Chapter 5: The Enemy Behind the Smile
The first thing Damon did after discovering the photograph was not call the police.
It was not call the news.
It was not call Richard Laurent and demand answers.
He sat there.
Silent.
That scared me more than anger would have.
I had seen Damon angry before. I had watched him handle business disputes, fire people who betrayed his company, and stand across from men twice his age without blinking.
But this was different.
This was the kind of silence that came when a person’s entire understanding of the past started collapsing.
He held the photograph in his hand.
His father and Richard Laurent.
Two men smiling like brothers.
Two men who built businesses together.
Two men who, according to the evidence, ended up on opposite sides of a war.
“I don’t understand,” Damon whispered.
I stood across from him.
“Maybe your father was trying to understand it too.””
Damon looked up.
“What do you mean?””
I pointed to the words written on the back.
Trust no one close.
“Maybe he didn’t know Richard was his enemy at first.””
Damon looked back at the picture.
That possibility hurt more.
Because betrayal from a stranger was expected.
Betrayal from family was different.
It changed the way you looked at every memory.
Every conversation.
Every moment you thought was real.
Victor arrived an hour later.
He studied the photograph carefully.
“Marcus kept this for a reason.””
“Can you find out when it was taken?”” Damon asked.
Victor nodded.
“I can try.””
Damon walked toward the window.
“I spent years believing my father died because he took a risk.””
He turned around.
“But he didn’t die because he was careless.””
His eyes hardened.
“He died because someone close wanted him gone.””
Nobody argued.
Because everyone in that room knew the same thing.
The person who destroyed Marcus King had been close enough to reach him.
Close enough to know his routines.
Close enough to know where he kept his secrets.
And that meant the danger was never outside the family.
It was inside.
Over the next few days, Victor and his team dug deeper.
The evidence from the memory card revealed more than anyone expected.
Richard Laurent had not just been trying to gain control of King Enterprises.
He had been slowly positioning himself for years.
Investments.
Partnerships.
Business agreements.
Every connection was another thread in a web designed to trap the King family.
And Camille?
She was the final piece.
The marriage would have given the Laurent family access to everything Marcus spent his life building.
Damon had almost handed them the keys himself.
That thought haunted him.
One evening, I found him standing in the kitchen.
Not the office.
Not the library.
The kitchen.
The place where he was just Damon, not the man everyone feared.
“You okay?”” I asked.
He looked at the coffee cup in his hand.
“My father used to make breakfast here.””
I smiled softly.
“I know.””
“You remember?””
“Everybody remembers Marcus King.””
Damon nodded.
“He wasn’t perfect.””
That surprised me.
Most people with powerful parents either worshipped them or resented them.
Damon did neither.
“He could be stubborn,” Damon continued.
“He thought protecting people meant carrying everything himself.””
He looked down.
“I think I became him.””
I leaned against the counter.
“Maybe.””
He looked at me.
“That sounded like an insult.””
“It wasn’t.””
I smiled.
“It’s just the truth.””
For the first time, Damon laughed.
Then his expression became serious.
“Jasmine.””
“Yes?””
“Why did you do it?””
I frowned.
“Do what?””
“Bring Major into that ballroom.””
I looked away.
Because the answer was simple.
But it was also personal.
“Because he was hurting.””
Damon waited.
I sighed.
“My mother always told me something. She said you learn who people really are by how they treat things that can’t fight back.””
Damon looked toward the doorway where Major was sleeping.
“She was right.””
I nodded.
“Major couldn’t tell anyone what happened. He couldn’t defend himself. So somebody had to.””
Damon was quiet.
Then he said something I didn’t expect.
“Thank you.””
Two words.
But from Damon King, they carried weight.
Before I could answer, his phone rang.
Victor.
Damon picked up.
The color drained from his face.
“What happened?””
He listened.
Then he looked at me.
“Camille is missing.””
My heart dropped.
“What?””
Victor’s voice came through the speaker.
“She left her apartment two hours ago. Her security detail lost contact with her.””
Damon frowned.
“She staged this.””
“Maybe,” Victor said.
“But there’s more.””
A pause.
Then Victor continued.
“Someone broke into Richard Laurent’s office tonight.””
Damon’s eyes narrowed.
“What was taken?””
“Files.””
The room went silent.
Because we all knew what that meant.
Someone was cleaning up evidence.
Someone knew the truth was coming out.
And someone was desperate enough to erase it.
Later that night, Damon received an envelope.
No return address.
No name.
Inside was a single piece of paper.
Three words.
Stop digging, Damon.
Below it was a photograph.
Not of Marcus.
Not of Richard.
Of me.
Standing outside the King estate.
My stomach turned.
Damon stared at the picture.
His expression changed.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Something more dangerous.
Protection.
“Jasmine,” he said.
I looked at him.
“From now on, you don’t go anywhere alone.””
I wanted to argue.
I almost did.
But then I looked at the photograph again.
And I understood.
This was no longer about a broken engagement.
This was no longer about business.
Someone had decided to make me part of the fight.
And they had made the biggest mistake they could make.
Because Damon King was no longer fighting for an empire.
May you like
He was fighting for his family.
And he considered me part of it.
