Chapter 9 - VANESSA’S REAL NAME
Vanessa Cole did not exist before six years ago.
Margaret discovered that first.
No childhood records under that name.
No university history matching her résumé.
No legitimate employment before age twenty-seven.
Her identity was manufactured.
Her real name was Vanessa Cross.
And Cross was a name my father recognized immediately.
“Thomas Cross.”
He sat down.
“Who?”
“My former partner.”
Thirty-two years earlier, before Aurelia became an empire, Alexander Voss and Thomas Cross bought distressed properties together.
The partnership ended badly.
Cross borrowed against assets without authorization.
My grandfather discovered it.
Cross was removed.
Lawsuits followed.
He lost nearly everything.
Three years later, he died.
Vanessa was his daughter.
Suddenly the entire affair looked different.
Vanessa hadn’t randomly met Julian at a conference.
She had targeted him.
She learned his weaknesses.
Admiration.
Flattery.
Status.
Then she gave him what I had stopped giving him.
Worship.
By the time Julian understood who my family really was, Vanessa had already positioned herself beside him.
She didn’t want my husband.
She wanted revenge.
We found her at a private villa two hundred miles away.
She agreed to meet only after her attorney contacted Margaret.
I entered the room alone.
Vanessa looked different without designer clothes.
Smaller.
Tired.
Human.
“You found out.”
“Yes.”
She stared at me.
“Do you hate me?”
“I don’t know you well enough.”
That answer surprised her.
“You slept with my husband.”
“Yes.”
“You wore my grandmother’s necklace.”
“Julian told me it would hurt you.”
“And you wanted that.”
“Yes.”
At least she didn’t lie.
“Why?”
Her eyes hardened.
“Your family destroyed mine.”
“My grandfather removed your father after he committed fraud.”
“That’s your version.”
“It’s documented.”
“He died believing Arthur Voss stole everything from him.”
“And you decided to steal everything from me.”
She looked away.
“I wanted your family to feel powerless.”
“Did it work?”
Her eyes filled with something resembling shame.
“No.”
“Because you chose Julian.”
That hurt her.
Good.
Not because I wanted cruelty.
Because truth sometimes needs sharp edges.
“Did you love him?”
I asked.
She laughed.
“At first?”
“No.”
“And later?”
Silence.
That answered me.
Vanessa had made the same mistake I did.
She had underestimated the emotional cost of staying near Julian.
“He promised me a future.”
Her voice softened.
“He said after the restructuring, we’d marry.”
“Did you believe him?”
“For a while.”
“What changed?”
“He started moving money without telling me.”
“The Swiss transfer?”
“Yes.”
“He told me it was for us.”
“It was going to Nathan.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“It was going through Nathan’s account.”
I froze.
“Where was it ultimately going?”
Vanessa looked toward the door.
Then back at me.
“You still don’t understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Julian wasn’t planning to stay.”
My chest tightened.
“He was preparing to disappear.”
“With forty-two million?”
“More.”
“How much?”
Vanessa swallowed.
“Almost two hundred million.”
I stared at her.
“That’s impossible.”
“No.”
She leaned forward.
“He built hidden positions through vendors, development contracts, consulting companies.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know all of them.”
“Who does?”
She hesitated.
Then whispered one name.
“Julian.”
I stood.
Vanessa grabbed my wrist.
“Elena.”
I looked down at her hand.
“He knows you found the phone.”
“How?”
“I told him.”
My blood chilled.
“Why?”
“Because he threatened me.”
“With what?”
She released me.
Then tears finally appeared.
“My son.”
I stared at her.
“You have a child?”
She nodded.
“Eight years old.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
May you like
And suddenly this wasn’t about resorts anymore.
Julian had taken a child.
