Chapter 42: Now It's His Turn

Nobody interrupted Damien.

Nobody offered comfort.

The conference room remained silent except for the uneven sound of his breathing.

Three years.

Three years of believing a lie.

Three years of making me carry a punishment that had never belonged to me.

Victor quietly gathered Arthur Collins' photographs.

He slid them into a fresh evidence folder.

"We'll submit certified copies this afternoon," he said.

"No one touches the originals."

Arthur nodded.

"I'll testify."

"Even if they destroy what's left of my career."

"Your career isn't what matters anymore," Victor replied.

"Your truth is."

Arthur looked at me.

"I'm sorry I wasn't brave enough sooner."

"You came when it mattered," I answered.

"That's enough."

His eyes filled again before Rose escorted him outside.

The room felt different after he left.

The weight hadn't disappeared.

It had simply shifted.

It no longer rested on my shoulders.

It rested on Damien's.

He finally lifted his head.

His eyes were bloodshot.

"Vivian..."

I looked at him without answering.

"I need to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"The night your brother died..."

He struggled to finish the sentence.

"You already knew it wasn't an accident, didn't you?"

"I suspected."

"But suspicion isn't proof."

"Nathaniel taught me never to accuse someone without evidence."

"So you stayed silent."

"I stayed alive."

His expression tightened.

"And I made your life unbearable."

I didn't deny it.

There was no point.

The truth no longer needed defending.

"Why didn't you hate me?" he asked quietly.

Victor looked up from his papers.

Even he seemed interested in the answer.

"Who says I didn't?"

Damien froze.

"There were days," I continued calmly, "when I hated you enough to forget the man I married."

"But hatred requires energy."

"Eventually I became tired."

"After that... I simply stopped expecting anything from you."

Those words hurt him more than shouting ever could.

He lowered his eyes.

"When did you stop loving me?"

The question lingered between us.

I thought about it honestly.

"Not the day you accused me."

"Not the day you locked my studio."

"Not even the day you slapped me."

"Then when?"

"The day I realised you preferred believing strangers over listening to your own wife."

"That was the day I became alone."

No one moved.

Even the lawyers had stopped pretending to work.

Damien nodded slowly.

"I deserve that."

"You deserve the truth," I corrected.

"Whether you deserve forgiveness is a different question."

His shoulders slumped.

"Do you think you'll ever forgive me?"

"I don't know."

"And I'm not thinking about forgiveness right now."

"I'm thinking about Nathaniel."

"I'm thinking about the people who murdered him."

"Everything else comes after."

Victor closed another folder.

"She's right."

"We're close."

"Too close."

"Which means they'll become desperate."

"How desperate?" Damien asked.

"Desperate enough to destroy Verline."

"Desperate enough to frame either of you."

"Possibly desperate enough to kill again."

The warning settled over the room.

Rose returned carrying coffee.

"The media have doubled outside," she reported.

"Someone leaked Arthur Collins' arrival."

"How?" Victor asked.

"We checked security."

"Only one camera covers the rear entrance."

"Its footage has already been deleted."

"Deleted?" Damien repeated.

"From inside the system."

"An employee?"

"Or someone with administrator access," Rose answered.

Victor exchanged a glance with Damien.

"How many people have that level of access?"

"Five."

"Now four," Damien replied.

"Because I just removed mine."

Everyone looked at him.

"What?"

"If someone has been using my credentials before..."

"They won't again."

"From this moment forward every system change requires two approvals."

Victor gave a small nod.

"Smart."

"You're finally thinking like someone they're hunting too."

Damien looked at me.

"I should've done it years ago."

"Years ago you should've listened," I replied.

His jaw tightened.

He accepted the blow without defending himself.

A junior lawyer hurried inside carrying fresh court documents.

"The judge denied the emergency closure request."

Rose smiled immediately.

"We won?"

"Temporarily," the lawyer answered.

"Verline stays open until the full hearing."

The room breathed again.

It wasn't victory.

But it wasn't defeat either.

"Good," Victor said.

"That gives us time."

"How much?" I asked.

"Five days."

"Five days before both cases are heard together."

"The plagiarism claim... and Nathaniel's investigation."

Damien frowned.

"Both?"

"The prosecutor officially reopened the accident this morning," Victor explained.

"Arthur's evidence forced their hand."

"Everything is moving faster now."

Rose switched on the television.

Breaking News flashed across every channel.

"Authorities reopen fatal crash investigation involving Nathaniel Cross."

"Corporate fraud inquiry expands."

"Ashford Holdings named among companies under preliminary review."

The room became still again.

Damien stared at the screen.

"My company..."

"Not your company," Victor corrected.

"Someone hiding inside your company."

"There's a difference."

"We'll find them."

Victor looked directly at Damien.

"You'd better hope we do."

"Because if we don't..."

"The public won't separate your name from theirs."

Damien understood.

For three years my reputation had burned because of someone else's lies.

Now the same fire had reached him.

He looked at me one last time.

"For years..." he said quietly.

"It was always your turn to suffer."

I held his gaze.

Neither kind.

Nor cruel.

Simply honest.

"Now," I answered.

"It's yours."