Chapter 8: The Name He Should Have Feared

I stared at the message until the words began to blur. "You may have escaped the Vance family, Sophia Sterling. But you have no idea what your grandfather left behind." My fingers tightened around the phone.

The ballroom was still alive behind me. Music played softly beneath the chandeliers. Waiters moved between tables carrying empty champagne glasses, while reporters gathered around the entrance, waiting for another statement from the woman who had just become the center of Crestview's attention.

But none of that mattered anymore.

Someone knew about my grandfather. And that was not something the public knew. I turned toward Julian. "Did you tell anyone?"

His eyes immediately hardened. "Tell anyone what?"

I showed him my phone. He read the message once. Then his expression changed.

Marcus stepped closer. "What happened?"

Julian handed him the phone. Marcus read it silently. For several seconds, he said nothing. Then he looked at me. "When did you receive this?"

"Less than a minute ago."

"From an unknown number?"

I nodded.

Marcus pulled out his own phone. "I'll have it traced."

"No."

He stopped.

I looked at him. "Don't trace it yet."

Julian frowned. "Sophia."

"If they wanted to remain anonymous, they could have sent this without using my name."

I looked at the screen again. "They wanted me to know they were watching."

Marcus understood immediately. "So you think this was intentional."

"I know it was."

Julian took the phone from my hand. His jaw tightened. "Then you're not leaving this building alone."

"I wasn't planning to."

Before either man could say anything else, a familiar voice came from behind us. "You three look like you're discussing something far more interesting than the summit."

I turned. Alexander stood a few feet away. He had removed his suit jacket and draped it over one arm, leaving him in a perfectly fitted white shirt and black trousers. His dark hair was slightly disordered from the long evening, but his expression remained calm. His eyes moved from Julian to Marcus. Then to me. "What happened?"

"Nothing," I said.

Alexander studied my face. "You're a terrible liar."

Julian gave him the phone. Alexander's expression changed the moment he read the message. "That's not a random threat."

"No," Marcus agreed. "It isn't."

Alexander looked at me. "Who knows about your grandfather?"

"Very few people."

"Family?"

"Only those closest to Sterling Global."

His eyes narrowed. "Then someone inside the circle knows."

I didn't answer. Because that possibility had already crossed my mind. My grandfather had been dead for years. His affairs were handled by people I had never met personally. When I disappeared from the public eye and chose to live as Sophia Hayes, I had assumed the past would remain buried.

Apparently, I had been wrong.

My phone vibrated again. Everyone went silent. I looked down. Another message. “Ask Julian about the Westbridge file.” My heart stopped. I raised my eyes slowly. "Julian."

He stared at the screen. "What?"

"What is the Westbridge file?"

For the first time that night, my brother looked genuinely unsettled. Alexander noticed it too. Marcus folded his arms. "Julian?"

Julian didn't answer immediately. He glanced around the crowded ballroom. "Not here."

"Why?"

"Because if whoever sent that message is watching us, I don't intend to give them a conversation worth listening to." He turned toward the private exit. "Come with me."

We left through a quiet corridor away from the reporters. The moment the doors closed behind us, the noise of the summit disappeared. The hallway was dimly lit, with tall windows overlooking the city.

Julian walked ahead without speaking. I followed. "What is Westbridge?" I asked again.

He stopped. "It's an old Sterling Global acquisition."

"And?"

"It was purchased by Grandfather shortly before he died."

I stared at him. "Why have I never heard of it?"

"Because it was never meant to be part of the public company records."

Marcus stepped beside us. "What was acquired?"

Julian looked at him. "A controlling interest in several private assets across Crestview."

My eyes narrowed. "How many?"

"Enough to change the ownership structure of several major companies."

I slowly understood. "Why would Grandfather hide something like that?"

Julian looked at me. "Because he wasn't preparing the company for his death." He paused. "He was preparing it for you."

The words settled heavily between us. I looked toward the windows. Crestview glittered beneath the night sky. All these years, I had believed my grandfather's fortune was simply an inheritance. Money. Companies. Ships. Banks. Land. A name. But perhaps it had never been that simple.

"What does Westbridge have to do with me?"

Julian's expression became serious. "Everything."

Before I could ask another question, Marcus's phone rang. He answered. "Yes?"

He listened. His expression became colder. "Send it to me immediately."

He ended the call.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Someone accessed an old Sterling Global archive tonight."

Julian looked at him sharply. "Which archive?"

"The Westbridge records."

Silence.

I felt something shift inside me. Someone wasn't simply trying to frighten me. They were moving pieces. And they had started tonight.

"Can they access the entire file?" I asked.

Marcus shook his head. "Not yet."

"Then stop them."

"I already have."

Julian stepped closer. "Sophia, this is no longer just about Damien."

I looked at him. "I know."

My divorce had been supposed to be the end of my old life. Instead, it seemed to have opened a door I didn't know existed. A door leading straight into my family's past.

My phone vibrated for the third time. This time, there was no message. There was a photograph.

I opened it. My breath caught. It was an old photograph of my grandfather standing outside a building I had never seen before. Beside him stood a much younger Julian. And behind them was me. I stared at the picture. I couldn't remember that day. I couldn't remember the building. I couldn't remember ever being there.

Then another message appeared beneath the photograph. “You were there, Sophia.” A second message followed. “And your grandfather made sure you forgot.”

I slowly lowered the phone. For the first time since I walked away from Damien, I felt something other than anger. Confusion. Because whatever my grandfather had left behind, someone was determined to make sure I found it. And they had just reminded me that my own past might contai

n secrets I had never known existed.

I looked at Julian. "What did Grandfather do?"

He didn't answer. And that silence told me more than words ever could.