Chapter 8: The Brother Hidden in the Shadows
Damon stared at the message.
Your son.
The words burned into his mind.
He read them again.
Then again.
Sarah walked into the office.
"Damon?""
He quickly locked his phone.
But she saw his expression.
"What happened?""
He didn't answer immediately.
Because for the first time since finding Lily, he felt afraid.
Not of losing money.
Not of losing power.
Of losing another child.
"Sarah.""
Her face changed.
"What?""
He looked at her carefully.
"Did we have a son?""
The silence was immediate.
A terrible silence.
Sarah stopped breathing.
Damon didn't need an answer.
He already had one.
"You knew.""
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Damon...""
"You knew.""
His voice wasn't angry.
That made it worse.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
Sarah sat down.
Her hands shook.
"Because I didn't know what happened to him.""
Damon froze.
"What do you mean?""
Sarah covered her face.
"When Lily was born, I was exhausted. Scared. I had no one.""
She looked up.
"The doctors told me there were complications.""
Damon sat across from her.
"With the baby?""
Sarah nodded.
"They took him away.""
"What did they say?""
"They said they needed to run tests.""
Her voice broke.
"Then Elisa came.""
Damon felt anger rising.
"What did she do?""
"She told me my son didn't survive.""
The room went silent.
"But she lied.""
Sarah looked at him.
"I always felt something was wrong.""
"Why?""
"Because she never showed me a body.""
Damon stared.
A horrible realization formed.
"She stole him.""
Sarah closed her eyes.
"I think so.""
Damon stood.
The same cold determination returned.
"Then we find him.""
Sarah looked terrified.
"What if he's alive?""
Damon turned.
"Then we bring him home.""
That evening, Damon and Sarah reviewed every document Michael had collected.
The deeper they looked, the worse it became.
Payments.
Fake records.
Changed identities.
Elisa had spent years building a perfect illusion.
A respected woman.
A generous woman.
A woman everyone trusted.
But behind closed doors, she had been controlling lives.
Then Michael found something.
"Wait.""
Damon looked up.
"What?""
Michael pointed at the screen.
"There’s a financial transfer.""
Sarah moved closer.
"From who?""
Michael zoomed in.
Damon’s face changed.
The account belonged to one of his father’s old companies.
His dead father.
"No.""
Michael nodded.
"Your father funded Elisa.""
Sarah looked at Damon.
"I told you.""
Damon stared at the screen.
His father.
The man who always talked about protecting the Cross family name.
The man who believed emotions were weaknesses.
He had destroyed his son's future before he died.
But why take the baby?
Why hide him?
Before Damon could answer, Lily walked into the room.
She held a drawing.
"Daddy?""
Damon immediately softened.
"Yes?""
She handed it to him.
It was a picture of four people.
Damon.
Sarah.
Lily.
And another little boy.
Damon looked at the drawing.
"Who is this?""
Lily smiled.
"My brother.""
Everyone froze.
Sarah looked confused.
"Lily...""
The little girl pointed at the drawing.
"I saw him.""
Damon knelt.
"Where?""
She looked toward the window.
"At the church.""
Sarah went pale.
"What?""
Lily nodded.
"He comes sometimes.""
Damon felt his heart race.
"You know him?""
She nodded.
"He's my brother.""
Sarah grabbed the edge of the table.
"Lily, sweetheart, what does he look like?""
The little girl thought.
"He has Daddy's eyes.""
Nobody spoke.
Then Lily added:
"He told me not to tell Mommy because the bad lady would find him.""
Damon slowly stood.
A child had been living in hiding.
Just like Lily.
And someone had been protecting him.
Someone who knew the truth.
His phone rang.
Michael.
Damon answered.
"What?""
The attorney’s voice was urgent.
"Mr. Cross, we found the boy.""
Damon stopped breathing.
"Where?""
A pause.
Then:
"He's been living under a different name.""
Damon waited.
"What name?""
Michael swallowed.
May you like
"The records list him as...""
The line cut out.
