Chapter 13:"Trust Earned"
1486 Words
Damien didn’t sleep.
He sat in the dark on the edge of the bed for hours, staring at the closed bedroom door where Eliana had disappeared. Her words kept replaying in his head: *“What I’m about to do will leave everyone shocked.”*
At 5:47AM, the door finally opened.
Eliana walked out wearing one of his white shirts and black trousers, hair tied up in a neat bun, eyes sharp and focused. No tears. No hesitation. Just purpose.
Damien stood up immediately. “Where are you going?”
Eliana grabbed her bag from the couch. “To the board meeting. With you.”
Damien frowned. “That’s not a good idea, Eliana. After last night—”
“After last night, I’m done hiding,” Eliana cut him off. “If they want to accuse me, they’ll have to do it to my face.”
Damien studied her for a long moment. The woman standing in front of him wasn’t the scared girl from two weeks ago. This was someone who’d been pushed too far and decided to push back harder.
He nodded once. “Fine. But you stay behind me.”
Eliana smirked. “No. I walk beside you.”
---
The Vance Corp boardroom was colder than usual.
Every board member was seated, phones locked away, tension thick in the air. Aubrey was already there, sitting in Damien’s usual chair like she was testing it. Rachelle was in the corner, makeup perfectly covering the redness on her cheek, but she wouldn’t meet Eliana’s eyes.
The chairman stood as Damien and Eliana entered together.
“Mr. Vance. Mrs. Vance.” His voice was formal, distant. “We expected you alone, Damien.”
Damien pulled out the chair beside him and gestured for Eliana to sit. “Then you expected wrong. Whatever happens today involves my wife.”
Murmurs rippled through the room.
Aubrey ’s lips curled. “How touching. Nepotism at its finest.”
Eliana ignored her and placed a sleek black laptop on the table. “Before we start, I’d like to show you something.”
Damien glanced at her, surprised. “Eliana?”
Eliana opened the laptop and connected it to the main screen. A file folder appeared — labeled **“GENEVA ACCOUNT – FULL TRANSCRIPTION.”**
Eliana’s voice was steady. “Two days ago, I hacked into the Geneva account.”
The room exploded.
“What?!”
“You did what?!”
“Illegal access!”
Damien shot to his feet. “Eliana, what are you—”
Eliana held up a hand, stopping him. “Let me finish, Damien. Please.”
He sat back down, jaw tight, but he didn’t stop her. That alone made the boardroom go quiet.
Eliana clicked the file open. Rows of transactions filled the screen.
“This account wasn’t used for fraud,” Eliana said. “It was used for donations. To three hospitals in Geneva that specialize in rare cancers. Including the one where my brother was admitted.”
She turned the screen toward the board. “Every single payment is recorded. Every beneficiary is named. And every authorization signature… is Damien’s.”
The chairman leaned forward. “That’s impossible. Damien said he never approved—”
“Because someone forged his signature using a digital copy from a contract he signed last year,” Eliana said. “And that someone had admin access.”
She paused, then looked directly at Rachelle.
“Someone like you, Rachelle.”
Rachelle stood up abruptly. “This is slander! You’re trying to frame me!”
Eliana didn’t blink. “Then explain this.” She played an audio file.
Rachelle’s voice filled the room, distorted but unmistakable: *“Make sure the Geneva transfer goes through today. If Damien finds out, blame Eliana. No one will believe her anyway.”*
The date stamp: 48 hours ago.
Rachelle’s face went pale.
Aubrey ’s smirk vanished.
The chairman slammed his gavel. “Security! Now!”
Two guards moved toward Rachelle, but she wasn’t done. She laughed — high, sharp, bitter. “You think that’s everything? You think I’m the only one?” She pointed at Damien. “Ask him about the Cayman account, Eliana! Ask him what he’s hiding from YOU!”
Damien’s eyes flashed with warning. “Don’t, Rachelle.”
But it was too late.
Eliana turned to him slowly. “Cayman account?”
Damien hesitated for half a second — and that half second was enough.
Eliana’s heart sank.
Before Eliana could demand an answer, the boardroom doors burst open.
Three armed men in black stormed in, guns raised.
“Don’t move!” the lead man shouted. “Vance Corp is under federal investigation. Everyone, hands on the table.”
Chaos erupted.
Board members ducked under the table. Sophia slipped out through the side door. Rachelle was thrown to the ground by security.
Damien immediately pulled Eliana under the table with him, shielding her with his body.
“Damien, what’s happening?!” Eliana whispered, gripping his jacket.
Damien’s jaw was clenched, eyes scanning the room. “They’re here for the Geneva account. But it wasn’t the board who called them.”
Eliana looked at him. “Then who?”
Damien met her eyes, and for the first time since this nightmare started, there was no doubt, no distance, no coldness.
Just raw, unwavering trust.
“I don’t know,” he said. “But I trust you more than I trust anyone in this room. Including myself.”
Eliana’s breath caught. Those were the words she’d been waiting to hear.
Before she could respond, one of the armed men grabbed her arm and yanked her out from under the table.
“Mrs. Vance? You’re coming with us.”
Eliana struggled. “On what grounds?!”
The man held up a warrant.
**“k********g. Fraud. And attempted murder.”**
Eliana froze.
Damien lunged forward. “You can’t be serious!”
The man shoved a photo in Damien’s face.
It was Marcus. Bloodied. Tied to a chair. With a note pinned to his chest:
**“This is what happens when you betray the syndicate, Mrs. Vance.”**
Eliana’s blood ran cold.
Damien went still.
The man smirked. “Your wife’s brother isn’t the only one they have. We have her too. And she says Eliana was the one who set this whole thing up.”
Eliana’s mind went blank.
“His… wife?” she whispered.
The man nodded. “Marcus’s wife. And she’s been in Dubai this whole time.”
Damien looked at Eliana, and for the first time, she saw real fear in his eyes. Not for himself. For her.
“Eliana…” Damien started.
Eliana cut him off, voice trembling but determined.
“If Marcus’s wife is alive… then Marcus is alive too. And that means whoever took him is lying about everything.”
The armed man grabbed her arm harder.
Damien stepped in front of her, chest out, voice like steel.
“Touch her again and I’ll make sure Vance Corp buys your entire agency by end of day.”
The man hesitated.
Eliana took Damien’s hand under the table and squeezed it.
She looked up at him and whispered: “I don’t care what they think of me, Damien. But I care what you think.”
Damien squeezed back. “I think you’re the bravest person I’ve ever met.”
The armed man cursed and dragged Eliana toward the door.
As she was pulled away, Eliana turned back and shouted to Damien:
“Find Marcus’s wife! She’s the key to all of this!”
Damien nodded once. “I will. I promise.”
The doors slammed shut behind her.
Damien stood there, surrounded by chaos, with Rachelle cuffed on the floor and Sophia gone.
And for the first time in his life, Damien Vance felt completely powerless.
---
**Fun bit:** In the black SUV, Eliana sat in handcuffs, staring out the window.
The armed man sat beside her.
After five minutes of silence, he leaned over and whispered:
“Mrs. Vance… I’m not here to arrest you. I’m here to protect you.”
Eliana froze. “What?”
The man pulled off his mask.
Underneath was a face Eliana recognized instantly.
“Charles.”
Eliana’s eyes widened. “Charles? But the warrant—”
Charles grinned. “Fake. Damien’s father sent me. He said if things went south, I was to get you out before anyone else could.”
Eliana’s mind raced. “Damien’s father? The man he called at 3AM?”
Charles nodded. “Yeah. And he also said… you’re not the only one with secrets, Mrs. Vance.”
Eliana frowned. “What do you mean?”
Charles looked out the window as the SUV sped away from Vance Corp tower.
“The real Geneva account… it’s not Damien’s.”
Eliana’s heart stopped.
“It’s yours.”
- Writer
