Chapter 12: The Betrayal Inside the Family
The explosion shattered the warehouse windows.
Damian was thrown against a shipping container. Dust and broken glass filled the air.
For several seconds, he couldn't hear anything except a high-pitched ringing.
Then Ethan grabbed his shoulder.
"Damian!""
He blinked.
"Where's Sofia?""
Ethan looked toward the loading dock.
"Marcus is gone. The convoy is gone.""
Damian pushed himself upright.
"Find the vehicle.""
Victor stepped over a fallen piece of metal.
"There's no point.""
Damian raised his weapon.
"Give me one reason not to shoot you.""
Victor smiled.
"Because you still need me.""
Damian fired.
The bullet struck the floor inches from Victor's shoe.
Victor stopped smiling.
"Where is Sofia?""
"Safe.""
"You're lying.""
"Perhaps.""
Ethan approached from the side.
"Where's Isabella?""
Victor looked at him.
"She's with her sister.""
"She's not Sofia's sister.""
Victor chuckled.
"Blood is a complicated thing, Ethan.""
Damian grabbed Victor's coat.
"Tell me where they went.""
Victor leaned closer.
"Your father has a private residence outside the city. An old estate on the coast.""
"Address.""
"Ask Marcus.""
Damian froze.
"What?""
Victor smiled.
"Your head of security has been working for us for eleven months.""
Ethan swore.
Damian released him.
For a moment, the warehouse seemed to tilt.
Marcus had been with him for nine years.
He had stood beside him at funerals, survived attacks, and protected the estate.
He had been the one person Damian trusted without reservation.
"You're lying.""
Victor shook his head.
"Check his bank accounts.""
Damian immediately took out his phone.
A message appeared.
Unknown number.
*I'M SORRY, BOSS. THEY HAVE MY SON.*
Damian stared.
Another message followed.
*I DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE.*
Ethan read it over his shoulder.
"His son?""
Damian nodded slowly.
"Lucas. He's fourteen.""
Victor watched them.
"Marcus made a deal with Alexander. In exchange for his son's safety, he agreed to deliver the girl.""
Damian looked at him.
"And the explosion?""
Victor shrugged.
"An unfortunate distraction.""
Damian raised his weapon again.
"Where is my brother's body?""
Victor blinked.
"What?""
"Marcus's son. Where is Lucas?""
Victor smiled.
"Now you're asking the right questions.""
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small photograph.
A teenage boy sat in a dark room, his hands tied.
Damian recognized him from the estate Christmas parties.
Lucas Reed.
"Your father has him," Victor said.
"Along with the two girls.""
Ethan stepped closer.
"Then why keep us alive?""
Victor looked at him.
"Because Alexander wants something from Damian.""
"What?""
Victor's smile widened.
"He wants the empire.""
Damian laughed coldly.
"He already has it.""
"No. He wants you to hand it over.""
Victor pulled out another photograph.
It showed Damian's mother sitting in a hospital bed.
A man stood beside her.
His father.
The photograph was recent.
Very recent.
Damian stared.
"Where did you get this?""
Victor lowered his voice.
"Your mother wasn't the only one Alexander kept alive.""
Damian felt his stomach tighten.
"Who else?""
Victor looked toward Ethan.
"Your mother gave birth to another child.""
Ethan went still.
"That's impossible.""
"Is it?""
Victor stepped closer.
"Your father had a daughter before you, and another daughter after you. But there was also a son.""
Damian stared at him.
"You're saying we have another brother?""
Victor nodded.
"One who was raised to hate you.""
Ethan shook his head.
"Who?""
Victor smiled.
"Arthur's son.""
A sound came from the entrance.
Someone was approaching.
Victor glanced over his shoulder.
Then he looked back at Damian.
"Time's running out.""
Damian grabbed him again.
"Name.""
Victor whispered something.
The answer made Ethan step backward.
"No.""
Damian looked at his brother.
"What?""
Ethan's face had gone pale.
Victor smiled.
"That's right.""
Then he said the name again.
"Adrian Cross.""
The cousin they had believed dead for fifteen years.
The boy Damian remembered teaching to swim.
The boy who had once slept in his bedroom after a nightmare.
The boy who had disappeared after the boating accident.
Alive.
And apparently raised by Arthur.
Ethan looked at Damian.
"He was only sixteen.""
"Your father found him," Victor said.
"He took him away and made him believe you abandoned him.""
Damian's jaw tightened.
"Why?""
"Because Arthur wanted an heir who would obey.""
Victor suddenly pulled a small blade from his sleeve.
He slashed Damian's arm and broke free.
Ethan fired.
Victor stumbled backward, but before he fell, he pressed a button on his phone.
A recording began playing through the warehouse speakers.
Alexander's voice filled the room.
"Damian, if you're listening, I assume you've learned about Adrian.""
Damian looked toward the ceiling.
His father continued.
"Bring me the original ledger. Bring me the girl. And bring me your brother.""
A pause.
Then Alexander spoke again.
"Do that, and I'll give you your mother.""
The recording ended.
Ethan looked at Damian.
"He's using her.""
"Yes.""
"We can't give him the ledger.""
"I know.""
"Then what are we going to do?""
Damian looked toward the open loading dock.
His expression had changed.
The fear was gone.
So was the confusion.
In its place was something colder.
"First, we find Marcus.""
"And then?""
"Then we get our family back.""
Ethan nodded.
But Damian's phone vibrated again.
A new message.
This one contained a photograph of Sofia sitting on a bed in a large bedroom.
She looked unharmed.
Beside her sat Isabella.
And standing behind them was a young man wearing a black suit.
Damian enlarged the image.
He recognized the face immediately.
Adrian Cross.
The boy who had once called him big brother.
The man who now held Sofia's shoulder.
A message appeared beneath the photograph.
*SHE ASKED FOR YOU. I TOLD HER YOU WOULDN'T COME.*
Damian typed a response.
*I'M COMING.*
The reply arrived instantly.
*GOOD. BRING THE LEDGER.*
Then another message appeared.
*AND DON'T BRING ETHAN. HE KNOWS WHAT HE DID TO ME.*
Damian turned toward his brother.
"What happened between you and Adrian?""
Ethan's face changed.
He looked down at his injured shoulder.
Then he finally answered.
"I left him on that boat.""
Damian stared.
"What?""
Ethan's voice broke.
"Fifteen years ago. The night of the accident. I was supposed to take him home.""
"Why didn't you?""
"Because someone called me. They said Father was going to kill Mother.""
Ethan swallowed.
"I left Adrian with Arthur. I thought he'd be safe.""
Damian stepped closer.
"And then?""
"The boat exploded.""
Damian stared at him.
"You told us he was dead.""
"I believed he was.""
"Did you see his body?""
Ethan shook his head.
The silence was devastating.
Damian looked at the photograph again.
Adrian was smiling.
But there was something deeply unsettling about his expression.
It wasn't the smile of a man who had found his family.
It was the smile of someone who had spent fifteen years planning how to destroy it.
Meanwhile, at the coastal estate, Sofia was sitting beside Isabella when Adrian entered the room.
He placed a glass of water on the table.
"Are you comfortable?""
Sofia didn't answer.
Adrian sighed.
"You have no idea how long I've waited to meet you.""
"Then why are you holding us hostage?""
He smiled.
"Because your mother took something that belonged to my family.""
"Your family stole everything from hers.""
Adrian's smile disappeared.
"Careful.""
Sofia looked directly into his eyes.
"You're not like Damian.""
He laughed.
"You're right.""
He leaned closer.
"Damian still believes family is something worth saving.""
Then he reached into his jacket and placed a photograph in front of her.
It showed Ethan standing beside a burning boat.
A young boy was visible through the window.
Adrian.
Sofia stared.
Adrian whispered:
"Your new friend is going to learn what happens when the people he loves finally discover what he did.""
He turned toward the door.
Before leaving, he added one final sentence.
"And Sofia?""
She looked up.
"Yes?""
"Ask Damian why he never told you that he was the one who paid your mother's hospital bills.""
Sofia frowned.
"What?""
Adrian smiled.
"Because the man who saved your life six years ago was also the man who ordered the attack that nearly killed you.""
The door closed.
Sofia looked at the photograph.
May you like
Then at Isabella.
And for the first time, she began to wonder whether Damian Cross had been protecting her all along—or whether he had been keeping her close because he knew exactly who she was.
