Chapter 5 — The Woman Behind Serena
Chapter 5 — The Woman Behind Serena
Victor watched the screen without blinking.
The footage had ended three minutes ago.
Nobody in the security room had moved.
Nobody had spoken.
On the frozen monitor stood a man Victor had buried six years earlier.
His father.
Alexander Blackwood.
Beside him stood Serena.
Smiling.
Confident.
As if they had never been afraid of being discovered.
Lily broke the silence first.
“Victor…”
He didn't answer.
“Are you sure that's your father?”
Victor's eyes remained fixed on the screen.
“Yes.”
“But he died.”
“Yes.”
“Then how—”
“I don't know.”
His voice was cold.
Too cold.
Lily had learned enough about him to understand what that meant.
Victor wasn't calm.
He was furious.
The kind of fury that had gone so deep it no longer needed to show itself.
He turned toward the technician.
“Show me the original timestamp.”
The technician typed.
“Six months ago.”
Victor stared.
“That's impossible.”
“I checked the system clock.”
“Check again.”
The technician did.
Same result.
Victor walked toward the monitor.
“Enhance his face.”
The image sharpened.
The older man's features became clearer.
Gray hair.
Sharp cheekbones.
The same scar above his left eyebrow.
Victor's father.
Alexander Blackwood.
There was no doubt.
Lily whispered:
“Could it be someone who looks like him?”
Victor shook his head.
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he has the scar.”
Lily looked at the screen.
“What scar?”
Victor pointed.
“My father got that scar when I was nine.”
He paused.
“I watched him get it.”
The technician swallowed.
“Then who is he?”
Victor didn't answer.
Because he had another question.
If Alexander was alive—
why had he allowed the world to believe he was dead?
Victor ordered everyone out.
Only Lily remained.
He locked the security room door.
Then he turned off the lights.
The monitor illuminated his face.
“Lily.”
“Yes?”
“Everything you hear tonight stays between us.”
She nodded.
“I understand.”
Victor sat down.
“My father supposedly died in a car explosion.”
Lily stared at him.
“Supposedly?”
“Yes.”
“You never saw the body?”
“No.”
“Then how did you know he was dead?”
“The police identified the vehicle.”
“Not him?”
Victor looked at her.
“They said the remains were too damaged for a normal identification.”
Lily's stomach tightened.
“So you never actually saw him.”
“No.”
“Then maybe…”
Victor raised his hand.
“Don't say it yet.”
Lily stopped.
Victor looked back at the screen.
“For six years, I've believed my father was dead.”
He leaned back.
“But if that recording is real…”
“He's alive.”
Victor nodded.
“And he's been working with Serena.”
Lily thought about the earlier footage.
Serena asking:
What do you want me to do?
And the man's voice answering:
Make sure she can't speak.
Lily whispered:
“Your father wanted me gone.”
Victor looked at her.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you were protecting Ethan.”
She shook her head.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It does if Ethan is the key.”
“The trust.”
Victor nodded.
“Exactly.”
He opened the trust document again.
“The trust was created by my father.”
Lily stared.
“Then Serena didn't create this.”
“No.”
“She was recruited.”
“Yes.”
“And your father has been using her.”
Victor's expression hardened.
“Or she's been using him.”
The next morning, Victor called his attorney.
“Daniel.”
The attorney arrived within thirty minutes.
He looked at the documents.
Then at Victor.
“Where did you get these?”
“Doesn't matter.”
“It matters a great deal.”
“Read the trust.”
Daniel did.
His expression slowly changed.
“Victor…”
“What?”
“This trust isn't what you think.”
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“Explain.”
“Your father created it before his death.”
“I know.”
“No.”
Daniel turned the document toward him.
“Look at the beneficiary structure.”
Victor read.
Then stopped.
His eyes moved down the page.
Lily watched.
“What?”
Victor's voice became quiet.
“Ethan isn't the only beneficiary.”
Daniel nodded.
“There's another.”
“Who?”
Daniel pointed.
“Serena Montigue.”
Silence.
Lily stared.
Victor's face became unreadable.
“Why?”
Daniel shook his head.
“I don't know.”
“Find out.”
“I will.”
Victor stood.
“And Daniel?”
“Yes?”
“If anyone asks about this trust…”
He looked directly at him.
“You tell them nothing.”
Daniel nodded.
Two hours later, Victor received a message.
We found the woman.
The message came from Marcus.
Victor called immediately.
“Where?”
“Private records facility.”
“Who is she?”
“Evelyn Blackwood.”
Victor froze.
His aunt.
His father's younger sister.
The woman who had raised him after his mother died.
The woman who had cried at his father's funeral.
The woman who had told him for six years that Alexander was gone.
The woman who had held his hand beside the grave.
Lily saw his expression.
“What happened?”
Victor looked at her.
“My aunt.”
“Evelyn?”
“Yes.”
“What about her?”
“She knew.”
They drove to the Blackwood family estate.
It was an enormous property on the outskirts of Chicago.
Lily had never been there.
Victor hadn't visited in years.
The gates opened automatically.
A woman waited on the front steps.
Evelyn Blackwood.
Elegant.
Silver-haired.
Seventy years old.
She smiled when she saw Victor.
“My son.”
Victor stepped out of the car.
“Don't call me that.”
Her smile disappeared.
“What happened?”
“You lied to me.”
She stared.
“I don't know what you mean.”
“You told me my father was dead.”
“He is.”
Victor pulled out his phone.
He played the recording.
Evelyn watched.
Her face changed.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she whispered:
“No.”
Victor stepped closer.
“Who is he?”
“I don't know.”
“Look at him.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Because I know that man.”
Victor stared.
“Who is he?”
Evelyn looked at him.
“Your father.”
Lily felt a chill.
Victor didn't move.
“How long?”
Evelyn shook her head.
“How long has he been alive?”
“I don't know.”
“Six years?”
“I don't know.”
“Five?”
“I don't know.”
Victor's voice became sharper.
“Did you help him?”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
Lily's breath caught.
Victor stared at her.
“Why?”
“Because he said you were becoming dangerous.”
“To whom?”
“To the family.”
Victor laughed bitterly.
“The family?”
Evelyn looked away.
“Your father believed you would destroy everything he built.”
Victor stepped closer.
“So you helped him.”
“I protected you.”
“You protected him.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“I thought I was protecting you.”
“By hiding his death?”
“Yes.”
“By helping Serena?”
Evelyn said nothing.
That was answer enough.
Victor entered the house.
“Tell me everything.”
Evelyn followed.
“You don't understand what your father was planning.”
“Then explain it.”
“He believed Ethan would inherit everything.”
Victor stopped.
“And?”
“He didn't want that.”
“Why?”
“Because Ethan's mother had a claim.”
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“What claim?”
Evelyn looked at Lily.
Then back at Victor.
“Ethan's mother wasn't just some woman your father disliked.”
Victor's expression changed.
“She was a Blackwood.”
Lily froze.
Victor stared at his aunt.
“What?”
“Your father's first child.”
Silence.
“That's impossible.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“No.”
Victor's breathing changed.
“My father had a daughter?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Evelyn's lips trembled.
“Anna.”
Victor stepped backward.
“Anna died.”
“She didn't.”
Lily felt the room tilt.
“Then where is she?”
Evelyn looked at Victor.
“She's Ethan's mother.”
Victor went completely still.
Lily's heart pounded.
“What?”
Evelyn continued.
“Your father erased her from the family.”
“Why?”
“She married someone he hated.”
Victor stared.
“And Ethan?”
“Is her son.”
Victor's eyes moved toward Lily.
Then back to Evelyn.
“Why did Serena hurt him?”
Evelyn whispered:
“Because if Ethan inherits the trust, Anna's bloodline controls the Blackwood fortune.”
Victor understood.
Everything.
The trust.
Serena.
The medical records.
The threats.
The attacks.
The mysterious man.
It wasn't simply about a child.
It was about control.
Ethan wasn't just Victor's son.
He was the last living link to a branch of the Blackwood family that Alexander had spent decades trying to erase.
Victor looked at Evelyn.
“Why did Serena know?”
“Your father told her.”
“Why would she agree?”
Evelyn looked down.
“Because she was promised a fortune.”
Victor's expression hardened.
“And you?”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“I was promised your safety.”
“You believed him?”
“I wanted to.”
Victor laughed bitterly.
“You helped him hurt my son.”
Evelyn began crying.
“I never touched Ethan.”
“But you knew.”
“Yes.”
“You saw the bruises.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Serena was hurting him.”
“Yes.”
“You did nothing.”
Evelyn whispered:
“I was afraid.”
Victor stared at her.
“Of my father?”
She nodded.
“For six years.”
Lily suddenly remembered something.
“Victor.”
He turned.
“The medical records.”
“What about them?”
“Evelyn.”
The older woman looked at her.
“Did you change Ethan's records?”
Evelyn's face went pale.
“No.”
“Then who did?”
“I don't know.”
Lily stepped closer.
“But you knew about them.”
Evelyn nodded.
“Serena brought them to me.”
“And you signed them.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
Victor's expression became cold.
“You signed false medical records?”
“I was told they were necessary.”
“Necessary for what?”
Evelyn looked at him.
“To establish that Ethan was unstable.”
Lily's stomach dropped.
Victor's voice became deadly calm.
“So Serena wasn't trying to kill Ethan.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“No.”
“She was trying to make him look unfit to inherit.”
“Yes.”
“And if he died…”
Evelyn looked away.
“Serena would receive the trust.”
Victor's hands tightened.
“And if he survived?”
“She would become his guardian.”
Silence.
Victor finally understood the entire plan.
Serena had never needed Ethan dead.
She needed him damaged.
Weak.
Dependent.
Unable to challenge her.
And Lily had been the only obstacle because she had seen too much.
That night, Victor returned to the mansion.
Ethan was sleeping.
Lily sat beside him.
Victor entered quietly.
She looked up.
“What happened?”
He closed the door.
“Serena wasn't working alone.”
Lily waited.
“My aunt helped her.”
Lily's eyes widened.
“Evelyn?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Victor sat down.
“Because my father was behind it.”
Lily stared.
“Your father is alive.”
Victor nodded.
She covered her mouth.
“Then what happens now?”
Victor looked at Ethan.
“Now we stop running.”
He stood.
“We find my father.”
“And Serena?”
“We find her too.”
“And your aunt?”
Victor looked toward the window.
“She'll have to answer for what she did.”
Lily looked at Ethan.
“Will he be safe?”
Victor's voice became absolute.
“Yes.”
He looked at his son.
“No one touches him again.”
Lily nodded.
But neither noticed the small red light blinking beneath the hallway camera.
Someone was watching.
Someone had been watching the entire conversation.
Then Lily's phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
One message.
You know too much.
A second message arrived.
Leave Ethan tonight, or the next person who gets hurt won't be you.
Lily stared at the screen.
Victor noticed.
“What is it?”
She handed him the phone.
He read the messages.
His face became terrifyingly calm.
“Good.”
Lily looked at him.
“Good?”
Victor handed the phone back.
“They made one mistake.”
“What?”
“They threatened you in writing.”
He pulled out his own phone.
“Now we have evidence.”
Lily stared.
Victor called Marcus.
“Find the sender.”
A pause.
“Use everything.”
He ended the call.
Then he looked at Lily.
“For six months, they thought fear would keep everyone silent.”
His eyes moved toward Ethan.
“It won't anymore.”
But far away, in a dark room overlooking the city, a man watched the same camera feed.
He smiled.
Because Victor had found Evelyn.
He had found the trust.
He had found Serena's secret.
But there was still one secret left.
The secret Alexander Blackwood had hidden from his entire family.
And once Victor discovered who was really controlling the trust—
May you like
he would realize Serena had never been the mastermind.
She had only been the woman standing closest to the fire.
