Chapter 8: The Friend Who Held the Knife
Chapter 8: The Friend Who Held the Knife
I stared at the photograph for what felt like an eternity.
My hands refused to move.
My mind refused to accept what my eyes were seeing.
Victoria Hayes.
My lawyer.
My protector.
The woman who stood beside me when the world believed I was weak.
The woman who helped me fight Damian.
The woman who knew every secret.
Every strategy.
Every weakness.
She was standing beside my mother, Alexander Cross, and Jonathan Hart twenty years ago.
Before I was born into this war.
Before I even knew there was a war.
The first emotion I felt wasn't anger.
It was betrayal.
A deeper kind of betrayal than Damian's affair.
Because Damian had always shown me who he was.
Victoria had not.
She had looked me in the eyes and promised:
"I will protect you."
And I believed her.
I trusted her with my children.
My company.
My future.
Maybe even my life.
I picked up the photograph again.
There was something strange.
Victoria looked younger.
But the expression on her face was unmistakable.
She wasn't standing behind the others.
She was standing with them.
As an equal.
A sound came from behind me.
I turned quickly.
The room was empty.
But my security system flashed.
FRONT DOOR ACCESSED.
Impossible.
Nobody could enter without authorization.
Nobody except...
My heart stopped.
Because there was only one person who had full access.
Victoria.
The elevator doors opened.
And there she was.
Perfect as always.
Professional black suit.
Calm expression.
The same woman who had spent weeks helping me destroy Damian.
She smiled.
"You're awake."
I held the photograph behind my back.
"Where were you?"
She walked closer.
"Working."
"At midnight?"
She stopped.
For a fraction of a second.
Most people wouldn't notice.
But I did.
Because I had spent years studying powerful people.
And Victoria was hiding something.
"I had a meeting."
"With who?"
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Why are you asking?"
I smiled.
"Because I finally realized something."
"What?"
"Everyone around me has been asking questions."
I stepped closer.
"But nobody has been answering mine."
The smile disappeared from her face.
For years, Victoria had been the person who listened to my pain.
She knew about Damian.
She knew about Celeste.
She knew about my pregnancy complications.
She knew everything.
But I never stopped to ask one question.
Why was she always there?
Why did she appear in my life at the exact moment I needed help?
Why did she understand Damian's weaknesses better than anyone?
The answer was becoming obvious.
She had known him before.
Much before.
"How long have you known Alexander Cross?"
The question hit her immediately.
Her face changed.
Small.
Almost invisible.
But enough.
"Who told you that name?"
I said nothing.
That was all I needed.
The silence confirmed everything.
Victoria looked toward the window.
Then sighed.
"I hoped you would never find out this way."
My chest tightened.
"This way?"
She turned back.
"You think the photograph tells the whole story?"
"Doesn't it?"
"No."
She walked toward the table.
"Because photographs don't show what happened before or after."
I placed the picture down.
"Then explain."
Victoria sat slowly.
"Twenty years ago, your mother, my father, Alexander Cross, and Jonathan Hart were part of the same financial circle."
"My father?"
I frowned.
She nodded.
"Everyone thinks Alexander Cross created his empire alone."
"He didn't."
She looked at me.
"Your mother helped him."
The room became silent.
"My mother?"
"Yes."
I shook my head.
"No."
"Your mother was brilliant."
Victoria's voice softened.
"She understood markets better than anyone."
"She created strategies that made Alexander powerful."
I stared.
"Then why did everyone say my father built everything?"
"Because history is written by survivors."
My mind was racing.
Too many secrets.
Too many lies.
"My mother didn't die because of an accident, did she?"
Victoria looked away.
That was answer enough.
"Tell me."
She remained silent.
"Victoria."
My voice became colder.
"Tell me the truth."
Finally, she whispered:
"Your mother discovered Alexander and Jonathan were fighting over control of the same financial network."
"And?"
"She tried to expose both of them."
I froze.
"Both?"
Victoria nodded.
"Because they were both guilty."
The room felt like it was closing around me.
My father.
Damian.
Alexander.
My mother.
Everyone had a hidden side.
Everyone had made choices.
And somehow...
I was the person forced to carry the consequences.
Then Victoria said something that changed everything.
"There's something you need to know about Damian."
I looked at her.
"What?"
"He didn't choose Celeste."
My expression hardened.
"I saw the messages."
"Yes."
"You saw what you wanted to see."
I stared.
"What are you saying?"
Victoria took a deep breath.
"Celeste was never Damian's true partner."
"She was planted."
"By who?"
Victoria looked directly into my eyes.
And whispered:
"Me."
The silence afterward was terrifying.
I couldn't breathe.
"You?"
Victoria nodded.
"I needed Damian distracted."
"Why?"
"Because I needed him away from you."
I stepped back.
"That makes no sense."
"It will."
She reached into her bag.
Pulled out another folder.
And placed it on the table.
"This is the truth about Damian Cross."
I opened it.
Inside were documents.
Medical records.
Financial transfers.
Private messages.
And one document with a date from seven years ago.
A date before Damian and I met.
The title made my blood run cold.
PROJECT EVELYN.
I looked up.
"What is this?"
Victoria's expression became serious.
"The reason Damian entered your life."
I stared at the documents.
Then at her.
"Tell me."
She whispered:
"Damian Cross didn't find you."
A pause.
"He was sent to you."
My entire body went cold.
Because if that was true...
Then my marriage had never been real.
Not from the beginning.
The love.
The promises.
The memories.
Everything.
Had been part of a plan.
But the final page of the file revealed something even more shocking.
A handwritten note.
Signed by Damian himself.
One sentence.
One confession.
"I never expected to fall in love with her."
I stared at the words.
Because suddenly...
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The biggest mystery was no longer why Damian betrayed me.
It was whether he had ever truly loved me.
