CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 11
THE TRUTH ABOUT ETHAN’S MOTHER
The old Blackwood estate had been abandoned for years.
But tonight, it was alive again.
Alive with betrayal.
Alive with secrets.
Alive with the ghosts of the past.
Victor Blackwood stood in the center of the room, surrounded by people he once trusted.
Men who had worked beside him.
Men who had protected him.
Men who now pointed weapons at him.
But Victor did not look afraid.
He looked disappointed.
And somehow, that was worse.
Because anger could fade.
Disappointment lasted forever.
Serena held Ethan tightly.
Not enough to hurt him.
Not yet.
But enough to make Victor's entire body tense.
"Put him down."
Victor's voice was low.
Serena smiled.
"There it is."
She tilted her head.
"The famous Victor Blackwood."
A pause.
"The man who makes everyone afraid."
She looked at Ethan.
"But not anymore."
Victor's eyes became darker.
"You think holding my son gives you power?"
Serena laughed.
"No."
She looked at Lily.
"I think knowing the truth gives me power."
Lily froze.
The truth.
Those words again.
The same words Serena had used before.
The same words connected to Ethan's mother.
Victor noticed Lily's expression.
And he knew.
There was still something she hadn't told him.
"Tell him."
Serena smiled.
Lily's face turned pale.
"Tell him what?"
Serena walked slowly around the room.
"The reason Ethan's mother died."
Victor's attention shifted.
"What are you talking about?"
Serena looked pleased.
Because finally…
She had control.
"The accident wasn't random."
The room became silent.
Victor's hand tightened.
"You already knew that."
Serena looked at him.
"Of course I did."
A pause.
"Because I was there."
The words hit like a bullet.
Victor stared at her.
"What?"
Serena smiled.
"Do you really think I just appeared in your life by chance?"
His expression changed.
"Explain."
She walked toward an old table covered in dust.
"I spent years studying the Blackwood family."
She touched an old photograph.
"Your father."
She pointed at another.
"Your empire."
Then she looked at Ethan.
"And your son."
Victor's voice became dangerous.
"What did you do?"
Serena's smile disappeared.
"I didn't kill her."
A pause.
"But I helped create the situation."
Lily covered her mouth.
Victor went completely still.
Years ago.
Before Serena became Victor's fiancée.
Before she entered the Blackwood mansion.
Before anyone knew her name.
She had already been watching.
She knew about Victor's enemies.
She knew about the Blackwood inheritance.
And she knew one thing.
The only person standing between her and everything she wanted...
Was Ethan's mother.
A woman named Isabella Blackwood.
"I thought Isabella was weak."
Serena continued.
"She was kind."
A bitter smile.
"People like that always think love protects them."
Victor said nothing.
But the name hurt.
Isabella.
A name he hadn't heard spoken like this in years.
"She discovered something."
Serena looked at him.
"Something about your father."
Victor's expression changed.
"My father?"
"Yes."
Serena walked closer.
"Your father didn't build the empire alone."
The room became silent.
"He made deals."
Victor stared.
"What kind of deals?"
"The kind powerful men make when they want unlimited control."
She looked at Lily.
"And Isabella found proof."
Lily remembered.
The envelope.
The night.
The fear in Isabella's eyes.
Now everything made sense.
She hadn't been running from Victor.
She had been running from someone else.
Someone powerful.
Someone inside the Blackwood family.
"I saw her that night."
Lily finally spoke.
Everyone turned.
Victor looked at her.
"Tell me."
Her voice trembled.
"She was scared."
A pause.
"She told me someone close to you was trying to take Ethan."
Victor's breathing became heavier.
"Who?"
Lily looked down.
"I didn't know."
Serena laughed.
"You still don't understand."
She stepped closer.
"She wasn't afraid of one person."
A pause.
"She was afraid of the entire system."
Victor looked at the old house around him.
The house where his father ruled.
The house where secrets were buried.
The house where people disappeared.
And suddenly...
Everything connected.
His father's mysterious business partners.
The enemies who always seemed to know his family's movements.
The attack on Isabella.
Serena's obsession.
Daniel Cross's betrayal.
All of it.
"Where is the evidence?"
Victor asked.
Serena smiled.
"Finally."
She reached into her coat and pulled out a small key.
"This opens your father's private archive."
Victor stared.
"You had it?"
"I found it."
She corrected.
"Years ago."
Lily looked at her.
"Then why didn't you use it?"
Serena smiled.
"Because I didn't need to."
A pause.
"Until now."
Suddenly, Ethan started crying.
The sound broke through everything.
Victor immediately moved.
"Give him to me."
For a moment, Serena hesitated.
Because even she could see it.
Ethan wasn't afraid of Victor.
He trusted him.
The child reached out.
"Dada..."
That single word changed the room.
Victor's expression softened.
Serena saw it.
And something inside her broke.
Because no matter what she did...
She could never make Ethan love her.
Then the lights went out.
Everyone reacted.
A gunshot.
A scream.
Chaos.
Victor moved instantly.
He grabbed Ethan.
Lily moved beside him.
Security attacked the traitors.
And in the confusion...
Serena escaped.
Again.
Minutes later, Victor stood in the archive room.
The key Serena left behind opened a hidden door.
Inside was a small room.
Dust.
Old documents.
Photographs.
And one final recording.
Victor pressed play.
His father's voice filled the room.
"Victor."
Everyone froze.
"If you are hearing this, then Isabella failed to protect Ethan."
Victor closed his eyes.
His father's voice continued.
"I made mistakes."
A pause.
"I trusted the wrong people."
The recording became distorted.
Then:
"The person responsible for Isabella's death is someone you know."
Victor looked at Lily.
Then at Marcus.
Then at everyone around him.
His father's final words echoed:
"Do not trust the woman who enters your life after Isabella."
Silence.
Because everyone knew what that meant.
Serena.
But then another message appeared.
A second file.
Created years later.
The date was after Victor's father's death.
Victor opened it.
And the screen displayed a name.
A name that made his blood freeze.
Because the person behind everything...
Was not Serena.
Not Daniel.
Not even his father's old enemies.
It was someone Victor never suspected.
May you like
Someone who had been beside him all along.
END OF CHAPTER 11
