Chapter 10 - THE NAME THAT WAS NEVER SPOKEN
The sound of the gunshot echoed through the mansion.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then chaos exploded.
“Michael!”
Daniel dropped to his knees beside his brother.
Blood covered Michael’s shirt.
His breathing was weak.
The same man who had walked back from the dead eight years later…
was now lying on the floor, fighting for his life.
“Call an ambulance!”
Daniel shouted.
“Now!”
The security guards rushed to help.
Vanessa stood frozen near the wall.
Her face was pale.
Not because Michael had been shot.
Because she knew exactly what this meant.
Someone was getting desperate.
And desperate people made mistakes.
Daniel looked toward the broken window.
“Find the shooter!”
Guards ran outside.
But whoever fired the shot was already gone.
Just like everyone else connected to the truth.
Always disappearing.
Always one step ahead.
Daniel pressed his hand against Michael’s wound.
“Stay awake.”
Michael opened his eyes slightly.
A weak smile appeared.
“You always did give orders.”
Daniel’s eyes filled with anger.
“You’re not dying.”
Michael looked at him.
“You still sound like our father.”
The mention of their father made Daniel freeze.
Michael noticed.
“I need to tell you something.”
“Not now.”
“Yes.”
Michael grabbed his arm.
“Now.”
Daniel leaned closer.
Michael’s voice became barely audible.
“Your father didn’t die because of business.”
Daniel stared.
“What?”
“He died because he found out who was behind everything.”
Daniel felt a cold feeling in his chest.
“Who?”
Michael looked toward Vanessa.
Then back at Daniel.
“I never found the person giving the orders.”
Daniel frowned.
“But you know who it is.”
Michael closed his eyes.
“I know who started it.”
“Who?”
A pause.
Then Michael whispered:
“Evelyn Cross.”
Daniel froze.
The name hit him harder than the gunshot.
“No.”
Michael opened his eyes.
“Yes.”
Daniel stepped back.
“No. That’s impossible.”
Because Evelyn Cross was not a stranger.
She was family.
His mother.
The woman who raised him.
The woman he believed died peacefully three years ago.
“She’s dead,” Daniel said.
Michael shook his head.
“Everyone in this story is supposed to be dead.”
That sentence destroyed him.
Daniel looked around.
At Vanessa.
At the security guards.
At the mansion he grew up in.
Suddenly every memory felt like a lie.
Meanwhile…
Miles away from the Cross estate.
Amelia slowly opened her eyes.
Her head was still spinning.
Her hands were still tied.
But now she wasn’t alone.
Someone was sitting across from her.
A woman.
Older.
Tired.
Broken.
Amelia stared.
“Rachel?”
The woman looked up.
Her eyes filled with tears.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Rachel whispered:
“You remember me.”
Amelia’s heart broke.
Because she did.
Not everything.
Not clearly.
But enough.
Rachel Brooks.
Her little sister.
The girl she promised to protect.
The girl she failed to save.
“Rachel…”
Her voice cracked.
“What happened to you?”
Rachel laughed softly.
A painful laugh.
“You really don’t remember?”
Amelia looked down.
“I remember the accident.”
“No.”
Rachel shook her head.
“You remember the accident you were allowed to remember.”
Those words scared Amelia.
“What does that mean?”
Rachel stood up slowly.
“After the crash, they told everyone you died.”
Amelia frowned.
“But I survived.”
“Yes.”
Rachel stepped closer.
“And so did I.”
Amelia stared.
“What?”
Rachel’s eyes filled with anger.
“That night wasn’t an accident.”
Amelia felt her breathing change.
“I know.”
“No.”
Rachel shook her head.
“You don’t know anything.”
She walked toward a table.
Then placed something on it.
A photograph.
Amelia picked it up.
Her hands began shaking.
It was a picture of her and Rachel.
But behind them…
was a third person.
Someone they both knew.
Someone who had been missing from the story.
Amelia looked at Rachel.
“Who took this?”
Rachel stared at her.
“You did.”
Amelia froze.
“What?”
Rachel’s voice broke.
“You were the one who asked me to hide.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Rachel looked away.
“You knew something terrible was going to happen.”
Amelia shook her head.
“That’s not possible.”
“You don’t remember because they made sure you didn’t.”
Amelia felt tears forming.
“Who?”
Rachel didn’t answer.
Instead, she walked closer.
And whispered:
“Your fiancé.”
Amelia stopped breathing.
Her mind went blank.
“My fiancé?”
Rachel nodded.
“The man you trusted more than anyone.”
Amelia’s memories started coming back.
A man’s voice.
A familiar voice.
A promise.
A betrayal.
“No…”
Rachel watched her sister suffer.
“I’m sorry.”
Amelia shook her head.
“No. That’s not true.”
Rachel looked at her.
“His name was…”
Before she could finish, the door suddenly opened.
A man stepped inside.
Amelia looked up.
And her entire body froze.
Because she knew him.
Everyone thought he was dead.
Everyone except Rachel.
The man smiled.
“Hello, Amelia.”
Her blood turned cold.
Because the person standing in front of her…
was the man who destroyed her life.
Her fiancé.
Ethan Blake.
Back at the Cross mansion, Daniel stood in the hallway.
Michael had been taken to the hospital.
The police were arriving.
But Daniel wasn’t thinking about the shooter.
He was thinking about one name.
Evelyn Cross.
His mother.
The woman who had always told him:
“Family protects family.”
A police officer approached.
“Mr. Cross, we found something outside.”
Daniel turned.
The officer handed him a small object.
A necklace.
Daniel recognized it immediately.
His mother’s necklace.
The same necklace she wore every day.
The same necklace she was buried with.
Daniel stared.
“That’s impossible.”
The officer looked confused.
“Why?”
Daniel’s voice became a whisper.
“Because my mother was buried wearing it.”
A second later, his phone received a message.
Unknown number.
Only one sentence.
NOW YOU KNOW WHY THE DEAD KEEP COMING BACK.
Daniel stared at the screen.
Then looked toward the mansion.
Because for the first time…
he understood the truth.
This wasn’t a murder case.
This was a war.
And everyone he loved…
May you like
had been lying to him.
TO BE CONTINUED...
