Chapter 57: The Ashford Connection

Damon remained in his study after Thomas left, his attention resting on the notes scattered across his desk.

The former senior security officer was his next lead, but finding the man might take time. Until then, there was another family he could approach.

The Ashfords.

His engagement to Vivian had been arranged when she was twelve. It wasn’t a casual promise between two families.

The Ashfords had agreed to tie their future to the Thorne name, and that suggested a relationship built over years rather than a single business arrangement.

Damon closed the folder.

He wouldn’t get answers by sitting here guessing.

He found Vivian in the sitting room later that afternoon. She was on the sofa with a book open in her lap, though she seemed more interested in the view through the windows than the pages.

"Busy?" he asked.

"Not particularly." She set the book aside. "Why?"

"I want to ask you something about your family."

Her expression sharpened slightly. "That sounds serious."

"It might be."

Damon took the seat opposite her.

"How much do you know about the relationship between our families before our engagement?"

Vivian considered the question.

"Not as much as I’d like. My parents told me the engagement had been discussed for years before they explained it to me. They always spoke respectfully of the Thornes, especially your mother."

"Did they ever tell you why?"

"Not in detail. My father said your family had been an important ally to ours for a long time. There were matters between the families that children didn’t need to concern themselves with."

"I remember my father mentioning your mother once," Vivian added. "He said she had made a decision that affected several families, including ours. When I asked what decision, he changed the subject."

Damon’s expression remained unchanged, but he paid closer attention.

"Do you remember when?"

"Not exactly. It was around the time our engagement was being discussed." She frowned slightly. "I never connected the two until now."

Damon leaned back.

That wasn’t much, but it confirmed that the relationship had existed long before Vivian’s engagement became relevant to either of them.

"Did they ever discuss what happened to my parents?"

Vivian’s expression changed.

"I remember the subject coming up when I was younger. My parents were discussing something privately, and when I entered the room, they stopped talking." She paused, searching her memory.

"I asked about it later. My father told me the Thorne family’s situation was complicated and that I shouldn’t repeat things I didn’t understand."

"Did he explain anything else?"

"No. But I remember one thing. He told me that whatever happened, our family shouldn’t forget what it owed the Thornes."

"I was twelve, Damon. At the time, I was more concerned about being told what I could and couldn’t do."

He gave a faint smile. "That sounds familiar."

"Are you suggesting I was difficult?"

"I’m suggesting you still are."

She picked up the cushion beside her and threw it at him. Damon caught it before it reached his chest and placed it on the adjacent chair.

Vivian shook her head, though a smile lingered on her face.

Then she looked at him more carefully.

"Why are you asking now?"

"Because I recently learned that the circumstances surrounding my parents’ disappearance may not be as straightforward as I’d been led to believe."

Her smile faded.

"Is this connected to the Eclipse Concord?"

Damon’s gaze settled on her.

"You know about them?"

"Only what my parents told me. They said the Concord maintained the balance between the country’s most influential families. The Ashfords have connections to several of its members."

She hesitated before continuing.

"But they never explained how deeply our family was involved with it."

Damon had his answer. The Ashfords weren’t merely an old family with a marriage agreement to honor.

They had connections to the same organization now demanding that he find his parents.

"Would your parents be willing to speak with me about the Thorne family?"

Vivian didn’t answer immediately.

"I can ask them. I can’t promise they’ll tell you everything, but they’ll hear you out."

"That’s enough for now."

She studied him for another moment.

"You really don’t remember much about your family, do you?"

Damon held her gaze. The system had given him an identity, legal records, and access to Blackstone Manor. It hadn’t given him the memories of the man whose name he now carried.

"Not enough to understand what happened."

Vivian’s expression softened, but she didn’t press him for details.

"I’ll contact my father."

"Thank you."

She stood, then leaned down and kissed his cheek before heading toward the door.

Damon watched her leave. He hadn’t expected the conversation to produce a clear answer, but it had given him something worth pursuing.

Vivian returned to him that evening with her phone in hand.

"My father replied."

Damon looked up from the document he was reading.

"What did he say?"

"He’s willing to meet us," Vivian said.

"Us?"

"Both of us. My mother will be there, too." She glanced at her phone again, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Father said he wants to discuss the matter with us together."

"Did he explain why?"

"No. I asked, but he wouldn’t say anything more over the phone."

She hesitated before adding, "He also asked me whether you knew anything about the circumstances surrounding your parents’ disappearance."

Damon’s attention sharpened.

"What did you tell him?"

"That you’d recently learned there were unanswered questions." Vivian lowered her phone. "He went quiet after that. I’ve rarely heard him sound like that."

Damon considered the information. Her father hadn’t simply agreed to meet. He’d wanted to know how much Damon already knew before discussing the past.

"Arrange the meeting," Damon said.

Vivian nodded, though she still looked uneasy. "I’ll tell him we’re coming."

After she left, Damon turned toward the window. Beyond the glass, the grounds of Blackstone Manor stretched into the evening darkness.

The Ashfords had been close to his parents, and apparently his mother had once made a decision that affected their family. Now Vivian’s father wanted to know how much Damon knew about the disappearance.

That was no longer a simple family-history discussion.