Chapter 10 - DAMIAN’S SECOND BETRAYALThree days remained before October 17.
Cross Meridian continued operating without Damian.
That surprised the press.
It surprised employees.
Most of all, it surprised Damian.
Revenue did not collapse.
Bookings did not vanish.
No investor panic.
The empire he claimed could not survive without him barely noticed he was gone.
That may have punished him more than any frozen credit card.
I was named interim executive chair.
My father opposed it.
Not because he doubted me.
Because he knew exactly what would follow.
Cameras.
Questions.
Attacks.
I accepted anyway.
The first press conference was brutal.
“Did your husband steal company money?”
“Are you divorcing?”
“Was your marriage arranged for corporate purposes?”
“Is your family secretly worth more than Cross Meridian?”
“Did Richard Whitmore conceal the real ownership structure from investors?”
I answered only what mattered.
“The resorts are open.”
“Employees will be paid.”
“Guest operations are unaffected.”
“The board is cooperating with authorities.”
One reporter shouted as I left.
“Mrs. Cross, do you still love your husband?”
That question followed me all the way into the elevator.
Love.
As if love were a light switch.
As if betrayal erased nine years of mornings.
Arguments.
Inside jokes.
Miscarriages.
Christmases.
Hospital rooms.
Hotel openings.
Flights.
Funerals.
I did not know what I felt.
I only knew love was no longer relevant to what had to happen.
That night, Damian asked to meet.
No lawyers.
No Sabrina.
No father.
We met in the first Meridian resort.
The same place where he had thrown me out.
He waited in the closed restaurant overlooking the ocean.
“I signed the divorce papers.”
He slid them toward me.
I looked down.
No dispute.
No claim against Whitmore assets.
No attempt to keep Cross Meridian shares he did not own.
He surrendered nearly everything.
“Why?”
“Because you’re going to think the next thing I tell you is another manipulation.”
“What next thing?”
He looked exhausted.
“Victor contacted me.”
“When?”
“This morning.”
“And?”
“He offered Sabrina.”
My stomach tightened.
“In exchange for?”
“You.”
I almost laughed.
“What does that mean?”
“He wants me to bring you to the October meeting.”
“I’m going anyway.”
“Alone.”
“No.”
“He specifically wants Richard excluded.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
I stared at him.
“You met Victor.”
He looked away.
My chest hardened.
“When?”
“Two hours ago.”
“Where?”
“Damian.”
“Where?”
“A private apartment.”
“You went alone?”
“Yes.”
“You told no one?”
“Yes.”
“After everything?”
“I needed to know if Sabrina was alive.”
“You keep choosing secrecy.”
“I know.”
He reached into his coat.
I stepped back.
He stopped.
Slowly removed a phone.
“I recorded it.”
I stared.
For once, Damian had learned something.
The recording captured Victor clearly.
He confirmed manipulation.
He discussed the incapacity petition.
He admitted Cross Meridian assets were needed to secure Langford debt.
Then he said something else.
“Once Claire signs, Richard becomes irrelevant.”
Damian asked,
“And if she refuses?”
Victor answered,
“Margaret refused.”
Silence.
Damian’s voice changed.
“You killed Claire’s mother?”
Victor laughed softly.
“I didn’t say that.”
It was not proof.
But it was close.
The recording continued.
Victor instructed Damian to bring me to the old Whitmore family courthouse.
The place where the original trusts were registered.
October 17.
Noon.
Damian looked at me.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what part?”
“All of it.”
I did not respond.
“I spent years thinking your family kept me small.”
He stared toward the dark ocean.
“I didn’t realize you were the one making me look big.”
That sentence hurt.
Because once, I had wanted him to understand exactly that.
Now it was too late.
I picked up the divorce papers.
“You should keep copies.”
He nodded.
As I turned to leave, he said,
“Claire.”
I stopped.
“If I can fix one thing—”
“You can’t fix this.”
“I know.”
“Then what?”
“Let me help end it.”
I looked at him.
“You don’t get redemption because you finally feel guilty.”
“I know.”
“You don’t get me back.”
“I know.”
“You don’t get the company.”
“I know.”
His voice cracked.
“I know.”
For once, he seemed to understand consequences.
I left.
At 2:00 a.m., Rebecca called.
“We have a problem.”
“What?”
“Damian disappeared.”
My blood chilled.
“When?”
“Forty minutes ago.”
“Did Victor take him?”
“We don’t know.”
Then she sent me security footage.
Damian leaving his hotel.
Entering a car.
Voluntarily.
The driver turned toward the camera.
Sabrina.
Alive.
Unrestrained.
Damian got in beside her.
The car drove away.
No struggle.
No police.
No Nathan.
Nothing.
I stared at the image.
After everything he had said.
Everything he had promised.
He had chosen her again.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from Damian.
I’m sorry.
Four seconds later another arrived.
May you like
This is the only way I can keep you alive.
And then his phone went dark.
