The Return Of The Forgotten Heir

5 - The Cold Chairman

Adrian remained in his room for several minutes after closing the document on his tablet. The decision he had made still felt new, but for the first time, he was no longer waiting for his family to tell him what he should do with his life. He had decided to build his own business, but there was still one thing he could not ignore: his father had been hiding something from him for a long time.

Adrian checked the time on his tablet before looking toward the hallway outside his room. His father was still somewhere inside the mansion, probably in his private study or handling something related to Cross Group. Adrian knew his father had told him several times to stop asking questions, but that kind of answer was no longer enough for him.

He stood from his chair and left the room.

The hallway was quiet as Adrian walked toward his father's private study. The mansion was always like this when every member of the family was busy with their own affairs. The security system quietly monitored every part of the house while the staff carefully moved through the hallways without making unnecessary noise. Adrian had grown up here, but there were still parts of the mansion that made him feel like he had never truly been allowed inside.

When he reached the study, he stopped outside the door. He could hear his father's voice from inside.

He waited for a moment before knocking.

"Come in."

Adrian opened the door.

His father was sitting behind his desk, looking through several documents on a large digital display. He kept his attention on the screen for a few more seconds before finally looking at his son. His expression was calm and serious, but Adrian immediately noticed the change in his father's eyes when he realized that Adrian had an important reason for coming.

"What do you need?"

Adrian closed the door behind him and remained standing near it.

"I want to talk to you, Dad. Not about Cross Group's expansion or the meetings you always tell me to stay out of. I want to talk about what you said earlier because I can't keep pretending that your answers are enough, especially when it's obvious that you know something I don't."

His father slowly leaned back in his chair.

"You should let this go, Adrian."

"That is exactly what you always tell me."

Adrian walked closer to the desk, forcing himself to keep his voice under control even as his frustration continued to grow. He had spent years accepting his father's short answers because he believed there would eventually be a day when Jonathan would explain everything. That day never came, and with every conversation they had, Adrian became more convinced that something important was being hidden behind the silence between them.

"You keep telling me to stay away from the company, to stop looking into things I don't understand, and to trust you because you're trying to protect me. But how am I supposed to understand what you're protecting me from if you won't even tell me what the danger is?"

Jonathan stared at him for a long moment.

"Because knowing everything will not make you safer."

"Then knowing nothing isn't making me safer either."

Adrian's voice became more emotional even though he continued trying to keep his composure.

"I've spent my entire life wondering why this family treats me differently, Dad. I've watched my cousins receive opportunities that I never got, and every time I tried to find out why, I was always told to wait or pushed out of the conversation. Even you kept pushing me away, and I accepted it because I thought you had a reason."

His father's expression remained controlled.

"I do have a reason."

"Then tell me."

Silence filled the study.

Adrian waited.

His father looked at the digital display on his desk before turning it off. The screen went dark, leaving only the silence of the room between them. When he looked at Adrian again, his expression was even harder to read than before.

"There are things about this family that you don't know."

Adrian's chest tightened.

"I already know that."

"You don't understand what I'm saying."

"Then help me understand."

Jonathan stood from his chair and walked toward the window. Outside, Aurelia City could be seen beyond the wide estate grounds. Modern buildings filled the skyline while a steady stream of vehicles moved along the roads. From inside the study, everything looked distant and controlled, just like the way Jonathan controlled what he allowed Adrian to know.

Adrian watched his father.

"What happened?"

Jonathan did not answer immediately.

Adrian continued.

"You've been acting differently whenever I ask about the family. You become careful with every word, you change the subject, and sometimes you look at me like you're worried something bad might happen to me. I noticed it when I was a kid, and I've noticed it even more as I've gotten older."

Finally, Jonathan turned toward him.

"You notice too much."

"I had to."

Adrian answered without hesitation.

"No one was willing to explain anything to me, so I learned to pay attention. I learned to study the business because no one wanted to teach me. I learned to read reports because no one wanted to tell me what was really happening. If you think I don't notice when people go quiet whenever I enter a room, then you haven't really been paying attention to me either."

For the first time, something changed in his father's expression.

It was small, but Adrian saw it.

Pain.

Concern.

And something else he could not identify.

Jonathan returned to his desk.

"I have always paid attention to you."

"Then why does it feel like you've spent your entire life keeping me outside?"

Jonathan stopped.

Adrian took a deep breath before continuing.

"I don't need you to give me Cross Group. I don't need Grandpa to recognize me as an heir. I don't even need Uncle Marcus's respect. But you're my father, Dad. If there is something about this family that could affect my life, I deserve to know the truth."

Jonathan's jaw tightened.

"You think the truth will make everything easier."

"No, I think the truth will at least let me understand why my life has been like this."

His father looked away.

Adrian could feel the distance between them growing again.

"You always tell me that you're protecting me, but sometimes it feels like you're protecting everyone else from me knowing the truth," he said quietly.

His father looked at him again.

"Be careful with what you say."

"Why?"

"Because you don't know what you're talking about."

"Then tell me."

Jonathan's voice became firmer.

"I can't."

Adrian's disappointment returned all at once. He wanted to believe his father, but every unanswered question only made that harder. Jonathan was not shouting at him or insulting him, but the cold calmness in his voice made the end of the conversation feel even more permanent.

"You always say that."

"I know."

"And you expect me to keep trusting you?"

"Yes."

Adrian stared at him for a long moment.

"How?"

Jonathan took a deep breath.

"Because I am your father, and I am trying to keep you alive."

Adrian stopped at those words.

He remembered Jonathan saying something similar before, but the warning felt different this time. His father was not talking about embarrassment, family pressure, or business problems. Whatever Jonathan was afraid of was clearly more dangerous than anything Adrian already knew.

Adrian stepped closer.

"Who am I supposed to be afraid of?"

Jonathan's expression immediately hardened.

"Don't ask that."

"Why not?"

"Because asking that question is already dangerous."

Adrian remained silent.

Jonathan continued, his voice lower now.

"I need you to understand something. There are people watching this family, and their interests go far beyond Cross Group. Some of them have been connected to powerful businesses for a long time. I can't explain everything to you right now, but you need to stay away from anything that could bring you to their attention."

Adrian studied his father's face.

"Are they the reason you don't want me involved in Cross Group?"

Jonathan did not answer directly.

"That is why I keep telling you to build a life outside this family."

Adrian slowly nodded, but he did not take his eyes off his father.

"And if I do?"

"Then you stay out of danger."

"What if I still want answers?"

Jonathan stared at him for several seconds before speaking.

"Then wait until I can give them to you safely."

Adrian wanted to argue, but he stopped himself. He knew his father would not say anything more, not today. What bothered him most was not only Jonathan's refusal to answer, but the way he carefully chose every word, as if one wrong sentence could reveal something Adrian was never supposed to know.

Adrian turned toward the door.

"I'll leave."

Jonathan watched him.

"Adrian."

He stopped and looked back.

"Whatever you decide to do with your future, don't let your anger make decisions for you."

Adrian held his father's gaze.

"I won't."

He opened the door and stepped outside.

As he walked back through the hallway, Adrian kept replaying their conversation in his mind. He had not gotten the answers he wanted, but his father had confirmed what he had suspected for a long time: there was a secret within the Cross Family, and his father was afraid of what might happen if Adrian discovered it.

When he reached his room, he closed the door behind him.

He looked at the tablet on his desk, then at the city outside the smart glass window.

He still did not know the truth.

But now he knew that his father's silence was not simple rejection.

There was something Jonathan was trying to protect him from, and Adrian could no longer ignore that fact.

For now, he would respect his father's warning.

But he would also remember every word Jonathan had said.

Because someday, when the right time came, Adrian was determined to discover the truth for himself.