Chapter 15: Shadows from the Past
508 Words
Damien’s eyes scanned the letter again, each word seeping deeper beneath his skin. The contents were simple—but the message was clear.
*You’ve made a mistake. She’s not who you think she is. Back out before it’s too late.*
No name. No return address. But he recognized the handwriting.
Victor Cross.
The very man who had tried to bleed Damien’s company dry three years ago. A ruthless investor with a personal grudge—and now apparently, an interest in Lena.
He folded the letter slowly.
“Tell me,” Lena said from the other side of the room, arms crossed. “Don’t shut me out.”
Damien looked at her, uncertainty warring with something unfamiliar—fear. Not of the threat, but of what she might be hiding.
He handed her the letter.
Lena’s eyes narrowed as she read. “Victor Cross?” she said, voice barely above a whisper.
“You know him?”
“I’ve heard the name. My father mentioned him once—before everything collapsed.”
Damien leaned forward. “What did he say?”
“That Cross tried to buy out our publishing house. When my father refused, Cross began a smear campaign… leaking fake stories, staging boycotts. It nearly destroyed him. That was before your company stepped in.”
Damien’s frown deepened. “So Cross was the reason your father’s company was weakened—and my acquisition finished the job.”
Lena looked up, realization dawning. “You think Cross sent this to drive a wedge between us.”
“Or warn me. Either way, he’s watching.”
Lena swallowed. “I don’t scare easily, Damien. But that man... he plays dirty.”
“Then we’ll play smarter.”
He moved closer to her, taking her hands.
“This changes nothing between us,” he said firmly. “Unless you want it to.”
She met his gaze, something fierce in her eyes. “No. I’m not running.”
For the first time, he smiled.
But just as they began to relax, Damien’s phone buzzed. He answered quickly.
“Mr. Blackwood,” his assistant’s voice came through, tight with panic. “You need to see this.”
“What?”
“There’s a video circulating online—of you and Lena. From last night. It’s already gone viral.”
Damien froze.
Lena’s eyes widened. “What video?”
He tapped the screen and watched in silence.
A blurry clip. Him and Lena at the gala. Their kiss. The way he’d held her like nothing else in the world existed.
A voice-over followed: *“CEO Damien Blackwood’s fake marriage may not be so fake after all—but can the woman beside him be trusted?”*
Then, a flash of a headline:
**“Lena Thorne’s Ties to Corporate Sabotage—Sleeping Her Way Into the Boardroom?”**
Lena’s face drained of color.
Damien turned to her, heart pounding. “They’re coming for you.”
“No,” she said, her voice shaking. “They’re coming for *us*.”
- Writer
