CHAPTER 10 — THE WOMAN WHO KNEW THE TRUTH ABOUT DAMIAN’S PAST
For twenty years, Damian Russo believed the past was dead.
He was wrong.
The past had been waiting.
Watching.
Breathing.
And now…
it had finally opened its eyes.
---
The woman on the screen looked older.
Much older.
But Hazel knew her instantly.
The slight movement of her hands.
The way she tilted her head before speaking.
The eyes.
Those eyes were impossible to forget.
“Mom…”
The word escaped Hazel before she could stop it.
A whisper.
Almost like she was afraid saying it louder would make the image disappear.
Damian turned toward her.
For once, he had no words.
Because Hazel Brooks—the woman who never broke, never shook, never showed fear—
was standing frozen.
Like a child again.
---
The woman on the screen slowly sat up.
A hospital room.
Dark curtains.
Medical equipment.
Someone had hidden her.
Not saved her.
Hidden her.
“Hazel.”
Her voice was weak.
But real.
Hazel moved closer to the screen.
“Mom…?”
The video paused.
A message appeared.
ONE HOUR UNTIL THE NEXT FILE OPENS.
Damian stared.
Elias.
Always controlling the timing.
Always controlling the information.
Garrett slammed his hand against the table.
“He’s playing with us.”
Damian didn’t answer.
Because he knew.
And worse…
he knew why.
Elias wasn’t trying to kill them.
He wanted them to discover something.
Something Damian had buried.
---
Hazel stepped away from the screen.
Her face was blank again.
Too blank.
Damian noticed.
“You knew she might be alive.”
Hazel didn’t look at him.
“No.”
“Don’t lie.”
A pause.
“I hoped.”
Damian watched her carefully.
“Hoped?”
Hazel swallowed.
“She disappeared the same night my father disappeared.”
A quiet breath.
“I spent twenty years thinking I lost both of them.”
Damian looked down.
Because suddenly he understood something.
Hazel wasn’t chasing revenge.
She was chasing answers.
---
The next file opened.
A photograph appeared.
A younger Damian.
Victor Brooks.
Hazel’s mother, Claire.
All standing together.
Not enemies.
Not strangers.
Together.
Garrett stared.
“What is this?”
Damian didn’t answer.
Because he knew.
He just didn’t want to.
---
Twenty years earlier.
Before the war.
Before the betrayal.
Damian was not Victor’s enemy.
They were partners.
Different worlds.
Same goal.
Both men wanted to destroy the old criminal system controlling Chicago.
Victor had information.
Damian had power.
Together, they could have changed everything.
Until someone betrayed them.
---
The memory returned.
A restaurant.
Late night.
Victor sitting across from Damian.
“You don’t understand who you’re working for.”
Damian looked angry.
“I work for nobody.”
Victor shook his head.
“You think you’re building an empire.”
A pause.
“You’re building a cage.”
Damian laughed.
“You sound like my father.”
Victor looked serious.
“Because your father was right.”
That sentence stayed with Damian.
Even after everything burned.
---
Back in the present.
Damian walked toward Hazel.
“You knew Victor wasn’t my enemy.”
Hazel looked at him.
“Yes.”
“And you still let me hunt him.”
Her expression changed.
“I tried to stop you.”
“When?”
“Every time you got close.”
Damian’s eyes narrowed.
“You changed evidence.”
Hazel didn’t deny it.
“Yes.”
“You protected him.”
“Yes.”
The honesty made it worse.
Damian turned away.
“You manipulated me.”
Hazel looked down.
“Yes.”
Silence.
This time…
she didn’t defend herself.
Because it was true.
---
“You know what the difference is between us?”
Damian looked back.
Hazel continued.
“You hurt people because you believe it’s necessary.”
A pause.
“I hurt people because I was taught it was the only way.”
The room went quiet.
Damian saw something he hadn’t noticed before.
Hazel wasn’t proud of what she could do.
She was ashamed.
---
Suddenly, Garrett’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
Again.
He answered.
Nobody spoke.
Only breathing.
Then a familiar voice.
Claire Brooks.
Hazel froze.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
Her knees almost gave out.
Damian caught it.
Not because she needed saving.
Because for once…
she allowed someone to help.
“Mom?”
Claire’s voice cracked.
“Hazel…”
A pause.
“I’m sorry.”
The call ended.
---
Damian looked at Hazel.
“What did she mean?”
Hazel didn’t answer.
Because she knew.
Something was wrong.
Her mother was alive.
Her father was alive.
Michael was involved.
Elias was controlling everything.
And somehow…
Damian was connected to all of it.
---
An hour later.
The final video opened.
Everyone gathered around the screen.
The footage showed the hospital room again.
Claire Brooks.
Victor Brooks.
And a younger Damian.
But this time…
Damian was holding something.
A document.
Claire was crying.
Victor looked furious.
The younger Damian said:
“If I do this…”
A pause.
“If I become the villain…”
Victor answered:
“Then make sure she never knows why.”
The video zoomed in.
The person standing beside Damian appeared.
The person who made the deal.
The person who controlled everything.
Damian’s face turned pale.
Because he knew that person.
He had trusted him for twenty years.
The video ended.
A final message appeared.
THE BIGGEST BETRAYAL WAS NEVER AGAINST YOU, DAMIAN.
A pause.
IT WAS COMMITTED BY YOU.
Nobody spoke.
Hazel looked at Damian.
Not angry.
Not accusing.
Just hurt.
Because somewhere deep inside…
she realized something terrifying.
May you like
The man she had spent twenty years protecting…
might be the reason her family was destroyed.
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