Chapter 10: Celeste's Last Move
Chapter 10: Celeste's Last Move
The name on Damian's phone screen remained frozen.
Alexander Cross.
His father's name.
A name that should have been impossible.
A name that belonged to a man who had been dead for five years.
The police officer beside him noticed Damian had stopped walking.
"Mr. Cross?"
Damian didn't respond.
His eyes remained locked on the screen.
The message disappeared.
The phone went dark.
No number.
No trace.
Nothing.
"Who sent that?"
The officer asked.
Damian slowly looked up.
"I don't know."
But deep inside...
He knew one thing.
Someone else was watching.
Someone else had been waiting.
Three days later.
Cross Capital Headquarters.
The building looked exactly the same.
The same glass walls.
The same marble floors.
The same executives walking through the lobby.
But everything had changed.
The portrait of Damian Cross that once hung in the main entrance had been removed.
In its place was a simple plaque.
CROSS CAPITAL
No founder.
No CEO.
No single person above the company.
Only the institution itself.
That was Evelyn's first decision as official Chairwoman.
Inside the executive boardroom...
Evelyn sat at the head of the table.
The same chair Damian once occupied.
But she didn't feel victorious.
She felt responsible.
Twenty executives waited for her instructions.
Martin Reeves opened the meeting.
"Revenue projections remain stable."
"Investors have responded positively."
"Employee confidence has increased."
Evelyn nodded.
"Good."
Then she looked around the room.
"But we're not celebrating."
Everyone became quiet.
"Thousands of employees built this company."
"They trusted us."
"We failed them by allowing someone to abuse that trust."
She placed a folder on the table.
"Starting today, Cross Capital changes."
The first announcement shocked Wall Street.
Independent ethics oversight.
Complete financial transparency.
Executive compensation limits.
Employee protection programs.
A new legal department dedicated to preventing corporate abuse.
Financial analysts called it unprecedented.
But Evelyn had one more announcement.
The biggest one.
"The Cross Foundation will be rebuilt."
Martin looked surprised.
"The charity?"
Evelyn nodded.
"It will focus on protecting women and children affected by domestic violence."
Silence filled the room.
Everyone understood.
This wasn't just business.
This was personal.
Meanwhile...
At the federal detention center...
Damian sat alone.
No penthouse.
No assistants.
No security team.
No luxury.
Just a small room and his own thoughts.
A guard approached.
"You have a visitor."
Damian looked up.
"Who?"
The guard handed him a visitor slip.
Damian's expression changed.
Celeste Monroe.
He almost refused.
Almost.
But curiosity won.
Minutes later...
Celeste entered the visiting room.
She looked nothing like the woman from the penthouse.
No designer dress.
No expensive jewelry.
No perfect makeup.
Just exhaustion.
She sat across from him.
For a moment...
Neither spoke.
Then Celeste smiled sadly.
"Look at us."
Damian stared.
"What do you want?"
"Answers."
He laughed.
"From me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Her eyes narrowed.
"Because I finally understand something."
"What?"
"I was never your partner."
Silence.
"I was your escape."
Damian looked away.
"You told me Evelyn was unstable."
"You told me she was manipulating everyone."
"You told me she was obsessed with control."
Celeste's voice shook.
"But she wasn't."
"She was surviving."
Damian said nothing.
"I helped you destroy her."
A pause.
"And I need to know why."
Damian looked at her.
"You wanted the same things I wanted."
"No."
Celeste shook her head.
"I wanted you."
"You wanted power."
The words hit him.
Because they were true.
Celeste leaned forward.
"I found something."
Damian's expression changed.
"What?"
"A file."
"What file?"
"From your father's private archive."
His face immediately hardened.
"Where?"
"Your old estate."
The one Damian had abandoned after Alexander's death.
"How did you get it?"
Celeste looked away.
"I wasn't the only person looking."
A cold feeling moved through Damian.
"Who else?"
"I don't know."
Celeste pulled out a small envelope.
The guard had inspected it before allowing it inside.
She pushed it across the table.
"Your father wrote this."
Damian stared.
"Why give it to me?"
"Because I think..."
She paused.
"...someone wants you to know what he discovered before he died."
Damian slowly opened the envelope.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Alexander Cross.
"Damian.
If you are reading this, then I failed.
I spent my life building a company, but my greatest mistake was believing money could teach character.
You inherited everything I created.
But you never understood why I created it.
An empire is not measured by how much it owns.
It is measured by how many people it protects.
Evelyn understands this.
You do not.
But perhaps one day you will.
There is something you must know.
The betrayal inside Cross Capital did not begin with you.
Someone has been controlling events from the shadows.
Someone who benefits from your downfall.
Find the truth.
Before they destroy everything.
—Father
Damian read the letter twice.
Then a third time.
His hands tightened.
Someone had manipulated him.
Someone had used his ambition.
Someone had pushed him toward becoming the monster everyone now saw.
Celeste watched him carefully.
"Do you believe it?"
Damian didn't answer immediately.
Then:
"Yes."
A word he rarely said.
A word that meant uncertainty.
Fear.
At the same time...
Across Chicago...
A man watched the news from a dark office.
The television displayed Evelyn's face.
EVELYN CROSS NAMED MOST POWERFUL WOMAN IN FINANCE
The man smiled.
"Exactly as planned."
On the desk sat dozens of documents.
Among them...
A photograph.
A younger Alexander Cross.
And beside him...
A younger man Damian had never met.
The man tapped the photograph.
"You always thought your father chose Evelyn."
He smiled.
"He didn't."
"He chose me first."
Back at the hospital...
Evelyn stood beside the NICU glass.
Her twins slept peacefully inside their incubators.
Small.
Fragile.
But alive.
Jonathan approached quietly.
"You should rest."
She smiled faintly.
"I spent years sleeping while someone else controlled my life."
She looked at her children.
"I'm not wasting another moment."
Jonathan stood beside her.
"There is something you should know."
She turned.
"What?"
"The FBI found a message sent to Damian."
Her expression changed.
"From who?"
"We don't know."
"Was it threatening?"
Jonathan hesitated.
"No."
"What then?"
He handed her a copy.
Evelyn read the message.
Her face slowly changed.
Because the sender's name appeared at the bottom.
A name she recognized.
A name she never expected to see again.
Alexander Cross.
She whispered:
"That's impossible."
Jonathan looked at her.
"That's what everyone thought."
The hospital lights flickered.
Outside, thunder rolled over Chicago.
And somewhere in the city...
Someone who should have been dead...
May you like
Was watching Evelyn Cross take control of an empire.
Waiting for the right moment to reveal the truth.
