Damien
I'm here now.
After six years of working behind the scenes, tempering my mind and mastering my impulses, I've finally emerged to claim the life I was built to lead.
My stepmother exploited my silence. She forged alliances and built an army in the void I'd left behind. I'd tried to dismantle every piece she'd put in place, but because so few people knew of my existence, she was spawning more threats than I could defend against.
That was why I had to accelerate my emergence. I couldn't afford to wait any longer.
Six years ago broke me completely.
I was young and naive. I'd thought I'd been drilled in all the intricacies of the business world, that I was ready to shoulder the weight of an empire, but baring my heart, being vulnerable to the wrong person, cost me everything.
That was when I realized I wasn't ready for the burden I'd been born to uphold.
I walked through the massive doors of Thorne Hotel and felt the crowd rise to their feet. The applause and smiles contrasted with the snarls and curses I'd received on this day six years ago.
My grandfather had been so proud of me for hosting my first fundraiser as heir to the Thorne empire. I'd made it. I'd exceeded his expectations. Through sweat and relentless work, I'd gathered dignitaries from across the world. I'd learned the ropes. I was the apple that hadn't fallen far from the tree.
But then fire erupted and burned that bright young man with vision and high hopes.
I could still see the faces of the deceased families, their grief twisted into rage as they spat curses at me. They said I didn't care, that I was all about saving the wealthy and powerful while leaving my staff to die. Staff who'd stood behind me through everything. They'd been excited, ready to march into battle beside me.
And death had stolen them before they'd even had a chance.
I did fail them. I truly did.
I should have freed myself from those who held me back. I should have run into the flames and rescued all five of them, or died trying.
The board of directors had debated my fitness to lead. They'd voted to remove me. It was a tie. But one person's vote tipped the scales in my favor.
My grandfather.
That was why losing the one thing he'd bestowed upon me, the crest, had shattered me.
I'd failed him yet again.
Even though he'd never known I'd lost it before Alzheimer's ravaged his mind, I still carried the burden of being a failure.
But I needed to step out now. I had no choice.
My stepmother was feeding off the half of the board that had voted against me. She'd successfully earned their favor, presenting her trophy son Julian as the better alternative to lead Thorne Group.
I knew Julian.
He was going to take over and drive Thorne Group into the ground. He'd told me that much himself.
He hated Grandfather for making my father leave his mother when she needed him most. He hated my father. He hated me.
And he wanted to destroy everything we'd built.
The flashes of cameras made me flinch internally, but I held my composure. I'd drilled myself for this moment, taken my medication…that should get me through.
I nodded curtly at the crowd, shook hands with men in expensive suits, kissed the hands of ladies dripping in diamonds, and made my way toward the front of the hall.
At the far end, my stepmother stood surrounded by her allies, watching me like a hawk.
But it wasn't her that made me pause.
At my direct line of sight, standing frozen in the middle of the moving crowd, was Leah Carter.
She looked stunned.
I almost broke character and laughed at how she stood completely still while people moved around her. But the amusement drained from me the moment I remembered what I'd done to her.
I'd had my men investigate her. They'd found nothing, absolutely nothing, tying her to my stepmother.
I'd misjudged her. I knew she must hate me for it.
Why did I kiss her?
I could have just sent her away like I'd done with everyone else my stepmother had thrown at me over the years.
I didn't know what I'd been trying to prove. Perhaps I'd been unnerved because, despite all my training and control, she'd managed to bring out the anger I'd buried deep inside, the fear that my stepmother was finally getting to me.
Maybe I'd wanted to prove I was still in control, that she was just another pawn, another passing piece in a game I refused to lose.
I watched her shake herself out of her frozen state and scramble out of the way, disappearing toward the side of the hall.
The MC's voice continued, reading off my achievements, projects I'd completed in silence over the past six years. I could hear the surprised murmurs, the appreciative "oohs" and "ahhs" from the crowd. They'd seen things being done, improvements being made, but they hadn't known I was behind them.
This was also why I'd finally decided to step into the light.
I climbed the stage and stood before the crowd, every eye in the room locked on me, waiting expectantly to hear what I had to say.
I opened my mouth to speak.
And then my eyes caught sight of him.
He was standing at the entrance, a huge smile plastered across his face.