Chapter 6: The Price of Silence
I don’t remember leaving the building.
I only remember running.
The elevator doors barely opened before I stepped inside.
Damian followed.
“Nia.””
“My mother.””
“I know.””
“No, you don’t.””
My voice cracked.
“You don’t know what it feels like to spend years protecting the one person who protected you.””
The elevator was silent.
For once, Damian didn’t try to fix it.
He just stood beside me.
And somehow that helped.
When we reached the hospital, security had already surrounded the floor.
My heart nearly stopped when I saw police officers near my mother’s room.
I pushed forward.
“Where is she?””
A nurse approached quickly.
“She’s safe.””
The words almost broke me.
Safe.
Such a simple word.
Such a powerful one.
I entered the room.
My mother was awake.
Tired.
Scared.
But alive.
The second she saw me, she reached for my hand.
“I’m okay.””
I sat beside her.
“No, you’re not.””
She gave me that same look she had given me since I was a child.
The look that said she knew me better than anyone.
“You found out, didn’t you?””
I froze.
“What?””
She looked at Damian.
Then back at me.
“About Vernon.””
My entire body went still.
“Mom.””
She closed her eyes.
“I was hoping you would never have to carry this.””
“What do you know?””
She was quiet for a long moment.
Then she whispered:
“Your father knew Vernon was stealing from him.””
The room changed.
My father knew?
I felt like the floor disappeared.
“Why didn’t he tell us?””
My mother’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because Vernon threatened us.””
Damian stepped closer.
“What kind of threat?””
My mother looked at him.
“They said if Marcus exposed him, they would destroy everything.””
Her voice trembled.
“And they did.””
I held her hand.
All these years, I thought my father had lost.
I thought Vernon had defeated him.
But maybe my father had been fighting alone.
“What files are they looking for?””
My mother looked at me.
“Your father hid evidence.””
My breath caught.
“Where?””
She looked toward the window.
“Somewhere only you would find.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
She smiled sadly.
“Your father always said you were the smartest person he knew.””
I shook my head.
“Mom, please.””
“He told me if anything happened, the truth would belong to you.””
A nurse entered suddenly.
“Mr. Cole?””
Damian turned.
“There’s someone here to see you.””
Everyone froze.
“Who?””
The nurse swallowed.
“Vernon Cole.””
Security moved instantly.
But Damian stopped them.
“No.””
He looked toward the door.
“Let him come.””
I stared at him.
“Damian.””
“I need to hear what he has to say.””
The door opened.
And Vernon walked in.
Older than his photographs.
Calm.
Confident.
Like he hadn’t just tried to destroy an empire.
Like he hadn’t ruined my family.
He looked at Damian first.
“I wondered how long it would take you to figure it out.””
Damian’s face hardened.
“You tried to kill me.””
Vernon smiled slightly.
“No.””
Everyone went still.
“I tried to save what I built.””
My fists tightened.
“You destroyed my family.””
Vernon finally looked at me.
And his smile disappeared.
Because he recognized me.
Not as a maid.
Not as a nobody.
As Marcus Brooks’ daughter.
“You should have stayed quiet, Nia.””
The room went cold.
Because those words confirmed everything.
He knew who I was.
He always knew.
And suddenly I understood.
I had not accidentally entered Damian Cole’s world.
Vernon had been watching me from the beginning.
Waiting.
And the woman he thought was harmless had become the one person standing between him and everything he wanted.
Vernon leaned closer.
“The truth has a price.””
I looked him in the eye.
“So does betrayal.””
And for the first time, Vernon Cole looked afraid.
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Continue the Cole family conspiracy
- Write Chapter 8: The Betrayal Inside - Write Chapter 7: The Witness
