Chapter 6 - Secrets of the Patriarch
By 4:00 AM, the reinforced private estate owned by the Cole family in the hills of Beacon Ridge was ablaze with warm light.
Damen’s personal medical team had examined Sophia, bandaging her bruised wrists and treating her minor cuts. Dressed in a soft cotton sweater and sweatpants provided by the house staff, she sat on the edge of a plush velvet sofa in the grand library, a mug of warm tea held between her shaking hands.
Beside her, fast asleep with her head tucked against Sophia's lap, was Maya. Her tiny fingers were locked firmly into the fabric of her mother's sweater, refusing to let go even in her sleep.
Damen walked into the library carrying two glasses of scotch. He handed one to Mercer, who stood guard near the door, and sat down in the leather armchair across from Sophia.
"She looks so much like Ethan," Damen said softly, his eyes lingering on Maya's peaceful face.
Sophia offered a faint, sad smile, smoothing down her daughter’s hair. "She has his smile, Damen. Every time she laughs, it breaks my heart and heals it at the same time."
"Why didn't you come to me three years ago, Sophia?" Damen asked, his tone gentle, devoid of any judgment. "Why live in a tiny basement apartment, scrubbing my floors at midnight, when you could have walked into my office and told me the truth?"
Sophia took a slow sip of her tea, looking into the crackling fireplace.
"Because three years ago, your father was still alive, Damen," Sophia explained quietly. "And Arthur Cole was not the hero you thought he was."
Damen froze, setting his glass down on the side table. "What do you mean?"
"Your father knew about Marcus Sterling's slush funds," Sophia revealed, her voice shaking slightly. "Sterling didn't act alone at first. Arthur had used Sterling’s shell companies thirty years ago to build the original foundation of Cole Global. Sterling had blackmailed your father with that secret. When Ethan discovered the truth, he went to your father first—expecting Arthur to go to the police."
Damen’s chest felt tight, the pristine memory of his late father crumbling into dust. "And my father refused?"
"Your father panicked," Sophia whispered. "He tried to buy Sterling off, but Sterling realized Ethan was too noble, too honest to keep quiet. So Sterling arranged the plane crash. When Ethan died, your father fell into a deep depression, realized the monster he had created, and spent his final years trying to protect me and Maya in secret before his stroke took him."
Sophia looked up at Damen, her brown eyes shining with raw honesty.
"I didn't know if you were like your father, Damen," she admitted softly. "I didn't know if you cared more about the company's reputation or the truth. So I took the maid job. I cleaned your office every night, reading your files, watching the way you treated people, waiting to see what kind of man Ethan’s brother really was."
Damen sat in silence, processing the heavy weight of her words. He looked down at his big, calloused hands—hands that had spent six years chasing profits to fill the void left by his brother’s ghost.
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"And what did you find out?" Damen asked softly.
Sophia smiled gently, a warm tear slipping down her cheek. "I found out that beneath that expensive suit and that cold corporate wall... you were just a lonely man who missed his brother."
