Chapter 10: The Death That Wasn't an Accident
Damon read the sentence again.
Your father never died by accident.
The words felt heavier every time his eyes moved across them.
For years, he had accepted the official story.
A car crash.
A rainy night.
A sharp turn on a mountain road.
A tragic accident that took away the man who built the Cross empire.
Everyone had told him the same thing.
Some things were simply fate.
But now, standing in a small apartment with his missing son beside him, Damon realized something terrifying.
His entire life might have been built on a lie.
Sarah watched his face change.
"What does it say?""
Damon handed her the note.
She read it slowly.
Her expression became confused.
"Who wrote this?""
Noah looked down.
"Mrs. Elisa.""
Damon looked at him.
"Elisa gave you this?""
Noah nodded.
"She told me never to show anyone.""
"Why?""
The boy hugged his backpack.
"She said it would make people angry.""
Damon exchanged a look with Sarah.
Elisa had spent years controlling information.
But this was different.
This was fear.
She wasn't hiding Noah.
She was hiding what Noah knew.
"What else did she tell you?"" Damon asked gently.
Noah looked at the floor.
"She said my grandfather was a bad man.""
Damon froze.
"Your grandfather?""
Noah nodded.
"She said he did terrible things.""
Sarah sat beside Noah.
"Did she ever tell you what things?""
The boy shook his head.
"She said I was too young.""
Damon stood and walked toward the window.
His father.
The man everyone admired.
The man whose portrait hung in the Cross headquarters.
Could he really have been involved in everything?
Michael’s disappearance suddenly felt more serious.
Damon pulled out his phone.
This time, someone answered.
"Mr. Cross.""
"Michael. Where are you?""
A pause.
"I was attacked.""
Damon’s grip tightened.
"What?""
"I'm fine. But someone broke into my car after I found Noah’s records.""
"Who?""
Michael hesitated.
"I didn't see their face.""
Damon looked at the broken apartment around him.
"Did they take anything?""
"Only one thing.""
"What?""
"The original hospital file.""
Silence.
Someone was still trying to erase the truth.
Damon looked at Noah.
They were too late.
Someone knew they had found him.
That night, Damon moved everyone to a secure location.
Not because he was afraid.
Because he finally understood the game.
The enemy had never wanted money.
They wanted silence.
Noah sat beside Lily in the living room.
The two children looked strangely similar.
Same eyes.
Same quiet way of observing everything.
Lily handed Noah a toy car.
"You can have this.""
Noah looked surprised.
"Really?""
She nodded.
"You're my brother.""
A simple sentence.
But it nearly destroyed Damon.
Five years of separation.
Five years stolen.
And yet, these two children connected in seconds.
Sarah watched them.
A tear slipped down her cheek.
Damon noticed.
"You okay?""
She smiled sadly.
"I missed this.""
"What?""
"Seeing my children together.""
The word children.
Plural.
It was something they were supposed to have from the beginning.
Damon sat beside her.
"I will never let anyone take them again.""
Sarah looked at him.
"You can't promise that.""
"I can.""
"Damon...""
"No.""
He looked at her.
"I lost seven years because I believed a lie.""
His voice lowered.
"I'm not losing another day.""
The next morning, Michael arrived with new information.
He placed a folder on Damon’s desk.
"I found something about your father's death.""
Damon opened it.
Inside were old financial records.
Payments.
Hidden accounts.
Names.
"What am I looking at?""
Michael pointed.
"Three weeks before the accident, your father transferred millions into a private account.""
"Whose?""
Michael looked uncomfortable.
"Elisa Rochefort.""
Damon felt sick.
"Why would my father pay her?""
"That's what we need to find out.""
Sarah looked at the documents.
"Maybe she wasn't working for him.""
Damon frowned.
"What do you mean?""
Sarah pointed at the dates.
"The payments stopped after your father's death.""
Michael nodded.
"Exactly.""
Damon stared at the records.
Elisa wasn't protecting his father.
She was protecting herself.
Then another document caught his attention.
A legal agreement.
He picked it up.
"What is this?""
Michael looked closer.
His expression changed.
"That's a guardianship agreement.""
Damon read the first line.
Temporary custody of Noah Cross.
The signature belonged to Elisa.
But below it was another signature.
One Damon recognized.
His father.
Richard Cross.
Damon stepped back.
"He signed this?""
Michael nodded.
"Before he died.""
Sarah whispered:
"Your father knew Noah existed.""
Damon looked at the signature.
And suddenly another thought appeared.
Maybe his father wasn't the beginning of the secret.
Maybe he was trying to cover up someone else's crime.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
Damon answered.
A woman’s voice whispered:
"If you want the truth about your father, come alone.""
Damon said nothing.
The woman continued.
"Bring no lawyers.""
A pause.
"Bring no Sarah.""
His heart stopped.
"Who is this?""
The voice answered:
May you like
"The woman who watched Elisa destroy your family.""
Then the call ended.
