behind her was smaller than the estate, with warm lights on and the smell of something roasting coming from the kitchen. Aiden pushed past both of us and into the hallway, already asking whether there was a pool. Julian carried the baby bag and followed him, while I stepped inside last and closed the door.

The man was standing in the living room with his back to us.

He turned when he heard the door.

Julian and I both stopped. The smile on the man’s face remained for half a second before disappearing.

“Jude,” Julian said.

The name seemed to shock everyone in the room. Gail’s smile faded, and she looked between us and the man she had introduced as Callum.

“What?” she asked, confused.

Julian crossed the room in three steps and grabbed Jude by the front of his shirt with both hands. He pulled him forward so hard that Jude’s feet shifted on the rug. Clara made a small sound against Julian’s shoulder, while Aiden went quiet beside the sofa.

“What are you doing at my sister’s place?” Julian demanded. His voice was low, the kind of tone that used to make everyone leave the room when we were younger.

Jude did not answer. His hands remained at his sides as he looked at Julian’s fists gripping his shirt before glancing past him toward the doorway behind us.

Gail rushed forward and grabbed Julian’s arm. “Julian, stop! What are you doing? This is Callum. Callum Davies. Let him go.”

Julian ignored her and shook Jude once, sharply. “So you changed your name and still had the guts to come back to New York after what you did?”

“Julian,” Gail repeated, raising her voice. “This is Callum. Callum Davies. You are hurting him.”

Julian looked at his sister before turning back to Jude. Then, without another word, he slapped him across the face.

The sound was sharp and hard. Jude’s head snapped to the side, and a small cut opened at the corner of his mouth. Blood began to flow down his chin, but he still did not raise his hands to defend himself.

Gail gasped as though all the air had left her lungs. “Julian, stop! This is Callum. Callum Davies. My boyfriend, not Jude. Why are you doing this?”

Julian kept one hand gripping Jude’s shirt and pointed at him with the other. “This,” he said angrily, “is the idiot who wanted to steal Katia’s company. This is the same man who lied and said he was Jules. This is the same man who used to abuse Katia while he walked around telling people he was her husband. Why are you after my sister?”

The room fell silent. Aiden had backed away until his shoulders touched the sofa. Clara was awake now, blinking and reaching for Julian’s collar with one small hand. Gail’s fingers were still wrapped around Julian’s arm as she looked at him, then at me, and finally at the blood running down Jude’s chin.

“Katia,” she said quietly, her voice trembling. “Is that true?”

I nodded. “It’s him. He lived in my house. He signed papers with my name. He told people we were married. When I found out he was already married to someone else, he left. He had a wife, and Elliot paid him to fool me into believing he was Aiden’s father.”

Gail released Julian’s arm and took a step backward, keeping her eyes on Jude. “You said your name was Callum. You said you had never been to New York before you met me. You said you worked in London.”

Jude lifted his head, and I noticed that the blood had reached the collar of his shirt. He looked at Gail for a moment before glancing toward the door and then at Julian’s hand, which was still gripping his shirt. He opened his mouth as though he wanted to explain, but nothing came out. Suddenly, he twisted his body, causing the wet fabric to slip through Julian’s fingers. He shoved the nearest chair between them and ran.

He hit the front door with his shoulder, sending it swinging open against the wall. Before any of us could react, he was down the steps and across the short driveway. Somewhere down the street, a car door slammed, followed by the sound of an engine starting. Tires spun against the pavement before the sound faded into the distance.

The house fell silent except for Clara, who had started crying. Julian stood in the middle of the living room with his hands empty and blood on his knuckles. Gail remained motionless, staring at the open door. Aiden was still pressed against the sofa, looking at the blood on the rug where Jude’s glass had fallen and broken.

I walked around the table and placed my hand on Gail’s shoulder. She did not push me away, but she did not look at me either.

“He said he was different,” she whispered. “He said he had been waiting for the right person. He said he liked that I did not need him to be anything.”

“He lied,” I answered.

Gail nodded once before sitting on the edge of the sofa as though her legs could no longer support her. Her hands were shaking, so she pressed them flat against her knees and stared at them.