chapter 2

Ethan didn’t move for a long time after the call ended. He was consumed by his thoughts completely. He didn’t know what to believe. The street around him remained quiet. Nothing in the Hayes mansion had changed. The laughter still echoed through its halls. The lights still glowed warmly behind polished glass. The people inside still believed Ethan Cross was worthless. 

But outside those gates–everything in Ethan's life had changed forever. Ethan glanced at his phone, looking at it as if it didn’t belong to him. 

Fifty billion dollars. He didn’t know if the number meant anything anymore. It felt too big to be real considering the life he had led until now. A life of humiliation. A life of silence. 

“This must be some kind of a prank.” He murmured. But even as he said it, he looked down at the scar on his arm. It felt heavy, real and uncomfortable. 

A car engine suddenly cut through the air. He looked up. A black sedan was parked near the end of the street. His phone vibrated again. Unknown number. But he already knew who it was. He picked up. “Victor”, he inquired.  

“Yes sir.” 

“There is a car parked outside the gate.” 

“Yes Mr. Cross. That car is for you.” 

Ethan's eyes narrowed. “I told you I need time.” 

“I know. The car is only an option not a command. Everything is up to you.” Victor explained. Ethan was slightly surprised. He had never been given an option. Only orders that he had to fulfill. 

“What exactly is going on?”, Ethan asked uneasily. There was a brief pause. Then Victor spoke up cautiously, “ The Cross family is not an ordinary family. It is far beyond your imagination. Owning half the country would be considered insignificant compared to the power the Cross family truly has.” 

Ethan's eyebrows shot upward. He frowned. “Explain.” 

“The Cross lineage has controlled global assets for generations. Banking networks, private security divisions, technological holdings—---most of them unknown to the public.” Victor explained.

“And you expect me to believe I come from that?” Ethan muttered sarcastically.

“ You do not need belief,” Victor replied, “Only confirmation.” 

Ethan glanced at his arm again. Seventeen years. A memory he never understood. “What happened to me?”, Ethan whispered. 

Victor hesitated for a few moments. And then, “You were taken during an attack on the Cross estate. The estate was destroyed that night. Your parents fought to protect you. You were only five years old.” 

Ethan felt something cold settle in his chest. His nightmares started making sense now. Fragments returned to him. Fire everywhere. People screaming and running everywhere. A man lifting him. Running through the smoke. Pain tearing through his arms. Then silence. 

“I thought those were just nightmares.” 

“They were your memories that were suppressed due to the trauma,” Victor corrected gently. Silence stretched between them. For the first time ever, his past was starting to make sense. It was not just a blank slate. But…..

“Why now? I have spent years being unaware of my identity. Why are you telling me this now?” 

“Because the enemies responsible for the tragedy of the Cross estate have resurfaced.” Victor said gravely. “The Cross elders recently tracked movements of the organization responsible for the attack on Cross estate.” 

Ethan turned slightly, his body tense. “And you are telling me this now? After all these years?” 

“Yes. We had no confirmed identity until recently. Revealing this information would have put you in danger.” 

Ethan laughed. A short, humorless laugh. His gaze flicked towards Hayes mansion. Inside the Hayes family lived, without any care for others, in their own bubble. He had spent years trying to survive their judgement. And now his world flipped upside down. He came from something entirely different from what he was used to. Something larger, and far more dangerous. 

“You have been alive. That was the priority. Now you should not remain outside for so long.” Victor informed him.

“I told you I need time.”

“And you have it. But it does not mean you are not at risk.” 

Ethan frowned. “What risk?”. He was met with silence. “If I am at risk, I should at least know what kind of risk it is.” 

“The same family that destroyed you is searching for any surviving heir.” 

Cold sweat broke out on Ethan's forehead. “And they don’t know I exist?” 

Victor shook his head. “Not yet.” 

Ethan looked at the black sedan. Then at the mansion looming behind him. Everything in his life felt like it was standing on unstable ground. 

“If I agree, where would I go?” Ethan asked quietly. 

“The Cross Estate.”

“That place still exists?”

“ It was rebuilt in secrecy. Only the inner circle members are aware of its location.” Victor replied.

Ethan exhaled slowly. “And you expect me to just walk into this life?” 

“ We expect nothing. Only that you understand what you are and no harm comes to you.” 

Ethan closed his eyes for a moment. He has always been the laughingstock of the Hayes family. The son-in-law who doesn’t stand up for himself. A husband whose wife was slowly distancing herself from him. His jaw tightened. He opened his eyes and said, “I’ll decide later.” 

“As you wish.”

“I will contact you when I am ready.”

“I will be waiting,” Victor said assertively. 

The call ended. Ethan stood for a while in silence to absorb everything that had happened. The laughter from the mansion pulled him to reality. He slowly turned towards the mansion. The same people that had crushed him without hesitation. Laughing. Celebrating. Without him. He watched quietly. Something inside him had awakened. He was no longer affected by their behaviour. He had an identity now. His past was not a blank slate. 

His phone vibrated again. He frowned as he looked at it. An unknown number. “We know you survived.” His eyes widened. “And we are coming for you.” 

His grip on the phone tightened. He truly believed Victor now. Ethan lifted his head. He understood something clearly. This wasn’t just a revelation. This was the start of something bigger. And he was in the midst of it all.