Chapter 9: The Friend Who Knew Everything
Damon stared at the document.
The name refused to make sense.
*Marcus Reed.*
His eyes moved across the page again.
Then again.
Like reading it a third time would somehow change the letters.
It didn't.
The room felt smaller.
The air heavier.
Marcus stood across from him, silent.
Not denying it.
Not explaining.
Just standing there.
And somehow, that hurt more than a lie.
“Say something.””
Damon's voice was quiet.
Marcus looked at him.
“Damon—”
“No.””
He lifted the paper.
“Say something.””
Marcus took a breath.
“I can explain.””
Damon laughed softly.
Everyone had said those words tonight.
Victoria.
Emma.
Everyone.
“I don't want an explanation.””
Marcus looked hurt.
“What do you want?””
Damon looked at the man who had been beside him through everything.
“The truth.””
A long silence followed.
Then Marcus sat down.
“I knew this day would come.””
Emma frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Marcus looked at her.
“It means I knew eventually someone would find these files.””
Damon felt cold.
“You knew?””
Marcus nodded.
“Yes.””
“How long?””
Marcus looked away.
“Six years.””
The answer landed like a physical blow.
Damon stepped backward.
Six years.
The same amount of time he had spent mourning Emma.
The same amount of time everyone had been protecting secrets.
“You had this for six years?””
“Yes.””
“And you never told me?””
“No.””
Damon stared at him.
“Why?””
Marcus looked down at his hands.
“Because I was the reason you survived.””
The room went silent.
Damon frowned.
“What?””
Marcus looked up.
“The night of the accident, I wasn't just following Ethan.””
Emma's face changed.
“What are you saying?””
Marcus swallowed.
“I was following your father.””
Damon froze.
“You?””
Marcus nodded.
“I knew something was wrong.””
“Why?””
“Because Ethan came to me.””
Damon stared.
“Ethan?””
“Yes.””
Marcus looked at the documents.
“He found evidence your father was hiding money and changing records.””
Damon shook his head.
“My father.””
The words sounded strange.
Like he was speaking about someone else.
Marcus continued.
“Ethan thought your father was planning something bigger.””
“What?””
Marcus looked at Emma.
“He thought your father was going to erase anyone who knew the truth.””
Damon's chest tightened.
“Emma.””
Marcus nodded.
“Yes.””
“Lily.””
Another nod.
“Yes.””
Damon looked down.
“So you knew.””
Marcus's eyes filled with regret.
“I knew Emma survived.””
The room went quiet.
Damon's voice became almost impossible to hear.
“You knew she was alive?””
“Yes.””
“And you let me believe she was dead?””
Marcus closed his eyes.
“Yes.””
The answer destroyed something inside Damon.
Not because he didn't expect it.
Because he did.
But hearing it was different.
“You were my best friend.””
“I know.””
“No.””
Damon shook his head.
“You don't get to say that.””
Marcus looked at him.
“I know what I did.””
“Do you?””
Damon's voice rose.
“Do you know what it felt like?””
Marcus stayed silent.
“I called you every night after the funeral.””
A pause.
“You remember?””
Marcus nodded.
“Yes.””
“You were the only person I had left.””
His voice broke.
“And you knew.””
Marcus looked away.
“I know.””
Damon walked toward the window.
The anger inside him was fighting with years of friendship.
Memories.
Trust.
Everything.
“Why?””
Marcus finally answered.
“Because Ethan made me promise.””
Damon turned.
“What?””
“He told me if I brought Emma back into your life, the people behind everything would come after you.””
Damon stared.
“So you protected me?””
Marcus nodded.
“Yes.””
Damon shook his head.
“No.””
His voice was calm now.
And somehow that was worse.
“You protected yourself from making a choice.””
Marcus didn't answer.
Because he knew it was true.
Emma picked up the document.
“What is this test?””
Nobody answered.
Damon looked at Marcus.
“What was my father investigating?””
Marcus hesitated.
Then:
“Your father believed Lily was connected to a bigger secret.””
Emma's face changed.
“She was just a baby.””
“I know.””
“Then why?””
Marcus looked at Damon.
“Because your father thought someone had changed your family's history.””
Damon frowned.
“My family?””
Marcus nodded.
“He believed there was a reason you were targeted.””
Damon looked at the paper.
The medical records.
The hidden files.
The names.
“What reason?””
Marcus reached into another folder.
“This.””
He pulled out an old document.
Damon took it.
The page was aged.
The writing faded.
But the information was clear.
A private investigation.
A DNA report.
A family record.
Damon read the first line.
Then stopped.
His face changed.
Emma noticed.
“What is it?””
Damon didn't answer.
She took the paper.
Her eyes moved across the page.
Then widened.
“No.””
Marcus looked down.
“I found it years ago.””
Damon looked at him.
“You knew this too?””
Marcus nodded.
Damon laughed.
A painful laugh.
“Of course you did.””
Emma stared at the report.
“What does this mean?””
Damon finally spoke.
“It means my father was investigating whether I was really his son.””
Silence.
The words were impossible.
Marcus whispered:
“He thought someone changed your birth records.””
Damon looked at him.
“Who?””
Marcus didn't answer.
“Who?””
Marcus looked at Emma.
Then at Lily.
Then back at Damon.
“Your father never found out.””
Damon clenched the paper.
“Then why was this hidden?””
Marcus looked terrified.
“Because someone didn't want him to keep searching.””
A cold silence followed.
Emma looked at Damon.
“There is more.””
Everyone turned.
“What?””
Emma walked to the table.
She picked up another file.
“This name.””
She pointed.
Damon looked.
It was a name he didn't recognize.
A doctor.
A signature.
A hospital employee.
“What about him?””
Emma's voice lowered.
“He was the doctor who treated me after the accident.””
Marcus frowned.
“That doesn't make sense.””
“Why?””
“Because he disappeared.””
Damon looked up.
“What?””
Marcus nodded.
“After the accident, he vanished.””
Emma looked at the document.
“No.””
Her voice changed.
“He didn't vanish.””
She turned the page.
“He was paid to leave.””
Damon stared.
“By who?””
Emma pointed at the payment records.
Everyone looked.
The money trail.
The account.
The signature.
And then Damon saw it.
A name attached to the transfer.
A name that made his entire body go cold.
Because it wasn't his father.
It wasn't his mother.
It wasn't Marcus.
It wasn't Victoria.
It was the one person who had appeared innocent from the beginning.
The one person who had walked into the wedding carrying a photograph.
Damon whispered:
“Lily's mother?””
Emma looked at him.
“No.””
She shook her head.
“Damon...””
Her face was full of fear.
“You don't understand.””
He stared.
“What?””
Emma pointed at the signature.
“This payment wasn't made after the accident.””
A pause.
“It was made before.””
Damon looked at the date.
His heart stopped.
The payment happened one week before the crash.
Marcus whispered:
“That means someone planned everything.””
Emma nodded.
“And they knew about Lily before Lily was even born.””
Damon looked at the little girl's photograph.
A child who had unknowingly opened the door to every hidden truth.
Then his phone buzzed.
Everyone froze.
Unknown number.
A message appeared.
*You finally found the truth.*
Another message followed.
*But you still don't know the worst part.*
Damon stared.
Then the final message arrived.
*Ask Emma why she never told you who Lily's father really is.*
The room went silent.
Slowly, Damon looked at Emma.
Not angry.
Not yet.
Just broken.
“Emma.””
She closed her eyes.
Because she knew this moment had finally arrived.
“Tell me.””
A tear rolled down her face.
“Damon...””
He waited.
“Who is Lily's father?””
Emma looked at him.
And whispered the answer that changed everything.
“It's someone you know.””
Damon's heartbeat stopped.
“Who?””
Emma looked toward Marcus.
Then at Damon.
May you like
And said:
“Your brother.””
