Content Warning

This chapter contains psychological manipulation, threats, harassment, emotional coercion, and references to childhood abuse. Dynamics of control are portrayed without being romanticized. Reader discretion is advised.

Damien stepped out of the black vehicle a few minutes later, just as the distant echo of sirens began to fill the street. His walk was calm, calculated, as if none of it surprised him.

A scar crossed the right side of his face, a permanent reminder of the abuse he suffered in childhood at the hands of a mentally ill mother. That mark did not weaken him —it made him meticulous and precise.

He always dressed with impeccable elegance: designer suits, expensive watches, shoes that never touched the ground in haste. He lived alone, had no family. His only true interest was Sebastian Cross.

Their bond went far beyond the professional. Damien was not only his lawyer; he was his confidant, his strategist, his shadow… his lover. They had met at university, and from then on Damien developed a silent, twisted, absolute devotion. It was he who paved Sebastian’s path to success, moving pieces from the shadows, allowing him to believe that he had achieved everything on his own.

As the sirens drew closer, the crowd grew. Sebastian, wearing a smile heavy with threat, did not lower his guard.

“You should leave,” he said to Nicholas. “You’re not in a position to keep defying me. I have connections. I can ruin your life. You didn’t just lose your job today —I’ll make sure you never get another one.”

The engineer did not flinch. His hand was still gripping the collar of Sebastian’s shirt.

“Go to hell,” he replied. “I don’t care what you do. I won’t allow you to get near Noah.”

But Sebastian let out a mocking laugh.

“You don’t decide that. It’s easy to make someone like him fall in love. He lives consumed by guilt. It’s only a matter of time before he agrees… even to marry me.”

The mention of marriage made Nicholas’s expression darken dangerously, and he tightened his grip.

“If you dare propose to him, put a ring on his finger… or… touch him again,” he said in a rough voice, “I’ll destroy you. I won’t just break all your damn fingers,... I have enough information about you to sink you completely.”

At that moment, the police arrived and surrounded the scene. They ordered Nicholas to release Sebastian, treating him as if he were the primary aggressor.

The engineer slowly let go and shoved him with a sharp movement before stepping back.

“I wouldn’t trust your lawyer so much,” he warned. “He hasn’t told you the whole truth.”

With that, he raised his hands in surrender.

Damien approached then, his face devoid of emotion.

“Are you all right?” he asked Sebastian, with unsettling neutrality.

Sebastian adjusted his shirt and ran a hand through his hair, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

“Yeah. He just wasted my time,” he replied with an ironic smile. “I don’t know where Noah is, but I’ll find him. This isn’t over.”

The lawyer had observed everything from the beginning. He had hired Nicholas Lawson and spread humiliating rumors about Noah within the company. He had planted doubts in Sebastian, feeding the wound of his first love.

At university, Sebastian had told him everything about Noah. Damien had merely given him the tools to reach him.

“I shared with you all the information Nicholas provided,” he said casually. “He never mentioned amnesia or accidents. I admit that without him you wouldn’t have reached Noah, but… he can be replaced.”

He was lying. Damien knew everything. He had even used Sebastian’s personal accounts to communicate when it suited him.

He placed a firm hand on the shoulder of his lackey. That was what he called him in his solitude.

“I’ll take you to your apartment. Rest. I’ll handle Nicholas.”

“No,” Sebastian replied. “I have to find Noah.”

Damien sighed, as if conceding, and pulled an object from the inner pocket of his jacket.

Noah’s cellphone.

“I found it a few streets away,” he said with false concern. “Maybe this will help… if you talk to the right people.”

Sebastian took it. His eyes darkened. He unlocked it quickly, and among the recent contacts a name appeared.

Claire Harper.

“Perfect,” he murmured. “It’s been years since I spoke to my mother-in-law,” clearly speaking ironically about her.

Nicholas, still under police custody, listened carefully. The mention of Claire alarmed him. He knew how close Noah was to his mother and feared for both of them.

***

Noah, meanwhile, remained on the train for hours. With no money, no phone, and no clear destination. He couldn’t return to his apartment —Sebastian knew exactly where to find him.

His former boss’s birthday had turned into a nightmare. He tried to be kind. He apologized. He gave in. Nothing was enough. He thought about dying… and Sebastian was the one who pulled him away from that idea. Not out of love, nor care, but because he needed him alive for his revenge.

Exhausted and confused, he finally made a decision. He had to return to his hometown. To the place where it all began. Claire still lived there.

He didn’t know how to talk to her —it was midnight. He didn’t want to worry her, but he needed to remember. And his mother was the only person he could still trust.