Chapter 10 - WHEN THE HEIR FINALLY BROKE
Damian stopped defending his father.
That was the beginning of Victor Cross's collapse.
“You told me she left.”
Victor said nothing.
“You said she took the money and moved to Europe.”
Still nothing.
Damian moved closer.
“You told me she was alive.”
Victor finally looked at his son.
“You were drunk.”
Damian froze.
“You were reckless.”
Victor's voice was cold.
“She became a liability.”
Vanessa shouted,
“She was a person!”
Victor looked almost bored.
“And your brother would have gone to prison.”
Damian stared at him.
For the first time that night, I saw something resembling shame.
Not enough to excuse him.
Not enough to erase what he had done.
But enough to crack the arrogance that had protected him his entire life.
“You killed her because of me?”
Victor smiled slightly.
“I protected my son.”
Damian stepped backward.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I didn't ask you to kill anyone.”
“You never had to ask.”
That sentence destroyed him.
Damian sank into a chair.
Police moved toward Victor.
His attorney immediately objected.
But Victor wasn't finished.
He looked at me.
“You think your family is better?”
I didn't answer.
“Ask your mother how many lives Northstar destroyed.”
Mom stepped forward.
“I'll answer for everything I did.”
Victor laughed.
“Will you?”
“Yes.”
“Even Daniel Mercer?”
Mom went pale.
Dad looked at her.
“Who is Daniel Mercer?”
She didn't answer.
Victor smiled.
“Exactly.”
I opened the laptop and searched.
DANIEL MERCER.
One result.
A journalist.
Dead nine years.
Official cause.
Suicide.
Mom sat down.
“No.”
Dad whispered,
“Evelyn.”
“I didn't know.”
Victor laughed.
“You knew we had a file on him.”
“I knew you wanted to stop publication.”
“And you gave me his weaknesses.”
“I thought you'd threaten him.”
“You knew what Northstar was becoming.”
Mom covered her face.
For the first time, Dad moved away from her.
That distance said everything.
Our family had survived scandals.
Business failures.
Arguments.
Deaths.
But this was different.
This was truth arriving all at once.
The police began taking Victor away.
Then the lights flickered again.
Everyone froze.
The security chief shouted,
“Backup power!”
The lights remained on.
But the screens changed.
A countdown appeared.
00:10:00.
Ten minutes.
Dad looked at the technicians.
“What is that?”
Damian stood suddenly.
“I know.”
Everyone turned.
His face was terrified.
“My father has a purge protocol.”
Victor stopped walking.
Damian pointed at the screens.
“If Northstar is compromised, the master servers erase themselves.”
I asked,
“Can it be stopped?”
Damian looked at Victor.
“He has the code.”
Victor smiled.
“Then I suppose you should ask nicely.”
Dad stepped toward him.
Police blocked him.
I checked the timer.
9:21.
I looked at Damian.
“Is there another way?”
“Maybe.”
“What?”
“Vanessa and I each have half of an emergency key.”
Vanessa frowned.
“I don't.”
“Yes, you do.”
“No.”
“The necklace Mom gave you.”
Vanessa touched the diamond pendant around her neck.
Her expression changed.
She removed it.
Damian pulled off his cufflink.
Inside was a tiny metal component.
Vanessa opened the pendant.
Another.
They fit together.
Victor's smile disappeared.
“Don't.”
Damian looked at his father.
“You killed Lily because of me.”
“I saved you.”
“No.”
Damian's voice cracked.
“You taught me I could become a monster because you'd clean up afterward.”
Victor's eyes hardened.
“Careful.”
“For once in my life, I am.”
He gave me the key.
“Server room.”
“Where?”
Victor shouted,
“Damian!”
Damian ignored him.
He pointed toward the ballroom floor.
“Under us.”
I stared.
“The cellar?”
“No.”
“Lower.”
Vanessa whispered,
“The old vault.”
Timer.
7:46.
Dad called security.
We ran.
The hidden staircase took us below the wine cellar.
A steel door waited at the bottom.
I inserted the combined key.
Green light.
The door opened.
Rows of servers hummed in darkness.
Timer.
6:58.
A terminal flashed.
PURGE ACTIVE.
ENTER AUTHORIZATION.
I looked at Damian.
“What code?”
“I don't know.”
Vanessa whispered,
“Maybe Lily.”
Damian stared at her.
“Dad used names.”
“Names of what?”
“People he controlled.”
We tried LILYHARPER.
Denied.
THOMASREED.
Denied.
ALEXANDERVALE.
Denied.
Timer.
4:31.
Then I remembered something.
Victor had called Northstar protection.
He didn't love people.
He loved power.
I typed one word.
CONTROL.
Denied.
Dad whispered,
“What does a man like Victor believe he is protecting?”
I thought about Damian.
His son.
His legacy.
His name.
I typed CROSS.
Denied.
Then Damian whispered,
“Bloodline.”
I typed it.
BLOODLINE.
The terminal changed.
AUTHORIZATION ACCEPTED.
PURGE CANCELLED.
Everyone exhaled.
Then a second message appeared.
REMOTE COPY DETECTED.
DESTINATION: UNKNOWN.
Someone had already copied Northstar.
I looked at Dad.
Victor wasn't the only person we had to fear.
Somewhere outside that estate, someone now possessed every secret.
Every payment.
Every crime.
May you like
Every weakness.
And they had taken the copy twenty-three minutes before I locked the doors.
