Chapter 1 – The Cry That Changed Everything
Chapter 1 – The Cry That Changed Everything
The Blackwood mansion had always been a place of silence.
Not the peaceful kind.
The kind of silence that came from fear.
Every person who stepped through the enormous iron gates of the estate knew exactly whose home they were entering. The name Blackwood carried weight across Chicago. Politicians whispered it. Businessmen respected it. Enemies feared it.
Victor Blackwood was not a man people crossed.
He was the man who controlled the underground world with a calm expression and a ruthless mind. People called him a monster behind closed doors, but those who truly knew him understood one thing:
Victor Blackwood protected what belonged to him.
And six months ago, the most unexpected thing had become the center of his world.
A fourteen-month-old boy named Ethan.
His son.
The child had lost his mother before he could even remember her. Since then, the mansion had felt colder than ever.
Until Lily Carter arrived.
She was only a nanny.
At least, that was what everyone thought.
But to Ethan, Lily was the person who made him laugh again.
She was the person who sang him to sleep when nightmares woke him.
She was the person who sat beside his crib during storms because he was afraid of thunder.
And somewhere along the way, Lily had stopped feeling like an employee.
She had become family.
Which was exactly why Serena Montigue hated her.
“Stop it, please!”
Lily’s scream echoed through the marble foyer.
The sound bounced against the towering walls, the expensive paintings, and the crystal chandelier hanging above them.
But Serena Montigue did not stop.
She only smiled.
A cold, emotionless smile.
Baby Ethan was on the floor.
His tiny fingers desperately grabbed at the marble as he cried.
His face was red from screaming.
His breathing was uneven.
And Serena still held his arm.
Too tightly.
“Serena,” Lily whispered, her voice shaking. “Let him go.”
Serena slowly looked up.
For a moment, the elegant woman everyone admired disappeared.
The charity princess.
The beautiful socialite.
The perfect fiancée of Victor Blackwood.
All of it vanished.
What remained was something cruel.
“You’re giving me orders now?” Serena asked.
Lily swallowed her fear.
She had always known Serena disliked her.
She had noticed the small things.
The way Serena’s smile disappeared whenever Ethan reached for Lily.
The way Serena became irritated when Victor praised Lily for taking care of his son.
The way Serena looked at Ethan like he was an obstacle instead of a child.
But Lily never imagined this.
Never.
“His arm is hurting,” Lily said.
Her voice broke.
“He’s just a baby.”
Serena tilted her head.
“A baby who already knows how to manipulate people.”
Lily stared at her in disbelief.
“He’s fourteen months old.”
“And he already has Victor wrapped around his finger.”
Serena’s grip tightened.
Ethan screamed.
A sharp, terrified cry.
Something inside Lily shattered.
She moved forward.
“Enough!”
She rushed toward them.
She didn’t think.
She didn’t care about the consequences.
All she saw was Ethan.
A helpless little boy who trusted her.
A child who called her name every morning.
A child who reached for her whenever he was scared.
But Serena reacted faster.
Her high heel slammed into Lily’s stomach.
The impact stole the air from her lungs.
Lily fell backward.
Her body hit the marble floor with a painful crack.
For several seconds, she couldn’t breathe.
The ceiling above her blurred.
The chandelier lights became a thousand pieces of white fire.
But then she heard it.
Ethan.
Crying.
Weakly.
Lily forced her eyes open.
“No…”
Her voice was barely a whisper.
Ethan’s arm hung strangely.
Wrong.
Completely wrong.
His little body trembled.
The sound he made was no longer a normal baby’s cry.
It was a frightened, broken sound.
A sound that would stay with Lily forever.
She tried to stand.
Her body screamed in pain.
But she crawled.
One hand.
Then another.
Toward Ethan.
Serena watched.
Almost amused.
“You really are pathetic.”
Lily looked up at her.
“Please…”
The word barely escaped.
“Call a doctor.”
Serena laughed softly.
“You still think you’re in control?”
Lily froze.
Serena stepped closer.
“You’re just a nanny.”
Her voice became quieter.
“Nobody chooses you.”
The words cut deeper than the pain.
“You think Victor will believe you over me?”
Serena looked around the empty foyer.
“No cameras.”
A pause.
“No witnesses.”
Then she crouched beside Lily.
“You know what happens to people who accuse the wrong person in Victor Blackwood’s world?”
Lily said nothing.
Because she knew.
Everyone knew.
They disappeared.
Serena smiled.
“You should have remembered your place.”
Lily looked past her.
At Ethan.
His eyes were half closed now.
His cries had almost stopped.
Fear exploded through Lily’s chest.
No.
Not him.
Not this innocent child.
She pushed herself forward.
“Ethan…”
Her fingers touched his tiny hand.
“I’m here.”
The baby’s fingers weakly wrapped around hers.
And that small movement gave Lily enough strength to fight.
“He needs help,” Lily whispered.
Serena grabbed Lily’s hair and pulled her backward.
“You’re still worried about him?”
“Yes.”
The answer came instantly.
No hesitation.
“Yes.”
Serena stared at her.
For the first time, something changed in her expression.
Anger.
Pure anger.
“You actually love him.”
Lily said nothing.
She didn’t need to.
Serena already knew.
And that was the reason she hated Lily most.
Because Ethan loved Lily.
And worse…
Victor trusted Lily.
The sound of the mansion doors opening suddenly cut through the room.
Neither woman noticed at first.
Serena was too focused on Lily.
Lily was too focused on Ethan.
Then came the sound.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Controlled.
Everyone in the Blackwood mansion knew those footsteps.
The guards outside straightened.
The servants froze.
Because there was only one man who walked like that.
Victor Blackwood.
He was not supposed to return until tonight.
The business meeting in New York had been scheduled for another six hours.
But he had finished early.
And when Victor Blackwood entered his home, he expected to see his son.
He expected peace.
Instead…
He saw bloodless fear.
His child on the floor.
His fiancée standing over him.
And Lily.
The woman who had cared for Ethan like he was her own.
Broken on the marble.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Victor’s face revealed nothing.
That was what made him terrifying.
The world knew his anger.
But the people closest to him knew something worse.
His silence.
“Victor…”
Serena was the first to speak.
Her voice instantly changed.
Soft.
Fragile.
Like she was the victim.
“You came home early.”
Victor did not look at her.
His eyes stayed on Ethan.
His son.
The small boy who was barely making a sound.
Then his gaze moved to Lily.
“Tell me what happened.”
Lily opened her mouth.
But before she could answer—
Serena spoke.
“She attacked me.”
Silence.
Lily stared at her.
“What?”
Serena touched her own wrist dramatically.
“She became violent. She grabbed Ethan because she was angry that I was spending time with him.”
Lily’s heart stopped.
“No…”
Victor looked at Serena.
Then at Lily.
Serena stepped closer.
“I tried to stop her.”
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“I tried to protect him.”
Lily felt sick.
She had never seen someone lie so beautifully.
“Victor, please,” Lily whispered. “Don’t believe her.”
Serena immediately looked hurt.
“After everything I’ve done for this family?”
Victor remained still.
But his hands slowly tightened.
The guards behind him noticed.
Because they knew.
Something was coming.
Then Ethan made a small sound.
A weak cry.
Victor moved instantly.
All hesitation disappeared.
He dropped to his knees beside his son.
“Ethan.”
The coldest man in Chicago trembled as he touched his child’s face.
“Look at me, son.”
Ethan opened his eyes.
And whispered the only word he could manage.
“Li…”
Victor froze.
The baby reached toward Lily.
Not Serena.
Lily.
The room became completely silent.
Serena’s face changed.
Only for one second.
But Victor saw it.
The hatred.
The anger.
The truth.
He lifted Ethan carefully into his arms.
Then he looked at Serena.
A dangerous calm settled over his face.
“Call the doctor.”
The guards immediately moved.
Then Victor stood.
His eyes locked onto Serena.
“After my son is safe…”
His voice was quiet.
Too quiet.
“We are going to talk.”
Serena forced a smile.
But for the first time that night…
She looked afraid.
Because Victor Blackwood had seen something.
Something she could not erase.
The truth.
And behind him, lying on the cold marble floor, Lily realized one thing.
Her nightmare had just begun.
But Serena Montigue’s nightmare…
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Had only just started.
End of Chapter 1
