Chapter 10: The Heir In The Shadows
Daniel had spent his entire life building walls.
Walls around his company.
Walls around his emotions.
Walls around the people he loved.
But now those walls were collapsing one by one.
“Find Noah.””
The command left Daniel’s mouth before anyone could respond.
His security team moved instantly.
The academy became a storm of movement.
Guards searched hallways.
Staff locked entrances.
Every camera feed was reviewed.
But Noah was already gone.
Daniel stared at the empty chair where his grandson had been sitting moments earlier.
Only minutes.
That was all it took.
Lily stood beside him, trembling.
“This is my fault.””
Daniel looked at her.
“No.””
“I should have never come back.””
“Lily.””
“I brought danger to him.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“You brought my family back.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“And now someone took him.””
The sentence hit him.
Because it was the exact fear he had carried for fourteen years.
Losing someone he loved.
Again.
Daniel turned to his security director.
“Show me the cameras.””
The footage appeared on the screen.
At first, nothing seemed unusual.
Students walking.
Teachers leaving.
Security patrols.
Then Daniel saw it.
A man entering the archive hallway.
Wearing a maintenance uniform.
Daniel narrowed his eyes.
“Pause.””
The image froze.
The man’s face was hidden.
But Daniel recognized the watch.
A silver watch.
An expensive one.
A Cross family watch.
“No.””
Lily looked at him.
“What?””
Daniel stepped closer to the screen.
“That watch belonged to my father.””
Silence.
His security director looked confused.
“Sir?””
Daniel pointed.
“My father gave matching watches to his sons.””
He looked at the screen.
“I still have mine.””
Lily whispered:
“Alexander has his.””
Daniel’s face hardened.
“He was here.””
But then the footage changed.
A second camera showed the man entering the greenhouse area.
Daniel felt something cold move through him.
Because Alexander wasn’t trying to hide.
He wanted them to follow.
“Get the car.””
Lily grabbed his arm.
“Dad, wait.””
Daniel stopped.
“What?””
“You can’t just go there.””
“He has Noah.””
“We don’t know that.””
Daniel looked at her.
“Then why are you scared?””
Lily had no answer.
Because they both knew.
The old greenhouse wasn’t just a location.
It was where everything began.
Fourteen years ago.
The place where Alexander convinced Lily that no one would believe her.
The place where she chose to disappear.
Daniel arrived twenty minutes later.
The abandoned greenhouse stood behind the old Cross estate.
Glass panels were cracked.
Plants had overgrown the pathways.
A place once built as a family garden now looked like a forgotten grave.
Daniel entered first.
“Noah!””
His voice echoed.
Nothing.
Then—
“Grandpa!””
Daniel turned.
Noah stood near the center of the greenhouse.
Safe.
But beside him was Alexander.
Daniel’s anger exploded.
“Move away from him.””
Alexander smiled sadly.
“You always were dramatic.””
Daniel walked forward.
“Let him go.””
Alexander looked at Noah.
“He’s intelligent.””
Noah stayed silent.
Alexander continued.
“Much more than people expected.””
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“What did you do?””
“Nothing.””
“You kidnapped him.””
“I brought him here.””
“That’s the same thing.””
Alexander sighed.
“You see everything as good or evil.””
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“Coming from the man who stole fourteen years from me?””
Alexander’s expression changed.
For the first time, pain appeared.
“I saved this family.””
“No.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“You destroyed it.””
Alexander looked at Noah.
“Do you know what you are?””
Noah frowned.
“A kid?””
Alexander shook his head.
“No.””
He looked at Daniel.
“He is the future.””
Daniel moved between them.
“He is a child.””
“That’s what you think.””
Alexander walked toward an old table.
On it was a folder.
The same symbol from the photograph.
“The Cross family was never built on money alone.””
Daniel looked at the folder.
“What is this?””
“The truth your father discovered.””
Alexander opened it.
Inside were medical records.
Family histories.
Research documents.
Daniel felt uneasy.
“What am I looking at?””
Alexander smiled.
“Your family’s legacy.””
Lily stepped forward.
“Stop.””
Alexander looked at her.
“You were always too emotional.””
“And you were always a coward.””
The words angered him.
But before Alexander could respond, Noah spoke.
“Why are you doing this?””
Everyone looked at him.
The question was simple.
Honest.
Alexander stared at the boy.
Then his expression softened.
“Because nobody protected me.””
Daniel froze.
Alexander continued.
“When I was young, your grandfather chose Daniel.””
Daniel said nothing.
“You were always the perfect son.””
Alexander’s voice grew bitter.
“I was the one who cleaned up your mistakes.””
Daniel looked shocked.
“This is about jealousy?””
“No.””
Alexander stepped closer.
“This is about balance.””
He pointed toward the folder.
“Your father wanted Daniel to inherit everything.””
A pause.
“But I was the one who understood what the Cross family truly was.””
Daniel looked at Noah.
“What do you want from him?””
Alexander answered quietly.
“I want him to become what he was meant to be.””
Daniel’s voice became dangerous.
“He will never be yours.””
Alexander smiled.
“Maybe not.””
He looked toward the greenhouse exit.
“But you still don’t know the most important part.””
Daniel frowned.
“What?””
May you like
Alexander walked away.
“Ask Lily why Noah was never supposed to exist.””
