Chapter 20 - Fitting the Puzzle Pieces Together

"The saddest thing about betrayal is

that it never comes from your enemies"

It was late in the evening where the dusk had settled and tiny twinkling stars were the view from the full floor to ceiling window that lit his office space with natural light in day hours. He was a workaholic by nature and invested in more comfortable office space than his own bedroom. He used to spends hours at times even nights when it came to work; he wasn't just motivated but he had a realization that there was no one else except him to look at Salvatore Inc. since his Father retired. Whatever it was the charm of spending long hours enclosed in his office was wearing off and he longed for the comfort of home.

Damon was occupied in meetings and urgent tasks since early morning. Needless to say he was exhausted and required few peaceful hours until he retires to bed. Though he wanted to be with Elena more than anything else right now. Just thinking about that doe eyed girl his mood uplifts. He can't help but recall the events from the week before, where they had spent quality time engaged in a lip lock session. Just thinking about those moments sends shiver down his body and he can't help but smile at the thought of her.

He was so immersed in his thoughts that he didn't hear his brother entering his office. "Umm.. Damon"

Upon hearing his name he jolts upright on his chair surprised to see Stefan in front of him. Normally his brother is not the type to meet and greet during unusual hours as he respects everyone's privacy and also he has a cute toddler to look after than to bother after office hours. Finding him gracing his office at nearly midnight means he has something critical on his hands.

Stefan grabs the nearby chair and seats himself in front of Damon and exhales loudly. His frustration visible on his pale face. He removes a folder and slides in front of his elder brother and waits for his reaction expectantly.

Upon seeing the folder Damon rather questions his brother than see the contents placed within the plastic file.

"You need to see for yourself"

Damon presses his eyes, feeling all the heaviness of the day as he has no more in him to go through a bundle of papers. "I can't anymore. You can use your mouth to explain or it is to be addressed tomorrow" he huffs in anger.

Annoyed by his brother's casual attitude towards something of such dire importance, Stefan abruptly gets up from the chair, slams his hand on the desk before yelling, "We all are tired, Damon. For once get over this slouchy attitude of yours. We're onto something huge."

"We?" Damon repeats though Stefan leaves it unanswered.

Damon raises his eyebrow up in confusion as it has been what a week since their last visit to Dunham Lake where they found the massive passages dug in the ground. They couldn't do much after that as the weather had turned stormy and due to the continuous rains they refrained from visiting that place again until the weather mellows down. He had no idea that his brother and rest of the troop were still working on it.

"Why?" Damon mutters. "Why wasn't I informed about any of this?"

Stefan breathes in before answering, "Because there is more to Dunham Lake than just passages with drugs. It is an illegal drug cartel funded by Salvatore Inc."

"What nonsense!" Damon barks. "Salvatore Inc is not dealing with any drugs be it legal or illegal. I cannot tolerate such false accusations against my company. You being my brother should know better than to spew shit"

Noticing his brother agitation Stefan calmly adds, "To be honest, all these point at you Damon, not our company. You're aiding all these illicit activities under false pretenses of redeveloping Dunham Lake."

Damon got up from his chair and looks at his younger brother expectantly. "You know none of this is true, Stefan"

Stefan take a step closer and places his hands upon Damon's shoulder, reassuring him of his trust towards his brother. "I know but no one would believe otherwise. In sometime people will point fingers at you. We need to go to Dunham Lake tonight Damon or else whoever that is involved might turn this story for good."

Damon closes his eyes. So much for a relaxing night that now they have to travel to Dunham lake amid the storm and find the traitor before he's trapped into the webs on drugs and deceit. He so wishes to end this chase for good. He's tired of the new drama unfolding everyday. Wes has been digging deeper than those passages to get Damon the right information but he has been mum about it mentioning to provide enough evidence worthy believing. His words have amplified the feelings of dread. That the person who's hellbent on destroying him is dearer than it seems.

[ ~ ]

If Damon was praying for one thing that was a better weather and it seems his wish was granted. The relentless clouds were at halt letting them drive to Lake without much delay. He has never been to Dunham Lake so often even during childhood than he's frequenting now. At times he wishes he was an ordinary man with a normal life. The weight of carrying the Salvatore surname is more consuming than rewarding. He is proud of his heritage and loves that he belong to such great lineage but with great powers come great responsibilities which he wish someone would share with him.

"You alright?" Stefan spoke noticing Damon's unusual silence. "Did you not meet Elena?" He asked in an attempt to cheer up his brother.

Her name made Damon smile. "Nope, not since our last visit."

"Why?"

Damon gave a half smile before continuing, "I have been distracted with the Dunham lake shenanigans long enough, cannot push the work beyond a certain limit. Day in and day out just work & meetings, I barely have time for self." He took a pause and added, "After last time I cannot risk her anymore, it hurts to think if not for those pouches of drugs she would've broken a bone or hit head real bad… and all because of me"

Stefan nods in agreement. "I think you should hold onto her while trying to keep her safe." He knows how exhausting his life has become since he understood about a family member involved in possible criminal activities and cannot even image any harm on the account of his carelessness to his family. "She feels deeply for you and considering her feelings for you, she'll not give up on you."

"I'm not worth it." Damon objects. "She can be happy with any steady guy"

Stefan scoffs. "Try convincing her that. She seems stubborn"

"She is; very..very..stubborn" Damon alludes fondly

[ ~ ]

The whole car ride, there was no discussion anymore. Damon was lost in his thoughts; worried a lot more than usual. He has never been this bothered by something. Such cases are nothing new if you run a business but this was different, it was his family. He couldn't fathom who could stoop so low to want him dead. All the recent attacks and Elena being targeted was to get at him.

He was scared not for himself but for Elena, he risked her life in all of this, needless to say he's been ignoring her calls and messages since then. Until he finds who's after all this ruckus, he better maintain a distance from her because he's no good to her, at least right now.

Stefan parks the car near the old Oak tree and both the brothers get on their way towards the their ancestral cabin.

Damon pushes the door open and to his surprise sees Elena in front of him, before he could form any reply, he receives a tight slap across his face and then being hugged by the same doe eyed girl of his.

"How could you ignore me like this" Elena whispers, her words muffled against his collar and he was glad to have her in his arms.

[ ~ ]

If his stinging cheek was any indication of her fury, Damon was wise enough to realize that he was at fault by not keeping in touch with Elena and letting his brother deal with everything when it was about her. He doesn't need anyone to say and knows that their relation required to be dealt with immediately but now was not the time. There were pressing matters at hand which needed urgent attention.

Damon took a deep breath. He cupped Elena's face with his both hands and assures her looking into her deep brown eyes, "I'm sorry, Elena. I know I have been a jerk to you. I love you and I need to do this properly which isn't possible unless this burden is lifted off my shoulders."

Did he just confess his love to her? Such pathetic condition he finds to say the most romantic of things. He looked at Elena and she had a beautiful smile on her face.

She got on her tippy toes and softly brushed her lips against Damon's. In a sweet whisper she confessed, "I love you more Salvatore" and it was now Damon's turn to blush.

The happy couple was unaware of the gazes of the occupants of the cabin and only after hearing a fake cough from Enzo they broke apart and were brought back into reality.

Brushing aside the awkwardness Enzo carefully grabs a few photos and places them on high table for everyone to have a clear look. Everyone strains their eyes on those slight blurred photographs with a confused look.

Noticing the attention and curiosity of room occupants, Enzo took a step away from table in a display to announce something huge. "Well, these pictures have our traitors."

"Traitors? More than one?" Stefan questioned in a beseeching tone

"Yes. Most important thing is they are a he and she" Enzo further added, "Before we proceed into this web, let me clarify one thing, Wes and I are working together gathering our clues since past few days and honestly, we've done it far quicker than when we were going solo."

Damon made an impatient noise, his face disapproving of what he heard from Enzo but he realized that they made progress even if Wes didn't inform him about such partnerships prior to mingling with Enzo.

Wondering why isn't anyone addressing the obvious, Elena questions more with fierceness than confusion. "Who are they?"

"Sunny Nelson"

[ ~ ]

"That's just one name! You mentioned they were two?" Damon interrupted

Scratching his head Enzo blew a breath of air. "I though you had a clue about this name. Wes thinks it's related to your brother-in-law Shane"

"Wait, Atticus has something to do with this? Are you sure?" Stefan looked a little perplexed because he never gave enough importance to familial matters since his sour marriage with Valerie.

On the contrary Damon was silent and listening intently. He had no intention to interrupt this time. He wanted Enzo to finish before he made any assumptions.

Enzo pulled two more images from the bunch laid haphazardly on the table, pointing with his finger the face that was clearly visible among the blurred ones. "Wes sent one of his man to crack a deal with the crew who was spreading nasty things about Elena. He himself was surprised to find Atticus in these frames."

"It could be just a ploy-" Stefan interjected but was silenced when Damon raised his hand. His elder brother didn't reveal much, a poker face and his body rigid like it used to be when something had pissed Damon and he was contemplating the whole situation mentally.

Noticing he was free to continue, Enzo took out his phone and room was within moments filled with sound of conversation between two or may be three men.

There was no doubt then. Both the brothers could hear the voice clearly and recognized the moment it got played. It was indeed Atticus who was sounding unlike his usual composed self, selling the videos of the party at Salvatore Mansion.

Disgust fueled within Damon upon hearing Atticus say, "It has the best soft porn. Damon and that nobody Elena kissing. Nowhere will you find this. My price, take it or leave it!"

The ending note of the audio left eerie silence in the cottage room. Damon wasn't surprised with that video being sold to tarnish his reputation and he has come across innumerable such pigs who sell dirty secrets of well-known families. He feared it happening the moment he kissed Elena. He had known this all along that he will drag Elena in all this mess which she could have avoided if not for him and his stupid emotions.

His displeasure was clearly visible on his face. He was no more able to mask it and he realized that Elena had laced her soft fingers in his hands. He couldn't look at her out of sheer guilt but held her hand firmly to reassure her.

"Is that bastard cheating on our sister with that Sunny woman!" This time Stefan's voice tore through the silence. If there was one thing he hated and that was anyone harming his family and especially his cousin whom he treated like a sibling, his sister.

Enzo shrugged. "She was accompanying him during the deal. We heard Atticus say her name but unfortunately she wasn't present during the deal." He paused for a brief moment and added with caution in his voice, "We don't know if Sarah's aware who Sunny might be-"

Before Enzo could complete Elena's sudden exclamation made everyone turn her direction.

"I know it!" Like a lightening bolt it struck Elena the name she read at Sarah's is Nelson, indeed Sunny Nelson.

In an attempt to mention every single detail crucial for everyone's understanding, Elena declared in a speedy tone. "I saw Sunny Nelson's name in the drawing Arianna gave me. That-was a paper-it had loan and seizing property if not paid."

Damon placed a hand on Elena's shoulder in an attempt to calm her. She took a deep breath and continued but this time more calmly. "Remember the last time we met and found tunnels, and left for Sarah's place with Stefan. That day Aria showed me her drawing. It was on some legal notice which was for Sunny Nelson and it was for repayment of loan."

"Legal Notice?" repeated Stefan with a sound of distaste.

Everyone was considering the same question and before anyone could comment, there was a knock at the door and a muffled voice called out, "Open the door damn it!" It alarmed Elena but not Damon or Enzo as both of them could recognize Wes's voice even in their sleep as he rarely made appearances and communicated through encrypted calls.

Damon moved forward and unbolted the door. He moved aside to reveal a tall man in his early 40's with blond hair and muscled body. Damon moved aside to let him in. That man limped a little from his left leg but otherwise his demeanour didn't indicate any flaw. Only upon him coming up-close did Elena see multiple deep marks of cuts and stitches. All in all the man who so easily entered the cottage seemed trustworthy or else Damon would never let anyone else in right now.

"About time, Wes. We were waiting for you" Enzo commented looking pointedly at the ex-army man.

Wes huffed but made no gesture other than clasp his rough hands together. Elena looked at Damon but he was staring at Wes with concentration as if expecting this man to reveal darkest of secrets.

Wes looked at Damon for a moment and then cleared his throat. "You won't like this." He then placed some documents with name bearing Sunny Nelson on the same table and added, "With proof I've found the other cheat."

As if on reflex Damon spoke, "I'm no more curious of who it may be. I want to know who would hate me enough to plan out all of this with him. Surely that dick of Shane has no access to my or my company's data."

"Then you would be surprised to know that it's no one else but your cousin Sarah Salvatore"

[ ~ ]

Thank you for letting me know regarding the issue. I'm unable to upload the story, if anyone can help it'll be much appreciated.

I know I've posted this after a year but I was facing issues to login to even add any chapter and now that I'm able to log in hopefully you all are able to see.

I hope you all like this chapter :)