A Truth That Burns
Chapter 7 – A Truth That Burns
Aurora had only just stepped out of a morning board strategy meeting when she felt it—that instinctual shift in the air, the kind that warned of an incoming storm. The sleek marble hallway outside the conference room was empty, too empty, and yet she could feel him before she saw him.
“Rory.”
She stopped cold.
His voice cut through her like lightning. Soft. Familiar. But wrapped in thunder.
Aurora turned slowly to find Damon standing a few feet away. He looked different—haunted, shaken, and holding a photo in his hand.
Her heart sank. Her worst fear stared her in the face.
“You said you didn’t remember,” she whispered.
“I didn’t.” His voice cracked. “Until now.”
He took a step toward her, hand clenched around the photo of Caleb.
“You lied to me.”
She swallowed. “What would you have done with the truth?”
Damon stared at her. “You should’ve given me the chance to find out.”
---
They were in his office minutes later, doors locked, silence taut between them.
Damon stood with his back to her, hands braced on the glass as the city churned far below.
“Tell me everything,” he said finally.
Aurora sat down, slow and deliberate. Her bones felt like stone.
“My mother died five years ago. Publicly, it was ruled suicide. But it wasn’t.” Her voice was brittle, sharp. “Your father’s company fabricated evidence. Buried her in a mountain of debts and lawsuits until she gave up.”
“I didn’t know.”
“No. You signed the final statement that sealed the court’s ruling.” Her voice cracked. “You were the nail in her coffin.”
Damon turned, face pale. “I was nineteen. They told me it was a legal formality.”
“You were nineteen,” she repeated bitterly. “I was seventeen. Alone. Pregnant.”
Damon froze.
“You weren’t just my first love, Damon.” Aurora stood. “You were my last lifeline.”
The room fell still. The air between them was no longer angry—just broken.
“You should have told me,” he said again, but softer now. “I would have helped. I—”
“No,” she said. “I didn’t want help. I wanted justice. And I knew that if I looked you in the eye, I might forgive you.”
She took a shaky breath. “And I didn’t want to.”
---
Outside the office, Carla paced nervously in the corridor. She hadn’t expected Aurora’s truth to come out like this. Not so soon. Not so exposed.
She jumped when the elevator dinged—and Gregory stepped out.
Her blood ran cold.
He walked past without noticing her, heading straight for Damon’s door.
Inside, Damon sat in stunned silence as Aurora placed a manila envelope on his desk.
“These are the Madrid embezzlement files,” she said. “They prove your father laundered money through charities. Your name is on the original transfers—but I believe you didn’t know.”
Damon stared at her. “Why are you giving this to me now?”
“Because it’s not about revenge anymore.” She met his gaze. “It’s about Caleb.”
The name hit him like a second storm.
“He’s mine,” he whispered.
“Yes.”
“And you raised him alone.”
“I had no choice.”
He nodded, slowly, absorbing the weight.
“Where is he?”
“With Carla. Safe.”
“I want to see him.”
Aurora tensed. “I don’t know if you should.”
“I need to.”
---
Gregory chose that moment to barge in without knocking.
Damon stood instantly, every muscle tight. Aurora straightened, face hardening like steel.
“Am I interrupting something scandalous?” Gregory asked with a sneer.
“Get out,” Damon snapped.
But Gregory’s eyes had already found the envelope on the desk—and the photograph lying beneath it.
He stilled.
“Well, well. The missing Devereaux. And a child.”
His gaze sharpened.
“Looks like the bastard apple didn’t fall far from the scandalous tree.”
Aurora moved so fast Damon barely caught her. She surged forward and slapped Gregory clean across the face.
“I swear on my mother’s grave,” she hissed, “if you so much as breathe Caleb’s name in the media—”
“You’ll what? Cry about it?” Gregory sneered, rubbing his cheek.
“No.” Damon stepped in now, jaw locked. “She won’t have to. I’ll bury you myself.”
For once, Gregory faltered.
“You want a scandal?” Damon said. “Try explaining why your name appears in five separate offshore accounts traced back to Thorne Foundation donations.”
Aurora watched with quiet satisfaction as her once-mighty enemy blinked.
“You’re bluffing.”
Damon stepped closer. “Try me.”
Gregory's sneer faded as he turned on his heel and stormed out.
---
Later that night, Aurora returned home to find Caleb sitting cross-legged on the rug, building a lego tower. He looked up and grinned.
“Mommy!”
She dropped to her knees and hugged him fiercely, inhaling the scent of his shampoo and the steady rhythm of his heart.
“Can I tell you something?” he said, eyes sparkling.
“Of course, baby.”
“I saw a man on TV today. He looked like me.”
Aurora stiffened.
“Was he nice?” she asked gently.
Caleb nodded. “He was talking about helping kids. He smiled just like me.”
Her heart squeezed.
“You’re going to meet him soon,” she said.
Caleb tilted his head. “Who is he?”
Aurora kissed his forehead. “Someone very important.”
---
Back at the office, Damon stood in the darkened rooftop suite, staring down at the city.
He held the photo of Caleb in one hand, and his own childhood photo in the other.
The resemblance was undeniable.
All this time, he’d been so focused on building empires, chasing shadows—and the only thing that ever truly mattered had been hidden in plain sight.
He pulled out his phone and dialed Aurora’s number.
She answered on the third ring.
“Come to the rooftop,” he said. “Alone. Please.”