An old enemy resurfaced.
Not Cross.
Not Adrian.
Someone worse.
Someone who knew Christabel before Damien.
Someone who wanted to destroy everything she'd built.
---
The first sign was a letter.
Not to Christabel. To the board of her company.
Handwritten. On paper that smelled like expensive perfume.
Dear Members of the Board,
You think you know Christabel Vance. You think she's a leader. A visionary. A woman who built something from nothing.
You're wrong.
She's a fraud. A liar. A woman who stole everything she has.
I have proof.
I'm willing to share it.
For a price.
---
Christabel read the letter three times.
Her hands were shaking.
Her heart was pounding.
Sarah was in the doorway.
"What is it?"
"Someone from my past."
"Who?"
She looked at her sister.
"Mom's old business partner. The one who helped her fake her death."
---
Sarah's face went pale.
"Victor?"
"Victor Crane."
"I thought he was dead."
"So did I."
"Apparently not."
---
Damien arrived within the hour.
He read the letter.
His face was calm. Too calm.
"Victor Crane."
"You know him?"
"I know of him. He was your mother's right hand. He disappeared after she faked her death."
"Apparently, he didn't disappear. He just went underground."
"And now he's back."
"And now he's back."
---
The investigation began immediately.
Sterling and Eli dug into Victor Crane's past.
Cole and his team tracked his movements.
Jax stood in the corner, watching.
"So let me get this straight," Jax said. "Your mother's old business partner, who helped her fake her death, who's been hiding for years, is now trying to blackmail you?"
"That's correct."
"And you have no idea where he is?"
"Not yet."
"But you will."
"Yes."
Jax nodded.
"Then let's find him."
---
The search took three days.
Victor Crane was hiding in plain sight.
Living in a small town three hours away. Using a different name. Working at a bookstore.
Christabel stared at the photograph.
He looked older. Thinner. His hair was gray. His eyes were tired.
But she recognized him.
She had been ten years old when she last saw him. He had been at her mother's funeral. The fake one. He had cried.
She remembered thinking, Why is he crying? He didn't even know her.
Now she knew.
He had been crying because he was scared.
---
"We need to talk to him," Christabel said.
"Alone?"
"No. Together."
"You and me?"
"You and me and Sterling."
Damien nodded.
"Then let's go."
---
The drive was quiet.
The town was small.
The bookstore was empty.
Victor Crane was behind the counter.
Reading a book.
Pretending he didn't see them.
"Victor."
He looked up.
His face was pale.
"Christabel."
"It's been a long time."
"Not long enough."
---
Sterling stepped forward.
"Mr. Crane, we're here to discuss the letter you sent to the board of Vance Industries."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"The letter. The blackmail. The threats."
"I didn't threaten anyone."
"You asked for money."
"I asked for what I'm owed."
"You're owed nothing."
Victor stood.
His hands were shaking.
"I helped your mother build that company. I helped her hide the money. I helped her disappear. I'm owed something."
"You're owed nothing," Christabel said again. "You were complicit in fraud. In embezzlement. In conspiracy."
"So were you."
"I was a child."
"You were complicit."
---
Damien stepped forward.
"You need to leave."
Victor looked at him.
"You must be the husband."
"I must be."
"The famous Damien Moreau. The monster."
"The husband."
"Same thing."
"Different intention."
---
Victor laughed.
The sound was hollow.
"You think you can threaten me? I've been threatened by worse."
"I'm not threatening you. I'm warning you."
"Same thing."
"Different intention."
---
Christabel stepped between them.
"Victor, I'm going to give you one chance."
"One chance for what?"
"To disappear. To go back to wherever you came from. To never contact me or my family again."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then I will destroy you."
"You can't destroy me. I know everything."
"So do I."
---
Victor stared at her.
"You're bluffing."
"I don't bluff."
"You're just like your mother."
"No." Christabel shook her head. "I'm nothing like her."
"You're exactly like her. That's why you're going to fail."
"We'll see."
---
They left the bookstore.
The drive back was silent.
Damien held her hand.
"You did well."
"I did nothing."
"You confronted him."
"I gave him a chance."
"He won't take it."
"Then we'll be ready."
---
That night, Christabel put Lena to bed.
Not Damien. Her.
Lena was walking now. Everywhere. All the time.
"Da," she said.
"Dada."
"Da da da."
Christabel laughed.
"Your father would be so proud."
Lena smiled.
Then she fell.
Then she got up.
Then she kept walking.
---
Damien appeared in the doorway.
"She's getting stronger."
"She's determined."
"She's yours."
"She's ours."
He put his arm around her.
"Victor Crane is going to be a problem."
"Then we'll deal with him."
"Together?"
"Together."
First Line of Chapter 152(Teaser):
Damien retains the two lawyers on retainer and gifts them villas on top of 10 million,the counsel becomes family and a few elites owned.