Chapter 12 - Forty-Seven Floors Above Boston
Damian didn’t speak on the drive back.
Boston slid past the windows in streaks of yellow and white.
I understood grief.
I understood what happened when you discovered your memories had been built around a lie.
Roman Cross had been Damian’s cousin.
More than that, as Luca later explained quietly, Roman had grown up with Damian and Michael.
Three boys raised almost like brothers.
Michael had trusted him.
Damian had trusted him.
Then Roman supposedly died in a boating accident a year after Michael’s death.
Except he hadn’t.
At the penthouse, Damian poured whiskey.
I took the glass away.
He looked at me.
“That was mine.”
“I know.”
“I’m not a patient.”
“You’re behaving like one.”
He leaned back.
“You’re remarkably bossy.”
“You hired me.”
“Nora hired you.”
“You interfered.”
“Apparently the worst decision of my life.”
“Drink water.”
He did.
That was when I knew he was truly shaken.
I sat opposite him.
“Tell me about Roman.”
“No.”
I waited.
He sighed.
“You weaponize silence.”
“It’s free.”
He looked toward the skyline.
“Roman was two years older than me. Michael followed him everywhere.”
“And you?”
“I thought he was an idiot.”
“Sounds affectionate.”
“It was.”
A small smile appeared.
Then disappeared.
“Roman was fearless. Reckless. He wanted everything faster than my father would give it to him.”
“Money?”
“Power.”
That explained more.
“Did he work with Michael?”
“All the time.”
“Then he knew about the investigation.”
“Maybe.”
I shook my head.
“Not maybe.”
Damian studied me.
“Why are you so certain?”
“Look at the pattern.”
I took the ledger.
“Your father created the smuggling route. Michael discovered someone restarted it. Your mother’s name was used to hide money. Your uncle was framed through initials. Julian kept the company alive. Mercer’s network was used.”
I pointed to Roman’s initials.
“Roman knew everyone’s habits.”
Damian went still.
“He knew exactly which family secrets would make everyone blame each other.”
“Yes.”
The full shape of it finally appeared.
Roman hadn’t merely stolen money.
He had turned relationships into weapons.
“Why fake his death?” I asked.
“To disappear after Michael’s murder.”
“You think he killed him?”
Damian’s voice was bitter.
“I don’t know what I think anymore.”
His phone buzzed.
Luca.
Roman had surfaced.
Security footage at Logan Airport.
Not leaving.
Arriving.
“He came back tonight?” I asked.
Damian nodded.
“Why?”
“Because we found the ledger.”
A long silence followed.
Then he said, “You’re leaving.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Mara.”
“No.”
“This ends now.”
“Good. I’d like to see that.”
He stood.
“I’m not joking.”
“Neither am I.”
“You have no idea what Roman is capable of.”
“And you do?”
He stopped.
“That’s the point. You thought he was dead for seven years.”
His anger vanished because the words were true.
I stepped closer.
“You keep trying to put me somewhere safe.”
“Yes.”
“But safe isn’t a place.”
His eyes met mine.
“It should be.”
“It isn’t.”
“Then what is?”
“Knowing the truth. Having choices. Trusting the people beside you.”
Something shifted in his face.
He lifted one hand.
For a second I thought he might touch my cheek.
He stopped before he did.
“I don’t know how to do this.”
“Do what?”
“Have someone whose safety matters more than the outcome.”
My breath caught.
The city disappeared.
All the fear.
The secrets.
The Cross name.
For one moment there was only a man standing too close to me admitting something he probably wished he hadn’t.
“Damian…”
The penthouse phone rang.
He stepped away.
The moment broke.
He answered.
A familiar voice filled the room.
Julian.
“Damian, listen carefully.”
“Where are you?”
“Not important.”
“Very important.”
“Roman knows you have the ledger.”
“We know Roman is alive.”
Silence.
“You know?”
“Where is he?”
Julian lowered his voice.
“He wants East Boston.”
“Why?”
“The port expansion project. Once it closes next week, Cross Holdings controls three major freight corridors.”
“That’s legal business.”
“Exactly.”
I understood.
Roman didn’t want a criminal empire.
He wanted a legitimate one worth billions.
And Damian was in his way.
Julian continued.
“He’s been building evidence against you for years.”
Damian’s expression darkened.
“Evidence of what?”
“Enough financial records to make every federal agency in Massachusetts interested.”
“Real?”
“Some.”
“And the rest?”
“Fabricated.”
“Why warn me?”
Julian laughed bitterly.
“Because I helped Michael investigate Roman, and I’ve spent eight years trying to finish what we started.”
“Then stop hiding.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
A pause.
“Because Roman has my daughter.”
Damian closed his eyes.
I understood everything about Julian’s strange behavior at once.
The secrecy.
The payments.
The disappearances.
“Where?” Damian asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Then how do you know she’s alive?”
“He sends proof every week.”
Julian’s voice cracked for the first time.
“Damian, he’s controlled me for eight years.”
The room felt suddenly cold.
“What does he want now?”
“You.”
“Where?”
“The Harbor Crown.”
Of course.
Everything returning to where it began.
“Tomorrow night,” Julian said. “Same ballroom.”
“For what?”
“To sign East Boston over to him.”
“And if I refuse?”
Julian went silent.
Then whispered:
“He starts with my daughter.”
Another pause.
“Then he moves to Mara.”
Damian looked at me.
The call ended.
And in his face I saw the decision before he said a word.
He would go.
May you like
Even if it destroyed him.
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