CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 6

Andrew didn’t mention Victoria the next morning.

Not over breakfast.

Not when Nancy handed him his medication.

Not even when his phone buzzed twice with her name lighting up the screen before he silenced it.

He just… ignored it.

Like he ignored most things that threatened to complicate his life.

Nancy noticed.

Of course she did.

“You’re going to pretend she doesn’t exist?” she asked, setting a plate down in front of him.

Andrew glanced briefly at the food, then at her. “That’s usually effective.”

“For how long?”

“As long as necessary.”

Nancy sat across from him, studying his face. “She’s your sister.”

Andrew picked up his fork. “That’s a technicality.”

“That’s not how family works.”

“It is in mine.”

Nancy didn’t respond immediately.

She just watched him take a bite, slow and deliberate like everything else he did.

Then,

“She looked worried,” Nancy said.

Andrew’s hand stilled for a fraction of a second before continuing like nothing happened.

“People often confuse curiosity with concern,” he replied.

“You really believe that?”

“I don’t deal in belief,” he said. “I deal in patterns.”

“And your pattern says what?”

“That people show up when it benefits them.”

Nancy leaned back slightly. “So what does she benefit from you being sick?”

Andrew didn’t answer.

That was answer enough.

By mid-morning, Andrew was already dressed for work again.

Nancy watched him from the doorway, arms folded.

“You’re going back.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Yes.”

“You were exhausted yesterday.”

“I recovered.

“That’s not how that works.”

“It is when you don’t have a choice.”

Nancy stepped further into the room. “You do have a choice.”

Andrew adjusted his cufflinks. “No, I don’t.”

“You do. You just don’t like it.”

Andrew looked up at her, his expression calm yet firm. “I didn’t build everything I have by stepping back when things got inconvenient.”

Nancy held his gaze. “This isn’t inconvenience.”

A pause.

Andrew walked past her, grabbing his jacket.

“I’ll be back this afternoon.”

Nancy turned. “I’m coming with you .”

Andrew didn’t stop walking. “No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

He exhaled sharply, already tired of this part. “You’re becoming predictable.”

“And you’re becoming stubborn.”

“I’ve always been stubborn.”

“Fair.”

He reached the door.

Nancy spoke again, quieter this time.

“…At least take someone with you.”

Andrew paused.

Not because of the request.

Because of the tone.

It wasn’t argumentative.

It wasn’t teasing.

It was… careful.

“I have people,” he said.

“People who notice when something’s wrong?” she asked.

Andrew didn’t answer.

He opened the door and left.

Cross Holdings was already in motion when Andrew arrived.

Phones were ringing off the hook, and voices were hushed but intense. It was the usual controlled chaos we’ve come to expect around here, you know, the everyday hustle.

But today, something felt… different. There was this subtle shift in the air, almost undetectable, but you could just feel it.

Lydia met him halfway down the corridor.

“Mr. Cross.”

Andrew nodded once. “Lydia.”

She walked beside him, tablet in hand, her pace matching his exactly.

“There’s been a development,” she said.

“There’s always a development.”

“This one involves Reeves.”

Andrew’s expression didn’t change, but his attention sharpened instantly.

“Go on.”

“He’s been speaking to some of our investors,” Lydia continued. “Quietly.”

Andrew stopped walking.

So did she.

“…About what?”

“Your position.”

Silence.

Andrew let out a quiet breath. Not surprised.

Just… confirming.

“And what exactly is he saying?” he asked.

Lydia hesitated.

That alone said enough.

“Say it,” Andrew said.

“That you’re stepping back,” she replied. “That your health is… uncertain.”

Silence.

Then.,.

“Interesting,” Andrew murmured.

Lydia watched him carefully. “It’s not contained yet. But it will spread.”

Andrew nodded once, already thinking.

“Set up a meeting.”

“With him?”

“Yes.”

Lydia frowned slightly. “That might escalate things.”

“It already has.”

Another pause.

Then she nodded. “Understood.”

She turned to leave,

“Lydia.”

She stopped.

“Yes, Mr. Cross?”

Andrew looked at her, his gaze sharper now. “Who else knows?”

Lydia met his eyes.

“No one for now, only those who are paying attention,” she said.

That was not reassuring.

The meeting with Daniel Reeves wasn’t scheduled.

It wasn’t announced.

Andrew simply walked into Daniel’s office like he owned it.

Which, in many ways, he did.

Daniel didn’t look up immediately.

He finished signing a document first.

Deliberate.

Calculated.

Then he leaned back in his chair, finally meeting Andrew’s gaze.

“Andrew,” he said smoothly. “To what do I owe the surprise?”

Andrew didn’t sit.

“I hear you’ve been busy.”

Daniel smiled faintly. “I usually am.”

“With my company.”

“Our company,” Daniel corrected.

Andrew’s eyes sharpened. “Let’s not pretend.”

Daniel chuckled softly. “Straight to the point. I respect that.”

“Good,” Andrew said. “Then I’ll be clear.”

He stepped closer to the desk, his presence filling the space in a way that had nothing to do with volume.

“You don’t make moves without me.”

Daniel studied him.

“Normally,” he said.

“But these aren’t normal circumstances, are they?”

There it was.

Out in the open.

Andrew didn’t react immediately.

Didn’t give him that.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing?” he asked instead.

Daniel leaned forward slightly, resting his arms on the desk.

“I’m protecting the company,” he said. “Something you should be doing.”

“I am.”

“Are you?” Daniel’s gaze flicked over him, subtle but intentional. “Because from where I’m standing, you’re… distracted.”

Andrew’s jaw tightened just slightly.

“Careful,” he said quietly.

Daniel smiled again. “I am.”

Silence stretched between them.

Then Daniel leaned back again.

“Look,” he said, tone almost reasonable now. “If this is temporary, we adjust. If it’s not…”

He let the sentence hang.

He didn’t need to finish it.

Andrew already knew.

“You’re overstepping,” Andrew said.

“Or preparing,” Daniel replied.

“For what?”

“For the possibility that you won’t be here to run things.”

Suddenly, the room fell silent. Andrew's eyes stayed locked on mine, and it was then, for the very first time since all this began, that I felt something genuine flicker beneath his carefully maintained composure.

It wasn't outright fear, not precisely, but rather a profound, dawning awareness.

Daniel saw it.

And that was dangerous.

….

Back at the penthouse, Nancy was on the phone.

“…I’ll send it tonight; I promise,” she said, pacing slightly. “Just give me a little more time.”

Another pause.

Her tone softened. “I’m fine. Really.”

She stopped walking, leaning against the wall.

“I just… I took a job,” she said. “It’s a lot, but it’s good.”

A small smile flickered across her face.

“No, he’s not difficult,” she added.

Then paused.

“…Okay, he’s a little difficult.”

Another pause.

Then a quiet laugh.

“I’ll call you later, alright?”

She hung up just as the door opened.

Andrew walked in.

Nancy looked up immediately.

And something in her expression shifted.

“You’re late,” she said.

Andrew set his keys down. “I was working.”

Nancy pushed off the wall. “You look worse.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not.”

“I am.”

“You’re lying.”

Andrew exhaled slowly. “This again.”

Nancy stepped closer, studying his face. “What happened?”

“Nothing.”

“That’s not true.”

He just… looked at her. Truly *looked*. And for a fleeting second there, he actually thought about spilling it all.

About Daniel, of course. About the mounting pressure that was threatening to crush him.

About how his meticulously organized world was starting to unravel, piece by piece. But then, he didn't.

“It’s handled,” he said.

Nancy didn’t look convinced.

But she didn’t push.

Not this time.

“…Okay,” she said quietly.

A pause.

She gently placed his medication into his hand.

Andrew paused, his gaze shifting from the pills, to her face, and then finally to his own palm before he swallowed them down.

He didn't put up a fight, not a peep. Nancy picked up on that, too.

Much later, long after the city had begun to dim and settle into its familiar, comforting hum, Andrew found himself back at the window, just like before.

But this time,

He wasn’t thinking about business.Or control.

Or even the diagnosis.

He was thinking about something Daniel said.

For the possibility that you won’t be here.

Behind him, Nancy moved quietly through the space, her presence steady, grounding in a way he didn’t fully understand.

For the first time, Andrew Cross realized something he hadn’t allowed himself to consider before.

This wasn’t just about dying.It was about everything he would leave behind.

His company.His name. His life.And,Though he didn’t say it out loud.

Her.

And that thought?

That one lingered longer than anything else.