CHAPTER 2 — THE NAME SHE HID FROM THE WORLD
The Cross mansion had never felt so quiet.
Not even after midnight.
Not even during the most expensive parties Damian Cross had hosted.
Usually, the grand halls were filled with laughter, champagne glasses, and people desperate to be seen standing beside the Cross family.
Tonight…
The silence felt different.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Like the walls themselves knew something had changed.
Damian stood in his private office, staring at the financial reports displayed on his computer screen.
Numbers he had seen hundreds of times suddenly looked unfamiliar.
Red warnings flashed across the screen.
ACCOUNT ACCESS RESTRICTED.
TRANSACTION LIMITATIONS ACTIVATED.
EMERGENCY REVIEW REQUIRED.
He refreshed the page.
Nothing changed.
Again.
Nothing.
His jaw tightened.
“This is impossible.”
Behind him, Vanessa stepped into the office.
She had removed her jewelry and changed into a silk robe, still carrying the confidence of a woman who believed she had already won.
“What’s going on?”
Damian didn’t answer immediately.
For the first time in years, he didn’t have an answer.
Vanessa walked closer.
“Damian?”
He finally turned.
“The company accounts are frozen.”
Her expression changed.
“What?”
“The board called an emergency meeting.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
She shook her head.
“You’re the CEO.”
Damian looked away.
“Yes.”
But the word sounded weaker than before.
Because deep down, he knew something.
Something he had refused to admit.
The company had never been completely his.
Not really.
The door suddenly opened.
Evelyn Cross walked in, her face filled with irritation.
“Why are people calling me at this hour?”
Damian looked at her.
“Mother…”
She stopped.
She immediately noticed something was wrong.
“What happened?”
Damian hesitated.
Then he said the name.
“Montrose.”
Evelyn’s face changed instantly.
Not confusion.
Not surprise.
Fear.
A silence fell over the room.
Vanessa looked between them.
“What does that mean?”
Evelyn slowly walked toward the desk.
“Where did you hear that name?”
“The bank mentioned a Montrose contingency agreement.”
The color drained from Evelyn’s face.
“That’s impossible.”
Damian stared at her.
“You know something.”
She didn’t answer.
“Mother.”
His voice became sharper.
“What do you know?”
Evelyn sat down slowly.
For the first time, she looked old.
Tired.
Defeated.
“There are things your father never told you.”
Damian frowned.
“What things?”
Evelyn looked at the family portrait hanging above the fireplace.
“The Cross family was never as powerful as you believed.”
Vanessa crossed her arms.
“What are you saying?”
Evelyn swallowed.
“Your grandfather built the company. But he almost destroyed it.”
Damian’s expression hardened.
“No.”
“Yes.”
She continued.
“Years ago, the Cross empire was drowning in debt. Investors were leaving. Banks refused to help.”
“Then the Montrose family stepped in.”
Damian stared.
“Why?”
Evelyn looked at him.
“Because they believed the company could be saved.”
“Who saved it?”
Her voice became quieter.
“Alexander Montrose.”
The room went silent.
Damian shook his head.
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because Isabella…”
He stopped.
He almost said it.
Because Isabella was nobody.
Because Isabella came from nothing.
Because Isabella was the woman he believed he had rescued.
But suddenly those memories felt different.
The old leather purse.
The simple clothes.
The quiet confidence.
The way she never seemed impressed by their wealth.
The way she never begged for approval.
Damian felt something cold move through his chest.
“Who is Isabella Montrose?”
Evelyn looked at him.
And for the first time…
She looked afraid of the answer.
“She is not who you thought she was.”
At Montrose Global Headquarters, Isabella sat alone in her father’s office.
The city stretched below her.
Beautiful.
Cold.
Powerful.
Her assistant placed a folder on the desk.
“Everything has been prepared.”
Isabella opened it.
Inside were years of financial records.
Every contract.
Every agreement.
Every secret.
All the proof that Damian Cross had built his empire on borrowed power.
“Mr. Cross has scheduled an emergency board meeting tomorrow morning.”
Isabella nodded.
“Good.”
“Should we attend?”
“No.”
Her assistant looked surprised.
“No?”
Isabella closed the folder.
“Let him speak first.”
“Let him tell everyone how he built the empire.”
A faint smile appeared on her face.
“Then we will show them who actually built it.”
The next morning…
The Cross Global boardroom was filled.
Executives.
Lawyers.
Investors.
Everyone looked worried.
Damian entered wearing his most expensive suit.
The same confidence.
The same arrogance.
But something was missing.
The certainty.
He walked to the head of the table.
“I’m sure everyone is here because of a temporary issue.”
No one responded.
Damian looked around.
“What?”
One of the board members placed a document on the table.
“Mr. Cross…”
“We received a legal notice this morning.”
Damian picked it up.
His eyes scanned the page.
Then stopped.
The document contained one signature.
One name.
Isabella Montrose.
His hands tightened around the paper.
The woman he slapped.
The woman he humiliated.
The woman he ordered to kneel.
Was now standing above him.
A board member spoke quietly.
“Mr. Cross…”
“Do you understand what this means?”
Damian slowly lifted his eyes.
For the first time…
Nobody in the room was looking at him like a powerful CEO.
They were looking at him like a man who had just discovered he never owned the throne he sat on.
And then…
The conference room doors opened.
Everyone turned.
A woman walked inside.
Elegant.
Calm.
Unshaken.
Wearing a black designer suit instead of the simple dresses they were used to seeing.
The room fell silent.
Isabella Montrose had arrived.
Damian stared at her.
Unable to speak.
She stopped at the end of the table.
Looked directly at him.
And said:
“Good morning, Mr. Cross.”
A pause.
“Did you miss me?”
May you like
For the first time in his life…
Damian Cross had no idea what to say.
