UNCOVERING THE REAL ENEMY
Amara's POV
Damian shook my shoulders softly.
"Amara, wake up, please."
My eyes fluttered open and I blinked, I was confused.
Why am I on the floor?
Why was Damian holding my wrist like he's afraid I'll disappear?
"What… happened?" I whispered
"You were sleepwalking," he said and his voice was low, shaken. "You came into my room."
My stomach twisted. "I…I did?"
He nodded slowly.
"You touched my arm, you looked terrified." His eyes narrow.
"And you said something."
"What?"
His voice dropped.
"You told me not to hurt him… like I hurt your father."
My breath caught.
"No," I whisper. "I didn't…."
"You said it," he insisted
"Who were you talking about? Who is 'him'? What did your father hide from you?"
I shook my head helplessly. "I don't know. I swear I don't know, I don't even remember anything."
He studied my face carefully and slowly… very slowly…And his anger softened.
Like he finally saw the truth in my eyes and he let go of my wrist gently.
"Okay," he said. "Okay, Amara, I believe you."
I froze and my chest warmed in a painful, confusing way.
Damian rubbed a hand across his face. "Whoever framed your father… they're using you now."
"Do you really think he was framed?" I whispered.
Damian hesitates, then nodded
"Yes, the files… some parts don't make sense, some data was forced, someone wanted him to look guilty."
My heart broke a little.
"All this time," I whispered. "I hated him for leaving me alone, I thought he ruined everything."
Damian's voice softened. "Maybe he was trying to protect you."
I blinked fast, and tears gathered and he reached out instinctively, as if fainting to catch them.
But he stopped his hand in midair, and his lips tightened and I stared at him.
He stared back at me.
"Damian…" I whispered and he stepped closer. "Amara…"
My heart beat wildly and we stood inches apart and his breath brushed my skin and his hand hovered near my cheek.
He looked like he wanted to kiss me and I felt like I might melt if he did and his eyes lowered to my lips.
I closed my eyes just a little…and a voice broke through the room.
"Damian."
We jerked apart, and a woman stood in the doorway. She was beautiful with a cold smile and sharp eyes and I recognized her instantly from news articles.
Elara Voss, Damian Stone's ex-fiancée.
She walked forward like she owned the room.
"So," she said and her eyes flicked to me. "This is the replacement."
Damian's jaw tightened."Elara, get out."
She laughed softly. "You didn't change the passcode, that means you still want me here."
"I don't," he growled but she ignored him and stepped closer… too close.
"Sweetheart," she told me with fake pity, "you really don't know who you're living with, do you?"
"Stop," Damian snapped and Elara smiled sweetly at him. "You're still mine, Damian, you always will be." I felt my heart sink and then she turned to me and her smile became dark.
"And you, little girl… you have no idea who he really is."
Damian stepped between us.
"Leave, now."
Elara's eyes glittered like she knew something we didn't.
"Fine, but when the truth comes out… don't say I didn't warn you."
She walked out, and her heels clicked like gunshots on the marble floor and then the door slammed and the silence that followed was deafening.
Damian rubbed his forehead. "She's trying to scare you."
"It worked," I whispered and before he could answer, the penthouse doorbell rang and we both froze.
Damian motioned for me to stay behind him and opened the door carefully, but no one was there.
It was just a single sealed envelope on the floor, he picked it up, frowned, and handed it to me.
My hands shook as I read the front.
It was my name, it was written in handwriting I know too well.
My father's handwriting.
I choked on a breath.
"H–He's dead," I whispered and Damian's eyes widened.
The envelope was heavy, cold, alive in my hands and on my back…
A date, last week.
I sat on the edge of my bed, the envelope shook in my hand and my chest was tight, like the air was too heavy to breathe.
Damian stood by the door, and watched me.
"Amara… you don't have to read it now," he said softly.
"I need to," I whispered and my voice sounded strange, like it belonged to someone else.
I opened the letter and the paper was old, the handwriting… It was my father's.
My eyes blurred before I finished the first line.
"My Amara, if you are reading this, something has gone wrong."
My fingers trembled and Damian took a small step closer.
"What does it say?"
I shook my head. "Just… let me read."
I kept going.
"I need you to know I did not betray TitanCorp, I was framed"
My breath stopped and I gripped the paper harder.
"What?" I whispered and Damian frowned. "Framed by who?"
I lifted the letter again and my heart rang so loudly that I could hear it in my ears.
The Stone family… They set everything up.
I froze and Damian looked like someone slapped him.
"What do you mean by the Stone family?" he asked quietly.
I read the next lines out loud, and my voice shaking.
"My father wrote… 'They wanted control. They wanted you out of the way…'"
"Amara, stop," Damian whispered and stepped closer. "Let me see it."
"No." I pulled the letter back. "Not yet."
I swallowed hard and continued.
You are the rightful heir to a hidden share of TitanCorp, they want to erase you so the company stays in their hands.
My head spinned.
"I'm… an heir?" I said slowly and Damian rubbed his forehead. "Hidden share? That's impossible, my family…."
I cut in, and my voice cracked. "Your family is involved in everything, my dad wrote it."
His face was drained of color. "Amara, you know my father…"
"I don't know anything anymore," I said and my hands were ice cold. "I don't even know you."
He opened his mouth, then closed it again and he looked scared, not angry but scared.
"Just finish the letter," he whispered.
I nodded, even though my throat was blocked and I read the final lines.
Amara… trust no one from the Stone family, not even Damian.
The words hit me and my vision went blurry.
Damian stepped back like the floor moved beneath him. "Amara… listen. You can't believe that, you know me, you know I would never…"
"Do I?" I whispered and silence filled the room, it was heavy and sharp.
Damian ran a hand through his hair. "Please, let me explain, let me see the rest. There's more, right? There's always more."
I almost told him no, but the envelope was heavier and I reached inside and pulled out one more folded sheet.
A strange, cold feeling crept up my spine.
"What is that?" Damian asked
"I….I don't know."
I unfolded it slowly, it was a document.
No…
Not just a document.
A DNA test.
My heart stopped and Damian stared at it, and his eyes widened. "Why… why is there a DNA result?"
I couldn' t speak and I couldn't even blink.
The names on the page burnt into my eyes.
"Amara… what does it say?" Damian whispered and I opened my mouth but nothing came out because what I saw changed everything.
And then I finally managed to breathe….
"Damian…" I whispered. "It's about… us."
His eyes snapped up to mine.
"What about us?" he asked and I looked at the final line of the DNA test and then my world flipped upside down.