Chapter5
1886 Words
The Other Brother's Secret
Damien's POV
The penthouse felt like a mausoleum.
Twenty-four hours ago, I was on top of the world. CEO of Kirk Corporation. Engaged to Victoria. Free from the suffocating marriage I'd never wanted.
Now I sat in darkness, my assets frozen, my reputation destroyed, watching my brother parade my ex-wife on every news channel in the city.
"She played us." Victoria paced behind me, her heels clicking against marble I could no longer afford. "That little mouse played us."
"She didn't play anyone." I took another drink, bourbon burning down my throat. "Alexander did."
"Your brother who hadn't been in the country for two years? How could he possibly—"
"Because he's Alexander." I laughed bitterly. "He's always been three steps ahead. Even when we were kids."
Victoria stopped pacing. "You told me he was weak. That your father exiled him because he couldn't handle the business."
"I told you what you needed to hear."
She slapped me. Hard.
I didn't react. Didn't even flinch. After everything that had happened today, physical pain was almost welcome.
"You lied to me?" Her voice rose. "About everything?"
"You lied too." I stood, towering over her. "You said Mia would be easy to break. That she'd sign anything, believe anything. You said she was too stupid to fight back."
"She was! For Four years, she was perfect. Docile. Pathetic."
"Until Alexander came back."
"You should have told me about him. About what he was capable of."
I walked to the window, staring at the city lights. Somewhere out there, Mia was with him. Wearing his ring. Sharing his bed.
The thought shouldn't bother me. I'd chosen Victoria. I'd wanted Victoria.
But seeing Mia today—fierce, powerful, untouchable was like seeing her for the first time. The woman who'd stood in that boardroom wasn't the quiet girl I'd married. She was something else entirely.
Something Alexander had awakened.
"We can fix this," Victoria said, moving behind me. Her hands slid around my waist. "The pregnancy announcement will destroy them. Public sympathy will—"
"You're not pregnant."
She stiffened. "How do you—"
"Because we haven't had s*x in three weeks. Because you had your period last week. Because you think I'm stupid enough to fall for the oldest trick in the book."
I turned to face her. "You're not pregnant, Victoria. And even if you were, it wouldn't be mine."
Her face went pale. "What are you talking about?"
I pulled out my phone, showing her the photos my private investigator had sent weeks ago. Victoria with another man. Several other men, actually.
"You think you were the only one with secrets?" I asked. "I've known about Marcus, David, and whatever that photographer's name is."
"You knew? And you still—"
"I didn't care. You were useful. Beautiful. Connected." I shrugged. "Love was never part of our arrangement."
"But Mia—"
"Mia was different." The words came out before I could stop them.
Victoria laughed, sharp and cruel. "You were in love with her?"
"No. I was... intrigued by her. She was so desperate to be loved. So eager to please. It was fascinating, like watching someone build a house of cards in a hurricane."
"And now?"
I thought about Mia standing across from me in the boardroom, diamond-hard and burning with rage. "Now she's Alexander's."
"Not if I can help it." Victoria grabbed her purse. "I'm going to release the psychiatric hold footage. Let's see how stable she looks drooling on camera."
"Don't."
"Why? Suddenly developing a conscience?"
"No. But Alexander will destroy you if you touch her again. And this time, I won't be able to protect you."
"You? Protect me?" She laughed. "You can't even protect yourself."
My phone rang. Alexander's name on the screen.
"Speak of the devil," Victoria muttered.
I answered. "Come to gloat?"
"Come to offer you a deal."
I straightened. "I'm listening."
"Tomorrow. Noon. The old warehouse on Savor 47."
"That's—"
"Where it all started. Yes." His voice was cold. "Come alone."
"Why would I—"
"Because if you don't, I release everything. Not just the fraud. Everything. Including what really happened to Mother."
My blood turned to ice. "You wouldn't."
"Try me."
He hung up.
Victoria stared at me. "What really happened to your mother?"
I walked to the bar, pouring another drink with shaking hands. "She died."
"People don't just die. What did you do?"
"Nothing. I did nothing." I downed the bourbon in one swallow. "That was the problem."
She grabbed my arm. "Damien, what are you talking about?"
I looked at her—this woman I'd destroyed my marriage for. She was beautiful, cunning, everything I thought I wanted. But she'd never understand. Never understand the weight of a secret that had shaped everything.
"Get out."
"What?"
"Get out. Take whatever you can carry. The penthouse will be seized tomorrow anyway."
"You're kicking me out? After everything I did for you?"
"Everything you did?" I laughed. "You mean seducing your stepsister's husband? Stealing her inheritance? Destroying her sanity?" I stepped closer. "You did that for yourself, Victoria. Just like I married Mia for myself."
"Why?" Her voice was small now. "Why did you marry her?"
I thought about lying. But what was the point now?
"Because Alexander wanted her." The truth tasted bitter. "I saw how he looked at her at a company party four years ago. She was just an intern then, bright-eyed and brilliant. And my brother—my controlled, calculating brother—couldn't take his eyes off her."
Victoria's mouth fell open. "You married her to spite him?"
"I married her because I could. Because Alexander had taken everything else—Father's respect, the board's trust, Mother's love. Mia was the one thing I could take from him."
"But he left. Went to Europe."
"The day after my wedding. Left without a word." I smiled bitterly. "I thought I had won."
"And now?"
"Now I realize he wasn't retreating. He was regrouping."
Victoria gathered her things, disgust clear on her face. "You're pathetic. Both of you. Fighting over a woman like she's property."
"Aren't you the one who just tried to fake a pregnancy to keep me?"
She stopped at the door. "The footage of Mia goes live in an hour. Whatever deal Alexander offers you tomorrow, it'll be too late."
"Victoria—"
"You want to protect her now? Too late, Damien. You made your choice."
She slammed the door, leaving me alone with my ghosts.
I called Alexander back. He answered on the first ring.
"Victoria's releasing the psychiatric footage."
Silence. Then: "When?"
"Hour. Maybe less."
"Why are you telling me?"
"Because—" I stopped. Why was I? "Because she doesn't deserve that. Whatever else happened, that was too far."
"You mean drugging your wife and having her committed was too far? How noble of you to realize that now."
"Alexander—"
"I'll handle Victoria. You just show up tomorrow. And Damien? If you're thinking of running, don't. I have men at every airport, train station, and bus depot. You leave this city, and I release everything."
"I'll be there."
"Good. Oh, and brother? Mia wants me to tell you something."
"What?"
"She's keeping your mother's ring after all. Says it looks better on her than it ever did on Victoria."
The line went dead.
I stood in the darkness, holding my phone, remembering my mother's ring. She'd worn it every day until she died. It was supposed to go to Alexander—he was her favorite. But I'd taken it from her jewelry box before the funeral. Claimed it was meant for me.
Another thing I'd stolen from my brother.
My phone buzzed. A news alert: "BREAKING: Victoria Bruce s*x Tape Leaked."
I clicked the link. It wasn't just one video. It was dozens. Victoria with various men, all dated during our relationship. The final nail in her coffin.
But more interesting was the source cited: "Anonymous submission from A.B."
Alexander had beaten her to the punch. Released her secrets before she could release Mia's.
My phone rang. Victoria, hysterical.
"You did this! You and your brother—"
"I'm watching it now," I said calmly. "Interesting technique with the photographer."
"I'll destroy you! Both of you! And that b***h—"
I hung up and blocked her number.
Then I did something I hadn't done in years. I went to my safe and pulled out a box I'd hidden away. Inside were photos from my marriage to Mia.
Our wedding day. She'd looked so happy, so trusting. She'd had no idea she was just a pawn in a game between brothers.
Our honeymoon. Her laughing on the beach in Bali, unaware I was texting Victoria.
Our first anniversary. She'd cooked for hours, worn the dress I'd mentioned liking once. I'd come home late, drunk, lipstick on my collar. Told her she was imagining things.
The last photo was different. It was from the company Christmas party two years ago. Mia wasn't looking at the camera. She was looking at something off-frame, her expression soft and wondering.
I remembered what she'd been looking at. Who she'd been looking at.
Alexander had come to the party unexpectedly. His last appearance before leaving for Europe. He'd asked Mia to dance—just one dance, perfectly appropriate. But the way they'd moved together, the way she'd smiled up at him...
That was the night I'd decided to destroy her completely. To break her so thoroughly she'd never look at another man that way.
I'd succeeded.
And in doing so, I'd pushed her straight into Alexander's arms.
My phone buzzed. Another alert: "CEO Alexander Kirk Announces Major Restructuring of Kirk Corporation."
There was a photo attached. Alexander at a press conference, Mia beside him in a stunning black dress. She was speaking at the podium, confident and radiant. The caption read: "Mrs. Kirk to Head New Charitable Foundation."
She looked happy. Truly happy.
Happier than she'd ever looked with me.
I poured one last drink, staring at the city I was about to lose. Tomorrow, I'd meet Alexander at the warehouse. Tomorrow, I'd face whatever justice he had planned.
But tonight, I had to live with the truth: I'd had everything—a beautiful wife who loved me, a successful company, a perfect life and I'd destroyed it all.
For what? For Victoria? For spite? For the sick pleasure of winning?
No.
I'd destroyed it all because I was exactly what Alexander had always said I was.
My father's son. Cruel, calculating, and ultimately empty.
And tomorrow, I'd pay for it.
But the real punishment wasn't whatever Alexander had planned.
It was knowing that Mia—sweet, loving, devoted Mia had transformed into something magnificent. Not because of me, but in spite of me.
And she'd done it in my brother's arms.
The irony was perfect. Poetic, even.
Alexander had won without even trying. He'd simply waited for me to destroy myself, then picked up the pieces I'd discarded.
Including the only piece that had ever really mattered.
I raised my glass to the window, to wherever they were. "Congratulations, brother. You always were the smarter one."
Then I settled in to wait for dawn, and whatever hell it would bring.
- Writer
