Chapter 8: The Secret Damon Was Willing to Die For
The sound of the first gunshot changed everything.
Until that moment, I had still been trying to understand.
Trying to connect the pieces.
Damon.
Adrian.
My mother.
The hidden file.
The photograph.
The child growing inside me.
Even with danger surrounding us, a part of me was still searching for logic.
For a way to believe this was all some terrible misunderstanding.
But the sound of a bullet hitting the wall above my head destroyed that illusion.
This was real.
People were willing to kill for whatever secret my family carried.
And I was standing in the middle of it.
Adrian grabbed my shoulder and pulled me down.
“Stay low.””
I fell behind the couch as another shot shattered the window.
Glass sprayed across the floor.
My hand immediately covered my stomach.
The only thought in my mind was not fear for myself.
It was him.
My baby.
Adrian noticed.
“He’s okay.””
I looked at him sharply.
“You don’t know that.””
“I know because they aren’t trying to kill you yet.””
The words made my blood freeze.
“Yet?””
His expression hardened.
“Evelyn, listen to me.””
Another gunshot.
The sound echoed through the safe house.
“They need information from you.””
“What information?””
“The location of the file.””
“I don’t know where it is.””
“I believe you.””
The certainty in his voice surprised me.
“Then why are they here?””
“Because they don’t.””
A shadow moved outside the window.
Adrian reached for the gun hidden beneath the table.
I stared.
“You have a gun?””
“Yes.””
“You’re carrying weapons in a house where you brought me?””
His eyes met mine.
“In my world, people without weapons don’t get second chances.””
I almost laughed.
Because that sentence sounded exactly like something Damon would say.
Maybe that was the tragedy of the Vale family.
They were all survivors.
But none of them knew how to live.
The door suddenly shook.
Adrian moved toward the hallway.
“Stay here.””
“No.””
He looked back.
“Evelyn.””
“I’m done staying behind while everyone else decides my life.””
For a second, he looked at me.
Really looked at me.
Then he nodded.
“Fine.””
I expected him to argue.
He didn’t.
That frightened me more.
The door cracked.
Adrian moved quickly.
Then the lights came back on.
And someone stepped into the room.
I froze.
Because it wasn’t one of the men from before.
It was Damon.
My heart stopped.
He looked nothing like the man who had stood in our mansion days ago.
His suit was torn.
His hair was messy.
There was blood on his hand.
Not his.
Or maybe his.
I couldn’t tell.
For the first time in my life, Damon Vale looked human.
“Evelyn.””
I didn’t move.
Neither did Adrian.
“You came alone?”” Adrian asked.
Damon looked at him.
“Yes.””
“That was stupid.””
Damon’s eyes remained on me.
“I know.””
The answer irritated me.
Because he always knew.
After the damage.
After the disaster.
He always knew.
“You shouldn’t be here.””
My voice was quiet.
Damon stopped.
“I know.””
I looked away.
“Stop saying that.””
The pain in his expression was almost unbearable.
“I don’t know what else to say.””
“Try the truth.””
Silence.
The kind that told me I had finally reached the place where all the secrets lived.
Damon slowly stepped closer.
“I found your mother’s letter six years ago.””
My heart tightened.
“Why?””
“Because my father had hidden it.””
“Why would he have my mother’s letter?””
Damon looked at Adrian.
Then back at me.
“Because your mother was the person he trusted most.””
I shook my head.
“My mother hated rich people.””
A faint sadness crossed his face.
“I know.””
“You knew her?””
“Yes.””
The room spun.
“How?””
Damon took a breath.
“She worked with my father.””
“Doing what?””
“Trying to expose him.””
I stared.
“My mother was investigating your family?””
“Yes.””
“And you knew this?””
“Yes.””
Anger burned through me.
“Damon.””
“I know.””
I almost screamed.
“Stop.””
He stopped immediately.
That was new.
The old Damon would have explained.
Defended.
Controlled the conversation.
This Damon just listened.
“She found evidence that could destroy the Vale empire.””
“What evidence?””
Damon looked at Adrian.
Adrian answered.
“The file.””
I looked between them.
“And my mother hid it?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
Damon stepped closer.
“That’s what I spent years trying to find.””
I stared at him.
“Trying?””
His eyes lowered.
“I didn’t know your mother left the final clue with you.””
A chill moved through me.
“With me?””
Damon nodded.
“The ultrasound.””
I looked down.
The photograph.
The tiny image of our son.
“Why?””
“Because she knew the Vale family would search everywhere.””
Adrian spoke quietly.
“But nobody would search a place connected to new life.””
I felt sick.
My mother.
Even before I knew about the danger, she had somehow protected me.
“She knew?””
Damon’s expression changed.
“She knew something like this could happen.””
“Did she know about you?””
He hesitated.
“Yes.””
That hurt.
More than I expected.
“She knew you?””
“Yes.””
“And you never told me.””
Damon looked away.
“I wanted to.””
“But?””
“I was afraid.””
The honesty surprised me.
“Of what?””
His eyes met mine.
“That you would look at me differently.””
I laughed softly.
“You hid the truth, and now you’re afraid I would judge you for hiding the truth?””
“I know how it sounds.””
“It sounds like you never trusted me.””
The words hit him.
Because they were true.
Damon had trusted me with his pain.
His fears.
His private moments.
But not his secrets.
Not the things that mattered most.
“I trusted you more than anyone.””
“Then why?””
His voice lowered.
“Because loving you was the one thing in my life I couldn’t control.””
I looked away.
A dangerous sentence.
Because a part of me understood.
But understanding wasn’t forgiveness.
Not yet.
Before I could answer, Adrian suddenly looked toward the hallway.
“Someone’s inside.””
Damon turned instantly.
“How?””
Adrian’s face changed.
“They disabled the cameras.””
A terrible silence followed.
Damon reached for his weapon.
“How many?””
“More than before.””
My stomach dropped.
“They followed you?””
Damon looked at me.
“No.””
“Then how did they find us?””
Nobody answered.
And then I saw it.
The smallest movement.
The slightest shift.
Near the doorway.
Someone was already inside.
Adrian raised his gun.
“Show yourself.””
Nothing.
Then a voice spoke.
A voice I recognized.
A voice that made my entire body go cold.
“I’m disappointed.””
Damon froze.
“No.””
I looked at him.
“You know that voice?””
His face had lost all color.
“Yes.””
The figure stepped into the light.
And I realized the person standing there was someone Damon trusted.
Someone who had been close enough to know every secret.
Every location.
Every weakness.
The person removed their coat.
And smiled.
“I thought after all these years, you would have learned.””
Damon’s voice was barely audible.
“Why?””
The person looked at me.
Then at my stomach.
“Because your father was never the only one who wanted the Vale empire.””
My breath stopped.
Adrian lowered his weapon slightly.
Impossible.
Because even he looked shocked.
The betrayal on Damon’s face was something I had never seen before.
Not anger.
Not fear.
Betrayal.
“Tell me why,” Damon whispered.
The person smiled.
“Because I was there the night your father died.””
Silence.
Then:
“And I was the one who helped him hide the truth.””
The room went still.
Damon stared.
Adrian stared.
I couldn’t move.
Because the person standing in front of us had been part of Damon’s life for years.
Someone we all overlooked.
Someone nobody suspected.
And then they said the words that shattered the last piece of the Vale family mystery.
“The file was never hidden.””
A pause.
“It was given away.””
Their eyes moved to me.
“To your mother.””
Then to my stomach.
“And now it belongs to her daughter.””
The person smiled.
“But before you can find it…”
May you like
A gun was raised.
“…I need Damon Vale dead.””
