Chapter 2: The Secret In The Silver Bracelet
Damon stared at the bracelet for several seconds.
The cemetery disappeared around him.
The rain.
The shouting.
The people watching from a distance.
Everything faded.
Only that small engraving remained.
C.
Cross.
Impossible.
His mother had owned jewelry with that mark.
Every important piece in the Cross family collection carried the same symbol.
But this bracelet was not supposed to exist.
Not anymore.
“Where did you get this?””
His voice was different.
Grace noticed immediately.
The billionaire who had stepped between her and danger was gone.
Now she saw a man who looked like he had just found a ghost.
Grace swallowed.
“I told you.””
Damon looked at her.
“You never told me anything.””
Her hands tightened around her coat.
“Because I knew you would react like this.””
“Like what?””
“Like you’re afraid.””
The answer hit harder than he expected.
Damon Cross was not a man people accused of fear.
Ever.
But Grace was right.
For the first time in years, he was afraid.
Not of Marcus.
Not of Vanessa.
Of what this bracelet meant.
“Who gave this to you?””
Grace hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
“Grace.””
She looked toward the graves around them.
Then toward Marcus and Vanessa.
Both were watching.
Waiting.
She lowered her voice.
“The baby’s father gave it to me.””
Damon’s eyes sharpened.
“Marcus?””
Grace shook her head.
“No.””
A cold feeling moved through him.
“Then who?””
Grace looked directly at him.
And whispered a name Damon had not heard spoken in five years.
“Alexander Cross.””
The world stopped.
Alexander Cross.
His younger brother.
His only sibling.
The man who had died in a plane crash five years earlier.
The man whose death had destroyed their family.
The man everyone believed had left no children.
Damon stepped back.
“No.””
Grace’s eyes filled with sadness.
“I knew you would say that.””
“Alexander is dead.””
“Yes.””
“Then explain how he is the father of your child.””
Grace touched her stomach.
A protective movement.
A mother’s instinct.
“He didn’t know.””
Damon stared at her.
“What?””
“He didn’t know before he died.””
The words settled between them.
A dead brother.
An unborn child.
A secret nobody knew.
Damon looked toward the Caldwell family.
Marcus was standing now.
Listening.
Vanessa looked nervous.
And that was when Damon understood something.
They were not here because of a simple affair.
They were here because they wanted Grace silent.
They wanted the child gone.
“Why did the Caldwells know?””
Grace looked terrified again.
“I don’t know everything.””
“That’s not an answer.””
She looked down.
“Alexander was investigating something before the accident.””
Damon’s blood ran cold.
“What?””
Grace whispered.
“Your family.””
The rain became heavier.
Damon said nothing.
“My brother died because of that investigation.””
Grace’s voice cracked.
“And now they think the child has something they need.””
Damon looked at her stomach.
A child.
Alexander’s child.
His niece or nephew.
A member of the Cross family.
And someone had tried to erase them before they were even born.
Behind him, Marcus laughed bitterly.
“You actually believe her?””
Damon turned.
Marcus wiped blood from his mouth.
“She’s using your brother’s name because she knows you’re sentimental about him.””
Vanessa stepped closer.
“She’s lying.””
Damon looked at both of them.
For years, people had tried to manipulate him.
They usually failed.
Because Damon watched everything.
A pause.
A glance.
A change in breathing.
A hidden emotion.
And right now?
Marcus was angry.
Vanessa was frightened.
Grace was terrified.
Only one of those emotions looked like guilt.
Damon closed his hand around the bracelet.
“Get away from her.””
Marcus stared.
“Excuse me?””
“You heard me.””
“You think you can threaten me?””
Damon walked closer.
“No.””
His voice became colder.
“I think I can expose you.””
Marcus’s face changed.
Just slightly.
But Damon saw it.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.””
“Maybe.””
Damon looked at Grace.
“But I know enough.””
Vanessa stepped forward.
“You are making a mistake.””
Damon looked at her.
“No.””
He glanced at the grave beside them.
“At least today, I’m finally making the right one.””
Grace looked confused.
“What does that mean?””
Damon looked down at the bracelet again.
Then at the woman carrying his brother’s child.
“It means you’re coming with me.””
Grace froze.
“No.””
Damon frowned.
“No?””
She shook her head.
“You don’t understand.””
“Then explain.””
Her eyes moved toward the Caldwell family.
“They will come after you.””
Damon looked at Marcus.
Then Vanessa.
“They already did.””
Grace lowered her voice.
“And they won’t stop.””
Damon had faced corporate wars.
He had fought against competitors with unlimited money.
He had survived enemies who wanted his empire destroyed.
But standing in that cemetery, hearing a pregnant woman warn him about danger, Damon felt something unfamiliar.
Responsibility.
For the first time in years, he was not protecting a company.
Not protecting a reputation.
Not protecting a fortune.
He was protecting family.
Even if he had just discovered that family existed.
Damon removed his coat.
He placed it around Grace’s shoulders.
She looked surprised.
“You don’t even know me.””
“No.””
He looked at her.
“But I know my brother.””
A tear slipped down her cheek.
“He would have protected you.””
Damon looked back at the graves.
At the place where Alexander’s name was carved into stone.
Five years.
Five years of unanswered questions.
Five years of believing his brother died because of bad luck.
Now he wondered if it had been something else.
Someone else.
Damon turned away from the grave.
“Call my lawyer.””
Grace looked confused.
“Why?””
Damon’s expression hardened.
“Because before tonight ends, the entire city will know one thing.””
He looked at Marcus and Vanessa.
“The Cross family has an heir.””
And somewhere far away, someone who had spent five years hiding a secret suddenly realized something terrifying.
May you like
Damon Cross was no longer grieving.
He was hunting.
