CHAPTER 3 — The Grave That Should Have Stayed Buried
The boardroom remained silent long after Veronica's screams disappeared down the hallway.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Every pair of eyes was fixed on Damian.
His face had lost all color.
His expensive suit suddenly looked too large for him, as though the confidence that once filled it had vanished.
Elena noticed something she had never seen before.
Fear.
Not fear of losing money.
Not fear of prison.
Fear of a memory.
She took one slow step toward him.
"What did she mean?"
Damian looked away.
"I don't know."
"Liar."
The single word echoed through the room.
For twenty-two years Elena had defended him.
Today...
She no longer recognized the man standing in front of her.
The chairman quietly dismissed the remaining executives.
Within minutes, the massive boardroom was empty except for Elena, Damian, the CEO, corporate counsel, and two security officers.
The CEO placed another folder on the table.
"Madam, there is one more issue."
Elena opened it.
Inside were confidential reports marked CLASSIFIED.
The first page contained an old newspaper clipping.
Fifteen Years Ago
Promising Journalist Lucas Hale Dies in Mysterious Car Crash.
Elena frowned.
Lucas Hale.
The name sounded familiar.
Then she remembered.
"He was investigating Voss Global."
The CEO nodded.
"He disappeared three days before publishing his investigation."
Damian immediately stood.
"That's enough."
"No," Elena replied quietly.
"It's finally enough."
The next page revealed photographs.
Lucas leaving a courthouse.
Lucas meeting a government prosecutor.
Lucas carrying a silver briefcase.
The final photograph stopped Elena cold.
Standing beside Lucas...
was Damian.
Smiling.
Friendly.
Like two old friends.
"You knew him."
Damian remained silent.
"You told me you'd never met him."
Still nothing.
Corporate counsel slid another document forward.
"A witness came forward six months ago."
Elena's heartbeat quickened.
"The witness claims the crash wasn't an accident."
Silence.
"He says Lucas's brakes had been deliberately cut."
Damian slammed both hands onto the table.
"I DIDN'T KILL HIM!"
Nobody had accused him of murder.
Yet those were the first words out of his mouth.
The room went completely still.
Elena stared at him.
"I never said you did."
Damian slowly realized what he had confessed.
His breathing became uneven.
"I..."
He couldn't finish.
The CEO spoke carefully.
"We believe someone inside the company arranged the crash."
Elena looked directly into Damian's eyes.
"Who?"
His lips trembled.
"It wasn't supposed to happen."
The words barely escaped.
"What wasn't?"
"I only wanted to scare him."
Elena felt the floor disappear beneath her.
"What did you do?"
"I told someone to recover the documents."
"Who?"
"I didn't know they would..."
His voice broke.
"They told me it would only be intimidation."
He covered his face.
"I swear I never ordered anyone killed."
For the first time in years...
Damian cried.
Not because he had lost billions.
Because he finally understood what ambition had cost.
Elena felt no satisfaction.
Only emptiness.
Just then—
The CEO's phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed instantly.
"What?"
He looked at Elena.
"Madam..."
"The police just arrested Veronica."
"Good."
"They also recovered something."
"What?"
"A safety deposit key."
The room fell silent.
"It belonged to Lucas Hale."
Elena frowned.
"What was inside?"
The CEO swallowed.
"A video."
"And?"
"He recorded it the night before he died."
Damian's eyes widened.
"No..."
The CEO looked directly at him.
"And according to the investigators..."
"...your father appears in the recording."
Damian froze.
"My father?"
The old billionaire who had died ten years earlier.
The man Damian believed had built the Voss fortune.
The CEO nodded slowly.
"The video suggests..."
"...your father ordered everything."
Damian whispered one sentence.
"My God..."
May you like
"I've been protecting the wrong monster."
END OF CHAPTER 3...
