CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 13
THE FALL OF SERENA MONTIGUE
The sound of the gunshot echoed through the abandoned church.
For a moment…
Everything stopped.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Even Serena froze.
Because she had expected many things.
She expected Victor to attack.
She expected Lily to scream.
She expected chaos.
But she had not expected Victor Blackwood to step in front of the bullet.
Again.
Just like he had done before.
Just like he had always done.
Protecting his family.
"Victor!"
Lily's scream broke the silence.
She rushed toward him.
The world around her disappeared.
She didn't see the guards.
She didn't see Serena.
She didn't see the weapons.
She only saw Victor falling.
The man who had spent his entire life making others afraid…
Was now lying on the ground because he chose to protect her.
"Stay with me."
Her hands pressed against the wound.
"Victor, look at me."
His eyes opened slowly.
And somehow…
He smiled.
"You're safe."
Lily's tears fell.
"You're unbelievable."
Even now.
Even hurt.
Even bleeding.
His first thought was still her.
The Blackwood security team moved instantly.
Marcus grabbed Serena before she could react.
She struggled.
"Let me go!"
Nobody listened.
For the first time in her life…
Serena Montigue was powerless.
She looked toward Victor.
Toward Lily.
Toward Ethan.
And she saw something she had spent years trying to destroy.
A family.
A real one.
The ambulance arrived within minutes.
Victor was taken immediately.
Lily refused to leave his side.
Ethan was held safely by Marcus.
The little boy kept reaching toward the ambulance.
"Dada..."
Marcus looked at him.
"He'll be okay."
But even Marcus sounded like he was trying to convince himself.
Because everyone knew.
Victor Blackwood was not invincible.
Meanwhile…
Serena sat inside a secured room beneath the Blackwood estate.
No luxury.
No designer clothes.
No cameras.
No people admiring her.
Only silence.
The kind of silence she had always feared.
A detective placed a file in front of her.
"You are facing multiple charges."
Serena laughed.
A cold, bitter laugh.
"Do you know who I am?"
The detective looked at her.
"Yes."
A pause.
"And that's why everyone knows exactly what you did."
Her smile disappeared.
The evidence was overwhelming.
The hidden camera footage.
The financial records.
The communication between her and Daniel Cross.
The kidnapping attempt.
The attack on Ethan.
The murder conspiracy connected to Isabella Blackwood's death.
Everything.
Years of carefully created lies collapsed in a single night.
The woman who had spent years pretending to be perfect…
Was finally seen.
Not as a victim.
Not as a future Blackwood.
But as what she truly was.
Three days later.
Victor woke up.
The first thing he heard was a familiar voice.
"You're awake."
His eyes opened.
Lily.
Sitting beside him.
Exactly where he expected her to be.
Exactly where she always was.
He tried to move.
She immediately stopped him.
"Don't."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"You sound like my doctor."
"Your doctor is smarter than you."
Victor almost laughed.
Almost.
Then he looked around.
"Ethan?"
Lily smiled.
"Sleeping."
A pause.
"He refused to leave until he knew you were okay."
Victor closed his eyes.
For a moment, he allowed himself to feel.
Not as a boss.
Not as a protector.
Just as a father.
Later that day, Marcus entered the room.
Victor immediately became serious.
"Serena?"
Marcus placed a file on the table.
"Everything is confirmed."
Victor opened it.
Inside were final investigation reports.
"Daniel?"
"Dead."
A pause.
"He tried to escape."
Victor nodded.
He had expected that.
"And the others?"
"Arrested."
Silence.
Then Marcus added:
"There's something else."
Victor looked up.
"What?"
Marcus placed another document down.
"The evidence about Isabella's death."
Victor froze.
After all these years…
The truth.
Finally.
The investigation revealed everything.
Isabella Blackwood had discovered that Victor's father had created secret alliances with criminal organizations.
She had found evidence proving that certain people inside the Blackwood empire were planning to use Ethan's inheritance.
She wanted to expose them.
They wanted silence.
The car accident was arranged.
But Serena had not been the person who directly killed Isabella.
She was only one piece.
A piece of a much larger betrayal.
And the final mastermind…
Was already dead.
Victor's own father.
The truth hurt.
But it also freed him.
For years, Victor blamed himself.
He thought he failed Isabella.
He thought he should have protected her.
But now he understood.
She had been fighting to protect Ethan too.
Just like Lily.
Two women.
Two different moments.
Both standing between danger and his son.
When Victor returned home, the mansion felt different.
Not colder.
Not darker.
Different.
Because Serena was gone.
The fear she created was gone.
The lies were gone.
Only the people who truly belonged remained.
That evening, Victor found Lily in the garden.
The same place where she once told him she was afraid of his world.
He stood beside her.
"I owe you another apology."
She smiled slightly.
"Another one?"
He nodded.
"I spent my life believing strength meant handling everything alone."
A pause.
"But I was wrong."
Lily looked at him.
Victor continued:
"Strength is knowing who stands beside you."
Her eyes softened.
"Victor..."
"I almost lost you."
Silence.
"And I don't want to experience that again."
Lily looked away.
"Your world is dangerous."
"I know."
"I'm afraid."
"I know."
She looked at him.
"Then why?"
Victor stepped closer.
"Because before you came into my life, I protected my empire."
A pause.
"After you came into my life..."
His voice softened.
"I finally had something worth protecting."
Inside the mansion, Ethan watched them through the window.
The little boy smiled.
Because children understood things adults often forgot.
Family was not always about who gave you life.
Sometimes…
It was about who stayed.
One month later.
The trial of Serena Montigue began.
The courtroom was packed.
News outlets across Chicago covered every detail.
The perfect socialite.
The future wife of Victor Blackwood.
The woman everyone admired.
Now exposed.
Serena sat quietly.
For the first time…
She had nothing left to manipulate.
No lies.
No charm.
No control.
The prosecutor placed the final evidence before the court.
The video.
The one that started everything.
The one that destroyed Serena.
When the verdict was announced…
Serena closed her eyes.
Guilty.
The word echoed.
Her entire world collapsed.
As she was taken away, she looked back one final time.
At Victor.
At Lily.
At Ethan.
And she finally understood.
She had spent so much time trying to become part of Victor's family…
That she destroyed the only chance she had to be loved.
That night, Victor stood outside with Ethan in his arms.
Lily stood beside him.
The city lights surrounded them.
For years, Victor Blackwood had been known as a monster.
A man without mercy.
A man without fear.
But the world never knew the truth.
The monster was never created by cruelty.
It was created by the need to protect.
And the woman who stood beside him…
May you like
Was the only person brave enough to remind him he was still human.
END OF CHAPTER 13
