Chapter 3

A loud moan came from Caleb’s room.

Damien froze.

He had been walking down the hallway when another moan followed, louder this time. The faint sound of the bed creaking made him stop in his tracks.

He frowned.

For a moment, he thought he had heard his brother’s wife.

No way.

He stood there, listening.

Another moan.

Then another.

Damien’s eyebrows pulled together. Something about the voice sounded strange. It wasn’t the voice of a woman.

His curiosity got the better of him.

He moved closer to Caleb’s room, his footsteps becoming slower and quieter as he approached the door.

Then he heard it.

A man’s voice.

Damien’s eyes widened.

“What the hell?”

He stared at the closed door for a few seconds, trying to make sense of what he was hearing.

A man.

Inside Caleb’s room.

His first instinct was to walk away. Whatever his younger brother was doing behind that door was none of his business.

But something felt wrong.

Damien quietly moved past the door. The windows beside Caleb’s room were open, and from where he stood, he could see movement inside.

He turned his head.

A man was in Caleb’s room.

Damien’s heart skipped.

He looked again, almost as if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

But they weren’t.

There was a man with Caleb.

Damien’s mouth fell slightly open.

Caleb?

His younger brother?

The same Caleb who had always acted as though he had nothing to hide?

Damien stared through the window for another second.

Then, without thinking, he pushed the door open.

“Caleb!”

Caleb’s head snapped toward the door.

For one horrifying second, neither brother spoke.

Caleb looked terrified.

The other man immediately reached for his clothes.

“Damien…” Caleb breathed.

Damien stared at them both, his mind racing as he tried to understand what he had just walked in on.

Then recognition hit him.

He knew the man.

His father’s lawyer.

Damien’s expression changed.

A slow, almost disbelieving smile appeared on his face.

“Oh,” he said quietly.

Caleb quickly grabbed his clothes and pulled them on, his hands trembling.

“Damien, wait.”

Damien said nothing.

“Please,” Caleb pleaded. “Don’t tell Dad.”

That finally got Damien’s attention.

Caleb stepped closer, his face pale.

“You can’t tell him. Please.”

Damien watched him carefully.

For the first time, the confident Caleb he knew was gone.

In front of him stood his younger brother, frightened and desperate.

“My father can’t know about this,” Caleb continued. “You know what he’ll do.”

Damien did know.

Their father had never hidden his hatred toward homosexuality. He had made his opinions painfully clear over the years.

“He’ll disown me,” Caleb whispered. “He might even fire me.”

Damien’s eyes flickered toward the lawyer.

The man looked equally uncomfortable. He kept his gaze lowered, clearly unsure of what to say or do.

Caleb swallowed hard.

“Damien, I’m begging you.”

Damien remained silent.

Something inside him was changing.

Only minutes ago, he had been angry.

He had spent the entire day thinking about his father’s decision and the humiliation of watching Caleb receive what Damien believed he deserved.

His father had chosen Caleb to inherit the company.

Caleb.

The reckless son who barely cared about the business.

The son who partied, disappeared for nights, and left everyone else to clean up his mess.

And now Damien had discovered something else.

Something Caleb desperately wanted to keep hidden.

Damien remembered their argument from earlier.

Caleb’s words.

The way his younger brother had looked at him as though Damien was the problem.

You always think everything should go your way.

Damien had swallowed those words then.

Now, standing in front of his terrified brother, he suddenly realized that Caleb had handed him something far more valuable than an apology.

A weakness.

A secret.

A secret their father could destroy him with.

Damien’s lips curled into a small smile.

Caleb noticed.

His stomach dropped.

“Damien…”

“You’re really scared, aren’t you?”

Caleb stared at him.

“Please don’t do this.”

Damien let out a quiet laugh.

“You thought I was going to tell Dad?”

Caleb’s face tightened.

“I don’t know what you’re going to do.”

Damien stepped closer.

“Neither do you.”

Caleb’s eyes widened.

Damien leaned slightly toward him and lowered his voice.

“But don’t worry.”

He smiled.

“There is a much better way to destroy you.”

Caleb stared at his brother in horror.

“Damien, what does that mean?”

Damien didn’t answer.

Instead, he turned toward the door.

“Wait!”

Caleb followed him.

“Damien, please. Whatever you’re angry about, we can talk about it.”

Damien stopped but didn’t turn around.

“Talk?”

He gave a humorless laugh.

“You had plenty to say earlier.”

Caleb’s face fell.

Damien finally looked back at him.

“Maybe now you should learn what it feels like to be afraid of what someone else might say.”

He opened the door.

Caleb stood frozen.

“Damien…”

But Damien walked away.

Behind him, Caleb slowly sank onto the edge of the bed, his heart pounding.

Twenty-five years.

Twenty-five years of hiding who he really was.

And now, in a single moment, his brother had discovered everything.

He had always known his secret could one day come out.

He just never imagined it would be Damien who found out.

And he knew his brother well enough to understand one thing.

Damien would not forget what had happened between them.

If he told their father, Caleb could lose everything.

His family.

His place in the company.

Maybe even his father’s love.

Caleb covered his face with both hands.

He had made sure everyone left the house for the family vacation before bringing the lawyer there.

He had thought he was safe.

He had been wrong.

The sound of the door closing echoed through the room.

Caleb lowered his hands slowly.

The lawyer stood a few feet away, still holding his clothes.

Neither of them spoke.

“Caleb…” Julian Parker said cautiously.

Caleb didn’t look at him.

Julian took a careful step toward him, his expression filled with concern.

“Caleb… are you okay? Are you safe?”

Caleb suddenly snapped.

“Just get the fuck out of my room!”

Julian froze.

“Caleb—”

“I said get out!”

Julian stared at him for a moment before nodding.

He quickly grabbed the rest of his clothes and hurried toward the door, visibly shaken. He glanced back at Caleb one last time before disappearing into the hallway.

The door closed.

Caleb was alone.

But the silence did nothing to calm the storm inside him.

His brother knew.

Damien knew everything.

And Caleb knew exactly what that meant.

Outside the room, Damien walked down the hallway with a smile he couldn’t hide.

His anger from earlier had suddenly disappeared.

For the first time that day, he felt like things were finally going his way.

Caleb had always believed he was untouchable.

Now Damien knew better.

He had found the one thing his brother feared most.

And he intended to use it.

Damien walked away, almost humming to himself.

He didn’t know exactly how he would destroy Caleb yet.

But he knew one thing for certain.

He finally had the power to make his younger brother regret ever standing in his way.

Behind him, the door to Caleb’s room remained closed.

Damien didn’t look back.

He didn’t need to.

The secret was enough.

And for the first time since his father had chosen Caleb as his heir, Damien felt something close to satisfaction.

The game had changed.

And this time, Caleb was the one who had something to lose.