CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 6
THE WOMAN WHO STOOD BETWEEN DEATH AND HIS SON
The rain had not stopped for three days.
It fell heavily over Chicago, covering the city in a gray darkness that matched Victor Blackwood’s thoughts.
He stood alone inside his office, staring at the photograph in his hand.
A photograph of Ethan’s mother.
A photograph of the night everything changed.
And beside it…
A photograph of Lily.
Younger.
Afraid.
Standing outside the scene of the accident that took away the woman he loved.
Victor had spent years believing he knew the truth.
A drunk driver.
A tragic mistake.
A moment of bad luck.
That was the official story.
The story everyone gave him.
The story he accepted because the alternative was too painful.
But now Lily was telling him that the woman he loved had not died by chance.
She had been murdered.
And Lily had been there.
The office door opened.
Victor didn’t turn.
"I want the truth."
Lily stood at the entrance.
She had expected anger.
Accusations.
Maybe even hatred.
But what frightened her more was the emptiness in his voice.
She slowly walked inside.
"I know."
Victor placed the photograph on the desk.
"Then tell me everything."
Lily looked down.
For six months, she had carried this secret.
For six months, she had watched Victor love his son while never knowing how close he had come to losing everything.
"I was twenty-two."
Her voice was quiet.
"I was working at a small café near the hospital."
Victor listened.
Not moving.
"That night, Ethan's mother came in."
A pause.
"She was scared."
Victor's eyes changed.
"Why?"
"Because someone had been following her."
The room became silent.
"She told me she didn't know who to trust."
Lily swallowed.
"She had a baby in her arms. Ethan."
Victor closed his eyes briefly.
He remembered that night.
He remembered the phone call.
The hospital.
The moment he arrived too late.
"She gave me something."
Victor looked at her.
"What?"
"A small envelope."
Lily's hands tightened.
"She told me if something happened to her, I needed to make sure Ethan was safe."
Victor stared.
"What was inside?"
"I don't know."
His expression hardened.
"You don't know?"
Lily shook her head quickly.
"She took it back before she left. She said she needed to find someone she could trust."
"Who?"
Lily looked at him.
"She never said."
Victor walked toward the window.
The rain reflected against the glass.
"Why didn't you come to me?"
The question sounded less like anger.
More like pain.
Lily lowered her eyes.
"Because I didn't know who you were."
A pause.
"When I saw the news about Victor Blackwood, the powerful businessman everyone feared..."
She looked at him.
"I thought maybe you were part of the reason she died."
Those words hurt.
But Victor didn't deny them.
Because he knew the world he lived in.
He knew the enemies around him.
He knew innocent people had been hurt because of his name.
"And then?"
Lily continued.
"Then I met Ethan."
Her voice softened.
"I saw him on the news months later. Your son."
She smiled sadly.
"He looked so lost."
Victor looked away.
"I applied for the nanny position because I needed work."
She paused.
"But when I saw him..."
Her eyes filled.
"I remembered that baby."
The same baby whose mother trusted her for one brief moment.
"The baby I promised I would protect."
For the first time in a long time...
Victor Blackwood didn't know what to say.
This woman had walked into his house carrying a secret.
A secret that could have destroyed everything.
But instead of using it against him...
She protected his son.
She protected Ethan.
Even when nobody knew.
Even when nobody thanked her.
"You could have used this."
Victor's voice was low.
"You could have told me you saved my son."
Lily shook her head.
"I didn't save him."
She looked toward the hallway where Ethan slept.
"I just kept my promise."
Victor stared at her.
A promise.
A simple promise.
Something people in his world rarely kept.
Later that night, Victor entered Ethan's room.
The child was sleeping peacefully.
Lily sat beside him.
Again.
Always.
Victor leaned against the doorway.
"You haven't slept."
Lily looked up.
"Neither have you."
A small silence.
Then Victor said:
"Why?"
She frowned.
"Why what?"
"Why do you care so much?"
The question surprised her.
"You mean Ethan?"
"Yes."
Lily looked at the sleeping child.
"Because he needs someone."
Victor looked at her.
"Everyone needs someone."
Her answer was quiet.
"But not everyone has someone."
Those words stayed with him.
Because they were true.
Victor Blackwood had everything.
Money.
Power.
Fear.
Respect.
But at the end of every day...
He had been alone.
The next morning, Marcus arrived with new information.
Victor was in the middle of breakfast with Ethan and Lily when his phone rang.
He answered.
"What?"
Marcus's voice was serious.
"Boss, we found the file."
Victor stood immediately.
"What file?"
"The one Serena was looking for."
A pause.
"The one connected to Ethan's mother."
Victor's expression changed.
"Where?"
"Hidden inside an old storage facility owned by one of your former associates."
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"Who?"
Marcus hesitated.
Then:
"Your father."
Silence.
Lily looked at Victor.
His face had gone completely pale.
Victor's father had been dead for years.
A man who built the Blackwood empire.
A man Victor spent his life trying to escape from.
"What does my father have to do with this?"
Marcus lowered his voice.
"Everything."
Hours later, Victor and Lily arrived at the abandoned facility.
Inside was a locked metal box.
Old.
Dusty.
Forgotten.
But protected.
Victor opened it.
Inside were documents.
Photographs.
And one letter.
The handwriting made him freeze.
His father's handwriting.
Victor opened it.
Only one sentence was written.
"Victor, if you are reading this, then they finally came for Ethan."
His blood turned cold.
He read the next page.
And the truth began to unfold.
His father's empire.
His wife's death.
Serena's obsession.
Everything was connected.
But before Victor could finish reading...
A gunshot exploded outside.
The lights went out.
Lily grabbed Ethan's carrier instinctively.
Victor immediately moved in front of them.
Protecting them.
Just like Lily had protected Ethan.
The difference was...
Victor was willing to die doing it.
"Stay behind me."
Lily looked at him.
"You don't have to protect us alone."
Victor glanced back.
For a second, he saw not a nanny.
Not an employee.
But the woman who had stood between death and his son.
The woman who had protected the only thing he loved.
Then another gunshot echoed.
And Victor realized something.
The enemy wasn't coming for his empire anymore.
May you like
They were coming for his family.
END OF CHAPTER 6
