Chapter 12 - THE SISTER WHO SHOULD HAVE DIED
Nobody spoke.
Not after the phone call.
Not after hearing that name.
Evelyn Cross.
A ghost from Stellan's past.
A woman everyone believed was dead.
I looked at him.
"Your sister is alive."
Stellan didn't answer.
He was staring at nothing.
Like his mind had gone somewhere else.
"Stellan."
Finally, he whispered:
"She died when she was sixteen."
The pain in his voice surprised me.
This wasn't the mafia boss.
This was a brother.
A boy who lost someone.
"What happened?"
He sat down slowly.
"My father said she was killed during a family conflict."
I frowned.
"You believed him?"
His laugh was empty.
"I was nineteen."
A pause.
"I believed everything he told me."
I looked at Fern.
"And now?"
"Now I know my father built his empire on lies."
The room felt heavier.
Everything was connected.
The missing records.
The fake blood test.
Adrian disappearing.
Evelyn returning.
Someone had been planning this for years.
"Why does she want Fern?"
Stellan looked at me.
"Because Fern is proof."
"Proof of what?"
He hesitated.
Then said:
"That the Cross family belongs to someone else."
I didn't understand.
"Explain."
Stellan stood.
"My grandfather left a legal inheritance."
"An inheritance?"
"Not money."
He walked toward the window.
"Control."
I frowned.
"Of the empire?"
He nodded.
"Theodore stole it."
"And Fern proves that?"
"Yes."
"How?"
His eyes met mine.
"Because Evelyn is the true heir."
I stared.
"Then why does she need Fern?"
"Because Fern carries my blood."
The realization hit me.
"She doesn't want to kill her."
Stellan's face darkened.
"No."
"She wants to use her."
"Yes."
A baby.
My baby.
Used as a weapon in a war between powerful people.
My anger burned.
"Over my dead body."
Stellan looked at me.
Something changed in his expression.
Respect.
"You sound like your mother."
I froze.
"What?"
The room went quiet.
"What did you say?"
He looked away.
Too late.
I heard it.
"You knew my mother?"
A long silence.
Then:
"Yes."
My heart started racing.
Another secret.
Another person hiding the truth.
"How?"
Stellan took a breath.
"Your mother worked for my family."
I felt sick.
"No."
"Selene—"
"No."
I stepped back.
"My whole life is a lie."
Nobody answered.
Because it was true.
Stellan moved closer.
"Your mother tried to expose Theodore."
I stared.
"What?"
"She found documents proving he stole the Cross inheritance."
"Then why didn't she tell anyone?"
His face became serious.
"Because she disappeared before she could."
A cold feeling moved through me.
"Disappeared?"
He nodded.
"Just like Adrian."
The comparison terrified me.
"No."
I shook my head.
"Don't."
"Selene—"
"No more."
My voice cracked.
"I can't keep finding out everyone I love was taken from me."
For a moment, Stellan said nothing.
Then he did something unexpected.
He reached out.
Not to control me.
Not to command me.
Just to comfort me.
I almost let him.
Almost.
Then a loud alarm interrupted.
One of the guards rushed in.
"Boss."
Stellan turned.
"What?"
The guard looked nervous.
"We found Marcus."
Everyone froze.
"Where?"
The guard swallowed.
"In the underground tunnels."
Stellan's face changed.
"Alive?"
A pause.
"No."
My heart dropped.
"Then why did you say you found him?"
The guard handed Stellan a small device.
A recording.
Stellan pressed play.
Marcus's voice filled the room.
"If you're hearing this..."
He sounded injured.
"Then I'm already dead."
Everyone listened.
"Stellan..."
A pause.
"I'm sorry."
Stellan's expression changed.
"I wasn't working for Evelyn."
Silence.
"She was working for someone else."
My blood went cold.
Someone else?
Marcus continued:
"The person behind everything..."
A shaky breath.
"The person who changed the DNA test..."
"The person who took Adrian..."
The recording crackled.
Then came the final sentence.
A sentence that made Stellan drop the device.
"Is Selene's father."
I stopped breathing.
My father.
The man I buried years ago.
The man everyone said was dead.
The man who was never supposed to come back.
But then the recording ended with one final sound.
A door opening.
May you like
And a man's voice whispering:
"Tell my daughter I'm proud of her."
