Novels by rissa6473

That evening, after dropping Celia off at her house, Damon returned home and immediately pulled out his phone. He dialed Simon's number and put the call on speaker as he walked into his study."Simon, what happened with Vanessa?""She took the bait completely. After hearing rumors about someone investigating Lucas's parentage, she became visibly agitated and paranoid. She left the Sterling mansion in a rush around three this afternoon."Damon sat down at his desk. "Where did she go?""A private storage facility on the outskirts of the city. My surveillance team followed her and observed her accessing a climate-controlled storage unit. She was inside for approximately twenty minutes before emerging with a locked metal box, which she then took back to the Sterling mansion.""Did you see what was inside the box?""No, we couldn't get close enough without risking detection. But the fact that she retrieved something from a secret storage location immediately after hearing the rumor suggest

Damon woke up early and immediately checked his phone. Several missed calls from Vivienne from late last night appeared on the screen, but he ignored them. His priority was fixing things with Celia.He showered and dressed carefully in jeans and a simple button-up shirt, wanting to look neat but not overly formal. While getting ready, he mentally rehearsed what he wanted to say to her.He drove to a quiet café that Celia liked, a place where they had shared several previous conversations. Once parked, he pulled out his phone and texted her the location, asking if she could meet him there in an hour.Her response came quickly: "Okay."Damon entered the café and found a corner table with good privacy. He ordered Celia's favorite drink, a vanilla latte with extra foam, and a blueberry pastry she had mentioned liking before.His phone rang. Anthony's name appeared on the screen."Anthony.""Damon, quick update on Vivienne. Alexander's family backed off after I made it clear through busine

The next day, Damon and Simon pulled up to Margaret Ellison's apartment building in the older part of the city. The structure was modest, well-maintained but clearly decades old. They climbed three flights of stairs and stopped at apartment 3C.Damon knocked twice.The door opened to reveal a woman in her sixties, her graying hair pulled back into a bun. She wore a simple cardigan, and her kind eyes widened the moment she saw Damon’s face. There was no way she wouldn’t recognize him—he looked just like his mother. Others might have failed to notice, but she didn’t."Oh my god." Her hand flew to her mouth. "Damon?""Hello, Margaret."Tears filled her eyes immediately, and she pulled him into a tight hug before he could say anything else. "I heard they expelled you from the family, I tried to find you, tried to help, but I had no way to reach you."Damon felt unexpected emotion rise in his chest. "I know, it's okay."Margaret finally released him and noticed Simon standing behind Damon.

Damon sat in his car outside the Sterling mansion, his eyes fixed on the building through the tinted windows. Simon sat in the passenger seat, surrounded by surveillance equipment tracking movements inside through heat signatures and hidden cameras they had planted weeks ago.Simon had managed to install them to uncover the truth behind Damon’s mother’s death and track Edward’s moves—but instead, they caught Vanessa poisoning Edward."The doctor just arrived," Simon said, watching his screen. "He's heading to Edward's room now."Damon leaned forward slightly. "Good. We need to create a situation where Vanessa feels threatened enough to check on those fake documents. Once she does, we'll know where they're hidden."Simon nodded. "Lucas is our best pressure point. Everything she's done revolves around securing his inheritance.""You're right." Damon's voice was cold. "We start there."His phone rang. Anthony's name appeared on the screen."Anthony," Damon answered.“Miss Ashford just ca

"Vanessa Sterling?" Damon repeated the name, ensuring he had heard it correctly. "Vanessa is the one who asked you to falsify my DNA result?"Ms. Clarke nodded immediately. "Yes, she's the one. She asked me to make her own son Lucas seem like he was the true son of Sterling, but Lucas isn't. You are."Damon couldn't help the scoff that escaped his lips when he heard that. He glanced at Simon, who also had an unbelievable look on his face.“So Lucas isn’t even Edward Sterling’s biological son, just like I always suspected?” Damon leaned back in his chair. “He’s someone else’s child, and Vanessa paid you to switch our DNA results so I’d look like the fake one.”“Yes.” Ms. Clarke wiped her tears with shaking hands. “She came to me before the test was even scheduled. She knew Edward planned to do DNA tests on both you and Lucas because Vanessa told him your mother had cheated and that you weren’t his son. She also claimed Lucas was his because she and Edward had already started seeing eac

Damon grabbed his car keys from the table. "I need to go meet Simon."Vivienne stood up from the table. "I'll leave before you come back. I promise I won't be here when you return.""You don't have to rush out. Just lock the door when you leave." Damon headed toward the exit without looking back."Damon, I really am sorry about everything."He stopped at the door but didn't turn around. "I know."Then he left.The drive to the restaurant took twenty minutes. Simon had texted him the address last night—a quiet place, where they could talk privately without being overheard or recognized.Damon parked his car and walked inside. The restaurant was nearly empty except for a few tables. Simon sat in the far corner, a folder already spread out in front of him.“Good morning, sir,” Simon said as Damon sat down.“Morning, Simon.” Damon leaned back in his chair. “What did you find about Vanessa Sterling?”Simon pushed the folder toward him. “Information about your father’s current condition. I