Damien
This was the same thing Julian had done six years ago, right before the fire.
He'd stood at the back of the room, staring straight at me with that same plastic smile stretched across his face. Minutes later, people started screaming.
I'd taken extra measures this time. At every entrance, exit, nook, and cranny, I'd stationed special security forces and implemented enhanced safety protocols.
But somehow, that smile still unnerved me. It made my throat constrict and my palms go slick with sweat.
I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out.
The camera flashes made everything worse. With each burst of light, the faces in front of me morphed into angry mobs, twisted with rage, hurling curses and profanities at me.
I shook my head, trying to expunge the images, but the flashes grew redder in my vision, turning into flames.
I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting against the onslaught, the images, the flashes, the angry voices. But behind my eyelids, the camera lights kept pushing me deeper into the darkness.
The air around me started getting hot. Too hot. I gasped for breath and tugged at my bow tie to free my constricted throat, but it felt like my airways were closing on their own.
I forced my eyes open, ready to walk off that stage and abandon everything, when my gaze landed on her again.
Leah.
Her wide, round eyes stared back at me in confusion.
The thought of her rushing at me with that bronze figurine, yelling at the top of her lungs, made my lips twitch despite everything. Then I remembered seeing her drop to the floor when she'd spotted me in the lounge. Another was the way she'd crashed into the table and spilled wine everywhere.
And finally, that moment in the lounge, when I'd tasted her soft lips and held her in my arms. The surge of sizzling desire had been so overwhelming it had shocked even me.
Strangely, the thought of her quieted my raging mind.
As I stared at her across the crowded room, slowly, my airways opened. I gulped down much-needed air, and the vise around my chest loosened.
It was as if the storm inside me had given way to bright sunlight and a cool summer breeze cascading over my body.
I saw Jack out of the corner of my eye, instructing the media to stop the flashes. He knew they affected me. We'd established that rule ahead of time, but of course, my stepmother had found a way to slip her people in.
I took a steadying breath, stepped closer to the microphone, and addressed the room.
"Good evening, everyone. Thank you for being here.
My father started this fundraiser decades ago to commemorate his humble beginnings. My grandfather, a man I admired more than anyone, grew up in an orphanage with nothing but determination and the friendships he forged with the other boys there. Together, those young men built Thorne Group from the ground up. They proved that where you start doesn't determine where you finish.
Yet, my grandfather never forgot where he came from. He started this annual fundraiser to create opportunities for the orphaned and the homeless, to give scholarships to children who deserve a chance at education, and jobs to adults so that our streets wouldn't be filled with wasted potential.
He believed that humanity should always take precedence over profit. That wealth means nothing if it doesn't lift others up.
It is the greatest honor of my life to continue his legacy, and my father's, in building an empire where compassion and opportunity are the foundation. Thank you for joining us in this mission. Together, we can change lives."
As I stepped away from the microphone, the entire room erupted in applause. Whistles and cheers echoed off the walls.
I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths.
For just a moment, the young man from six years ago, the one still carrying the weight of all those deaths, was able to find a sliver of relief from the turmoil and burden that never truly left.
But I knew this was only the beginning.
Now that I'd revealed myself, my enemies would double their efforts. They'd want to publicly humiliate me, to make these same smiling faces see me as unfit to lead.
I looked up, searching the crowd for the woman who'd somehow curbed my panic attack when even my medication couldn't help me.
But she was no longer where I'd seen her.
I stepped down from the stage and was immediately swallowed by open arms and congratulations. Men and women revered me. Some ladies gave me signals I recognized all too well. I received business proposals from startups and massive corporations alike.
This is my legacy.
I was born for this. And no one, no one, was going to kill my dream or my grandfather's. Not while I still had breath in me.
"Brother!"
I slowly turned toward the voice I'd hated my entire life.
As my eyes met Julian's, flashes of memories from our teenage years resurfaced.
He'd arrived with his mother after years of my late father searching for them. They'd looked disheveled, worn, exhausted. I'd later learned my stepmother had been critically ill at the time.
But even then, the sharpness and calculation in Julian's eyes had unnerved me. There'd been a resolve in the way he'd looked around our home and at me, that had made my skin crawl.
Other memories flashed by: the shoving, the "accidents," the blows disguised as rough play.
I wasn't scared of him anymore, but my body went rigid and defensive from pure muscle memory.
"Julian. I'm glad you could make it."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," he said with a smile, extending his hand for a shake.
I hesitated. The child inside me, the one who'd had his hand twisted and bruised from Julian's "friendly" handshakes, reared his head in warning.
But I'm grown now, I reminded myself. I reached out with a confident smile and took his hand firmly.
I'm not that boy anymore.
"Welcome, brother."
The fundraiser continued successfully. We raised twenty-five million dollars. It was not as massive as my grandfather's record-breaking events, plus it was watered down by inflation, but it shot far beyond our target. And donations were still coming in.
The event was still in full swing, but my social energy had completely depleted. I'd exerted everything I had trying to hold myself together and fight the demons that kept clawing their way to the surface.
I needed respite.
Once I was certain I'd met with everyone who required my attention and had my assistant schedule follow-up meetings and conferences, I slipped away quietly.
I headed straight for the large, dark balcony I'd sealed off from the public, reserved specifically for moments like this. Every other balcony had clusters of people talking and laughing, but this one was empty.
I gripped the cold metal railing and inhaled long, steadying breaths. The icy night air filled my lungs, and the quiet darkness began to soothe my frayed nerves.
I closed my eyes, savoring the peace that surrounded me.
But the peace was short-lived.
I felt a small tug on my trouser leg.
My first thought was, Who let a pet in here?
But when I looked down and saw huge hazel eyes staring up at me with pure, innocent curiosity, my heart melted.