Chapter 5: The Message From My Dead Father
I stared at the screen until the letters blurred.
*From: Marcus Cross.*
My father.
A man who had been buried ten years ago.
A man whose funeral I attended.
A man whose name was carved into black marble beneath the words:
Beloved father. Brilliant leader. Forever remembered.
But my phone was telling me something impossible.
He had sent me a message.
Lily noticed my expression.
“Mr. Damon?””
I quickly locked the screen.
“It’s okay.””
It was a lie.
A terrible one.
And I hated that I had already learned how easily people lied when they thought they were protecting someone.
Victor stepped closer.
“What did it say?””
I looked at him.
“Why don’t you tell me?””
His face tightened.
“Damon.””
“You knew my father had secrets.””
“Yes.””
“You knew Lily existed.””
“Yes.””
“You knew about this room.””
“Yes.””
I held up the phone.
“So tell me how a dead man just sent me a message.””
Victor didn’t answer.
That was when I understood something.
He wasn’t shocked.
Not completely.
He was afraid.
“Victor.””
He looked at me.
“What aren’t you telling me?””
Before he could answer, the sound of footsteps echoed outside the hidden room.
Not rushed.
Not panicked.
Controlled.
Someone was walking toward us like they already knew exactly where we were.
Victor immediately moved toward the door.
“Take Lily.””
I looked at him.
“Who is it?””
“I don’t know.””
That was the first time I heard uncertainty in his voice.
And somehow that scared me more.
I grabbed Lily’s hand.
The door handle moved.
Victor reached for a hidden switch beside the wall.
A section of the library opened behind us.
Another passage.
Another secret.
Apparently my childhood home had more hidden rooms than I had known existed.
“Go,” Victor whispered.
I didn’t move.
“What about you?””
His expression softened.
“For once, Damon, let me do the thing I was supposed to do ten years ago.””
Before I could ask what he meant, the main door exploded open.
Victor pushed me into the passage.
I pulled Lily with me.
The wall closed behind us just as voices entered the library.
A man spoke.
Calm.
Confident.
Familiar.
Adrian Voss.
“Victor.””
His voice echoed through the hidden passage.
“You always were good at hiding things.””
I stopped.
Lily squeezed my hand.
I could hear everything through the thin wall.
Victor answered.
“And you always were good at destroying them.””
A pause.
Then Adrian laughed softly.
“You still believe you’re the hero.””
“I know what you are.””
“No.””
Adrian’s voice became colder.
“You know what Marcus wanted you to believe.””
I froze.
Marcus.
My father’s name.
Again.
“Where is the girl?”” Adrian asked.
Victor didn’t answer.
“She isn’t your concern.””
“That’s where you’re wrong.””
A quiet pause.
“She is the last thing standing between me and everything your father built.””
My heart raced.
Everything my father built.
Not just money.
Not just companies.
Something else.
Something bigger.
Victor’s voice lowered.
“You killed him.””
Silence.
Then Adrian said:
“Careful.””
The single word carried a warning.
“You spent ten years hiding because you knew the truth was dangerous.””
“You murdered Marcus.””
“No.””
Adrian sounded almost offended.
“I gave him a choice.””
My breathing stopped.
“What choice?”” Victor asked.
“He could protect his son.””
A pause.
“Or protect the daughter he abandoned.””
My stomach turned.
“You’re lying.””
“Am I?””
Adrian laughed quietly.
“Ask Damon what his father was doing the week before he died.””
I heard something break.
Maybe a glass.
Maybe something else.
Then Adrian spoke again.
“Marcus Cross built an empire by making enemies. Eventually, one of those enemies became his own reflection.””
The voices faded slightly.
They were moving.
I looked at Lily.
She was terrified.
I knelt down.
“Lily.””
She looked at me.
“Did you ever meet my father?””
She hesitated.
Then nodded.
My heart stopped.
“When?””
She looked down.
“When I was little.””
“How little?””
She held up four fingers.
“Four?””
She nodded.
“He came to see mommy.””
I felt dizzy.
“My father saw you?””
“Yes.””
“What did he say?””
Lily frowned, trying to remember.
“He said he was sorry.””
Those words hurt more than I expected.
My father.
The man I worshiped.
The man I believed had been perfect.
Had known about this child.
Had known about her entire life.
And still stayed away.
“What else?””
Lily looked at me.
“He gave mommy a picture.””
“What picture?””
She touched her pocket.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Then she pulled out a small folded piece of paper.
I stared.
“Where did you get that?””
“Mommy said never lose it.””
My hands shook as I opened it.
Inside was an old photograph.
Another one.
My father.
The same woman.
A baby Lily.
But this time there was writing on the back.
I recognized the handwriting immediately.
My father’s.
*Damon, if you are reading this, then I failed to protect both of my children.*
I stopped breathing.
Lily watched me.
I kept reading.
*The people around me will tell you I was weak. They will tell you I made mistakes. They will be right.*
My fingers tightened.
*But the greatest mistake I made was believing I could control people who had no limits.*
A cold feeling spread through me.
*Trust no one who claims they acted in my name.*
I looked at Victor.
Even though he couldn’t see me.
Even though he was behind the wall.
The words felt like a warning.
*The truth about Lily is hidden beneath the place where my first dream began.*
My first dream.
The old headquarters.
The woman on the phone had said the same thing.
*Find the final message.*
The letter continued.
*Damon, if you are old enough to understand this, then you are old enough to know something I never wanted you to learn.*
The next line was written darker.
As if my father had pressed the pen harder.
*Your mother’s death was not an accident.*
My entire body went still.
I read the sentence again.
And again.
No.
That wasn’t possible.
My mother.
The woman whose photograph sat beside my bed until I was fifteen.
The woman whose voice I barely remembered.
She didn’t die in an accident?
I felt like the ground had shifted beneath me.
Lily reached up.
“Are you okay?””
I looked at her.
This child.
This little girl.
Had been carrying a truth bigger than anyone should carry.
I folded the paper carefully.
“Lily, where is your mother now?””
Her face changed.
The small amount of confidence she had disappeared.
“She went away.””
“When?””
“Before we came here.””
“Where did she go?””
Lily looked at the floor.
“She told me she was going to find your brother.””
I frowned.
“My brother?””
She nodded.
“The one who was supposed to help us.””
I felt a chill.
“I don’t have a brother.””
Lily looked confused.
“Yes, you do.””
“No, Lily.””
She shook her head.
“Mommy said you have a brother who watches from far away.””
My blood ran cold.
Another secret.
Another person.
Another piece of a life I thought I understood.
Before I could ask more, a sound came from behind us.
A small metallic click.
The hidden passage had another door.
And it was opening.
I moved in front of Lily.
The door slowly opened.
A figure stepped into the darkness.
Not Adrian.
Not Victor.
Someone younger.
Someone I had never seen before.
He held his hands up.
“I’m not here to hurt you.””
I didn’t lower my guard.
“Who are you?””
The stranger looked at Lily.
Then at me.
And his expression changed.
Like he was looking at a ghost.
“My name is Ethan Cross.””
The world stopped.
Because the last name he carried was mine.
He swallowed.
May you like
Then whispered:
“I’m your brother.””
