A LEGACY OF SECRETS
1381 Words
CHAPTER 9
The world blurred for a moment.
The only word pounding inside Alex's head was "consortium." He didn't even know what that word meant, but from the way Thomas described them, they sounded powerful. Something beyond his 1.2 trillion inheritance.
Sweat dampened his collar. Ever since he became the heir to Kane Industries, he'd felt calm, peaceful—but now his new empire was about to crumble before he'd even learned how to run it.
"Alex, listen to me." Thomas's voice was urgent. "Whatever happens next, you need to stay calm. Can you do that?"
Thomas's eyes held him, even though they both knew calm was impossible now.
"I'm... I'm not scared," Alex whispered, though his index finger shook. "I never knew… you should have told me the truth sooner. About my father. Were you even going to tell me at all?"
Thomas looked away, toward the window.
Neither of them spoke. It wasn't that Thomas didn't want to. He just couldn't. Not yet.
The door opened. Xavier stepped in, breaking the moment.
"Alex, are you okay? Did they send another message?" He quickened his steps toward Alex, and Thomas showed him the message on the phone.
"It's them." Xavier's voice dropped. "They made the first move."
First move. Christ. How long had this been going on?
"How long has this fight been going on? I mean, how much of this do you both know?" Alex asked, directing his question to Thomas, who was still staring outside.
"There's a lot you don't know yet." Xavier adjusted his tie like it was choking him. "But we'll keep you safe."
"You too?" Alex blinked. "You know about them too? This is f*****g absurd. They killed my father—this consortium or whatever. Why not use my father's wealth against them?"
"The business world doesn't work that way." Xavier sat down on the sofa, his forehead already sweating. "Wealth isn't enough."
"What do you mean?"
"These people don't need to kill you; they erase your name, your legacy, your future. They control markets. Your father tried to break that control." Xavier's voice went quiet. "Forty-seven reformers across the world tried the same thing."
Silence.
"They're all dead, Alex. Every single one."
The words didn't settled at first, then it hit him.
"And how do you know about all this? The last time I checked, you weren't connected to any of this." Alex's voice rose.
"We were going to tell you—" Thomas stepped in, seeing the confused look on Alex's face.
"Another secret." Alex ruffled his hair, one hand clenched at his side. "Is there ever a time when I don't hear another damn secret?" His nostrils flared, his eyes watering.
Xavier stepped forward. "We will tell you everything, Alex. Just not all at once. You need—"
"What I need," Alex cut him off, "is to stop being treated like I can't handle the truth."
"You think I can't handle it." Alex's voice cracked.
"Even after everything… three years of hell… you still think I'm weak."
Thomas opened his mouth to speak.
"I'm done being pushed around." Alex turned and walked out before either of them could stop him.
The door slammed behind him.
"Maybe he deserves to know everything. Just maybe he's right." Xavier said into the silence. "We're being too secretive."
Thomas didn't reply. He stood and walked to the window, unable to meet Xavier's eyes.
"He needs to be clearheaded. Richard would have wanted to keep him out of this for a while. He needs to understand everything bit by bit before he can start acting." He finally said.
"Underneath the anger, Alex is focused." Xavier looked at Thomas steadily. "I watched him for five years. I saw him stay human when anyone else would've broken. That's real strength."
"You too, Xavier?" Thomas's voice sharpened.
"He's not ready yet. Telling him everything would ruin him."
"Do you want to know what I think?" Xavier stood. "I think if you still believe he isn't capable, then maybe you're the one with the problem."
Xavier adjusted his tie and followed Alex out.
Thomas stood frozen.
They didn't understand. Alex wasn't ready. Not for this.
His phone buzzed. Thomas pulled it out, and his blood went cold.
*Clock is ticking. Make your job worth it.*
Unknown number. But he knew exactly who it was.
His hand shook as he pocketed the phone. The consortium wasn't waiting anymore. Whatever protection Richard had built, it was dissolving fast.
Outside, Alex stood beside the car, staring at the ground as Xavier approached him.
"Alex." Xavier's voice was gentle. "Get in the car. I'll drive you somewhere."
"I'm not in the mood." Alex didn't spare him a glance. "Take me home."
He turned and opened the car door.
"Your father's safe place, Alex. I want you to connect with your father."
Alex halted.
A safe place. His father had a safe place? Something else he'd kept hidden. Just like everything else.
He turned back. Uncertainty flickered through him. He could be home within minutes, away from all this chaos. He could think about it later. About this sudden wealth, this power, this urge to prove everyone wrong, and above all, the consortium.
But one thing drew him to Xavier's request. Maybe he could find answers to his questions. Without thinking about it further, he nodded, and Xavier's expression softened.
They drove in silence. Alex stared out the window as they left the city behind, the tall buildings giving way to open roads and stretches of green. The highway thinned out to Fewer cars and people. The air felt different out here, cleaner, calmer.
Alex's mind raced. The consortium. His father's death. Thomas's secrets. Xavier's knowledge.
How much had been hidden from him? How much more was there to uncover?
His phone buzzed. Thomas was calling but Alex ignored it.
Two hours passed. The landscape shifted from urban to rolling hills. Trees lined the road, their branches swaying gently in the wind.
By the third hour, Alex's thoughts had begun to settle. The anger cooled into exhaustion.
They drove for one hours more.
Thomas called repeatedly. Xavier answered once, told him where they were going, then put the phone away.
They arrived.
Alex got out. The first thing he saw was a weathered wooden sign at the entrance: Private Sanctuary.
He pushed the door open and stepped inside. A bench sat in the left corner. The breeze carried the smell of cut grass and earth, and he walked further in.
His father's safe place.
The grass was freshly cut. Someone had been maintaining this place, even after Richard died.
Xavier stayed in the car, giving him space.
He knelt in the grass. Memories surfaced. It was faint, distant, but real.
A memory flickered, himself at five years old, tiny hands planting a seedling while his father knelt beside him. "This will grow with you, Alex. Every year, come back and see how strong it's become."
He remembered his father's laugh. The weight of his hand on Alex's small shoulder. The smell of his cologne mixed with earth.
His eyes burned with tears.
He ran his hand through the grass, feeling the earth beneath his fingers. The smell of soil and greenery filled his lungs. This place existed outside the chaos. Beyond the consortium's reach. Free from Thomas's secrets and the weight of inheritance he didn't understand yet.
For the first time since inheriting his father's wealth, he understood something.
His father hadn't hidden in shadows. He'd fought the consortium openly, built his empire in the light while they tried to drag him down. The best place to hide a war was where everyone could see you standing tall, daring them to come.
That's what Richard Kane had done. And that's what Alex would do.
He stood slowly, brushing the dirt from his knees. The tears had dried, replaced by determination.
He walked back to the car, where Xavier waited.
"Ready?" Xavier asked.
Alex nodded.
"Yeah. I'm ready."
Xavier started the engine. As they drove away, Alex looked back at the meadow one last time.
His father had planted a lesson that became a legacy.
From ashes, they rise. From fire, they're born.
The phoenix always remembers the night before dawn.
And Alex's dawn was coming.
- Writer
