Chapter 2 — The Bruises Nobody Explained
Chapter 2 — The Bruises Nobody Explained
At 5:17 the next morning, Victor Blackwood stopped believing in coincidences.
He was standing alone in the security room, staring at a monitor that showed his son's nursery.
Ethan was asleep.
Lily was sitting beside the crib.
Everything looked peaceful.
But Victor had learned something about peace.
Sometimes it was only what existed on the surface.
Behind it, people could be lying.
Hurting.
Planning.
Waiting.
He pressed a button.
The footage rewound.
Three weeks.
Two weeks.
Seven days.
He watched the same nursery from different nights.
Ethan sleeping.
Lily feeding him.
A housekeeper changing his sheets.
Serena entering.
Serena leaving.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“Stop.”
Harris froze the footage.
Serena stood beside Ethan's crib.
Victor pointed at the screen.
“Zoom in.”
The image enlarged.
Serena's hand was resting against the crib.
Victor watched her face.
She wasn't smiling.
She wasn't angry.
She looked almost bored.
Then she reached inside.
The footage skipped.
Victor frowned.
“Go back.”
Harris rewound it.
The same moment.
Serena's arm disappeared below the camera angle.
Then Ethan cried.
Victor felt his stomach tighten.
“Next frame.”
Harris advanced slowly.
Serena pulled her hand out.
Ethan was crying.
Serena walked away.
Victor stared at the screen.
“What happened?”
Harris shook his head.
“We can't see.”
“Why?”
“Camera angle.”
Victor looked at the timestamp.
“Who installed these cameras?”
“Our previous security contractor.”
“Who hired him?”
Harris hesitated.
“Serena recommended the company.”
Victor turned.
“Find the contractor.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And find out who paid him.”
Harris nodded.
Victor looked back at the monitor.
The image showed his son crying alone in the crib.
Victor whispered:
“How many times did I miss this?”
At seven o'clock, the pediatrician returned.
Dr. Evelyn Hart had treated Ethan since birth.
Victor trusted her.
She sat at the dining table with a medical file open before her.
“The injury from last night isn't severe,” she said.
Victor nodded.
“But I'm concerned about the older bruises.”
“How many?”
“Four that I can clearly identify.”
Victor's expression hardened.
“Four?”
“There may be more.”
“Show me.”
She opened the file.
Photos.
One bruise beneath Ethan's shoulder.
One on his upper arm.
One near his hip.
One faint mark around his wrist.
Victor stared at them.
The room seemed to grow smaller.
“Could these happen accidentally?”
“Some bruises can.”
“But all four?”
“No.”
Victor looked up.
“What do you think?”
The doctor hesitated.
“I think someone has been grabbing him.”
Victor's hand tightened around the edge of the table.
“Hard enough to leave fingerprints?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because the bruises don't identify a person.”
Victor leaned back.
“What can they tell you?”
“That whoever caused them wasn't handling him gently.”
Victor closed the folder.
“Thank you.”
The doctor looked at him.
“Victor, there is something else.”
“What?”
“Ethan reacts when someone approaches him quickly.”
Victor frowned.
“He's fourteen months old.”
“I know.”
“But?”
“He flinches.”
Victor went completely still.
“He flinches?”
“When someone reaches toward his arm.”
The words hit him harder than any accusation.
Victor remembered yesterday.
Ethan had screamed when he touched his wrist.
He had assumed it was because the child was in pain.
Now he wasn't sure.
The doctor continued.
“That behavior can develop after repeated frightening experiences.”
Victor looked away.
He didn't want to hear the rest.
But he needed to.
“Can he recover?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Safety. Stability. Consistency.”
Victor nodded.
“He'll have all three.”
The doctor closed her file.
“I hope so.”
Victor looked at her.
“Why did you say it like that?”
She hesitated.
“Because children don't only remember pain.”
“They remember who was there.”
After the doctor left, Victor found Lily in the kitchen.
She was making tea.
Her left hand trembled slightly.
Victor noticed.
“You're hurt.”
“I'm fine.”
“That wasn't a question.”
She lowered the cup.
“My stomach hurts.”
“The doctor should examine you.”
“I can't afford another hospital bill.”
Victor stared at her.
“Lily.”
She looked up.
“You work for me.”
“I know.”
“If you are injured protecting my son, you don't pay for treatment.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Thank you.”
Victor sat across from her.
“I need you to tell me everything.”
Lily was silent.
“You said you've seen Ethan get hurt before.”
“Yes.”
“How many times?”
She looked at the table.
“Six.”
Victor's jaw tightened.
“Six?”
“Maybe more.”
“Tell me the first time.”
“It was about two months ago.”
“What happened?”
“Ethan had a bruise on his back.”
“Who was with him?”
“Serena.”
“What did she say?”
“That he fell.”
“Did you believe her?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because Ethan couldn't walk properly yet.”
Victor nodded.
“What happened next?”
“I asked if I could take him to the doctor.”
Serena refused.
“Why?”
“She said you were busy.”
Victor frowned.
“I wasn't.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you believe her?”
“I didn't.”
Lily looked directly at him.
“I was scared.”
Victor understood.
“Continue.”
“The second time was his wrist.”
“Same wrist?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“He was crying when I picked him up.”
“And Serena?”
“She told me I was holding him wrong.”
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“She blamed you.”
“Yes.”
“The third?”
“His shoulder.”
“Fourth?”
“His leg.”
“Fifth?”
“His ribs.”
Victor stopped.
“His ribs?”
Lily nodded.
“I saw the bruise.”
“What did Serena say?”
“She said he rolled off the bed.”
Victor's expression changed.
“Ethan was sleeping in a crib.”
Lily nodded.
“I know.”
Silence.
“And the sixth?”
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
“The worst.”
“What happened?”
“Ethan wouldn't stop crying.”
Victor waited.
“Serena locked us in the nursery.”
“Why?”
“She said she wanted to teach him not to be spoiled.”
Victor's voice became dangerously quiet.
“What did she do?”
Lily shook her head.
“I don't want to say.”
“You need to.”
“She…”
Lily swallowed.
“She grabbed his arm.”
Victor closed his eyes.
“How hard?”
“Hard enough that he screamed.”
“Then?”
“I stepped between them.”
“What happened?”
“She told me that if I ever interfered again, she'd make sure nobody ever found me.”
Victor stared at her.
“And you stayed?”
Lily looked toward the stairs.
“I couldn't leave him.”
Victor didn't answer.
That sentence stayed with him.
Because Lily could have quit.
She could have walked away.
Instead, she had stayed with a child who wasn't hers.
A child whose father had failed to see what was happening inside his own house.
Victor felt ashamed.
“I'm sorry.”
Lily looked surprised.
“For what?”
“For not seeing it.”
“You didn't know.”
“I should have.”
“You trusted her.”
Victor looked at her.
“And she used that.”
“Yes.”
At noon, Victor called Serena into his office.
She entered wearing a white dress.
Perfect.
As always.
Her hair was styled.
Her makeup flawless.
She looked like the woman photographed beside Victor at charity galas.
The woman newspapers called his future wife.
She smiled weakly.
“Can we talk?”
“We're talking now.”
She sat.
Victor remained standing.
“I reviewed the footage.”
Her smile disappeared.
“What footage?”
“From the past three weeks.”
Serena's hands tightened in her lap.
“You said the cameras weren't working.”
“They weren't.”
“Then what did you find?”
“Backup footage.”
She went pale.
Victor watched her carefully.
“You've been in Ethan's nursery six times.”
“He's my future stepson.”
“You were alone with him every time.”
“I love him.”
“Then why was he crying?”
Serena looked away.
“Children cry.”
“Not like that.”
“You're overreacting.”
Victor walked toward the desk.
He placed four photographs in front of her.
The bruises.
Serena stared.
“What are these?”
“Bruises.”
“I don't know.”
“Ethan's.”
She looked at him.
“Children get bruises.”
Victor leaned forward.
“These are consistent with someone grabbing him.”
Serena stood abruptly.
“You think I hurt him?”
“I think you're going to answer my questions.”
She laughed.
“You've lost your mind.”
“Sit down.”
She didn't.
Victor's voice hardened.
“Sit.”
She slowly sat.
Victor took out the recorder.
He pressed PLAY.
Her own voice filled the room.
“You think anyone will believe a cheap nanny over me?”
Serena's face drained of color.
The recording continued.
“Touch him again, and you disappear.”
Victor stopped it.
“You were saying?”
She stared at him.
Then suddenly began crying.
“I was angry.”
“Why?”
“Because Lily was disrespecting me.”
“You kicked her.”
“She attacked me.”
“She was protecting Ethan.”
“I didn't hurt him.”
Victor placed another recording on the desk.
Serena heard herself saying:
“He has to be removed.”
She froze.
The recording stopped.
Victor watched her.
“Who were you talking to?”
She didn't answer.
“Serena.”
“I don't know.”
“You don't know your own voice?”
She stood.
“I want a lawyer.”
Victor nodded.
“You should.”
She looked at him.
“You're not going to marry me.”
It wasn't a question.
Victor stared at her.
“No.”
Her face crumpled.
“You promised.”
“I also promised to protect my son.”
She whispered:
“You'll regret this.”
Victor's eyes hardened.
“Is that a threat?”
She looked at him.
“No.”
Then she smiled.
A small, strange smile.
“It's a warning.”
That afternoon, Harris returned.
He placed a file on Victor's desk.
“We found the security contractor.”
“Who?”
“Blackstone Security.”
Victor opened the file.
“Who owns it?”
“A holding company.”
“Name.”
“Vantage Group.”
Victor looked up.
“Who owns Vantage?”
Harris hesitated.
“That's the problem.”
Victor waited.
“The ownership is hidden.”
“Find out.”
“We're trying.”
“Try harder.”
Harris nodded.
“There is something else.”
“What?”
“The contractor received payments from an account belonging to Serena.”
Victor stared at him.
“How much?”
“Over the last six months?”
“Yes.”
“Four hundred thousand dollars.”
Victor slowly closed the file.
“Why would Serena spend four hundred thousand dollars on security?”
Harris answered quietly.
“She wasn't paying for security.”
Victor looked at him.
“She was paying for surveillance.”
That evening, Victor went upstairs.
Ethan was awake.
Lily was feeding him.
The moment Ethan saw Victor, he smiled.
“Da-da.”
Victor smiled back.
He lifted his son.
Ethan reached for his face.
Victor kissed his forehead.
“Hey, buddy.”
For a few seconds, everything was peaceful.
Then Ethan's gaze moved toward the doorway.
Serena stood there.
The baby's smile disappeared.
His body stiffened.
Victor noticed.
Serena noticed too.
“See?” she whispered.
“What?”
“He doesn't like me.”
Victor looked at his son.
Ethan buried his face against his father's neck.
Victor's voice was quiet.
“Children remember.”
Serena's face tightened.
“What does that mean?”
“You tell me.”
She turned and walked away.
Victor watched her leave.
Then he looked at Lily.
“Did you see that?”
“Yes.”
“Has he done that before?”
“Every time she enters.”
Victor's heart sank.
At 11:46 p.m., Victor received a message.
Unknown number.
You should stop digging.
He stared at the screen.
Another message arrived.
Your son is alive because we allowed him to be.
Victor's blood went cold.
He immediately called Harris.
“Trace this number.”
“Already doing it.”
Another message.
You don't understand what your father started.
Victor froze.
His father.
Again.
Then a photograph arrived.
It showed Victor's father standing outside the Blackwood estate.
The date was eight years after his supposed death.
Victor stared at it.
Impossible.
He enlarged the image.
The man looked exactly like his father.
Same face.
Same posture.
Same scar above his eyebrow.
Victor whispered:
“Dad?”
The phone rang.
Unknown number.
Victor answered.
No one spoke.
Then a man's voice came through.
Old.
Calm.
Familiar.
“Hello, Victor.”
Victor stopped breathing.
He knew that voice.
He had heard it every night as a child.
His father's voice.
The call ended.
Victor stared at the phone.
Harris rushed into the room.
“Sir?”
Victor looked at him.
“Someone just called me.”
“Who?”
Victor's face had gone pale.
“My father.”
Harris stared.
“Your father is dead.”
“I know.”
Victor looked toward the nursery.
Ethan was sleeping.
His small chest rising and falling.
Victor's eyes hardened.
“Which means someone wants me to believe he isn't.”
Harris understood.
“Sir, what do we do?”
Victor put the phone down.
“We find him.”
“And Serena?”
Victor looked toward the hallway.
“We don't confront her.”
“Why?”
“Because she thinks I still believe her.”
Victor's expression became cold.
“Let her think that.”
He walked toward the nursery.
Behind him, Harris asked:
“And if she tries something again?”
Victor stopped.
He looked back.
“She won't get another chance.”
He entered Ethan's room.
The baby slept peacefully.
Victor stood beside the crib.
He placed one hand against the wooden rail.
Six unexplained injuries.
A disabled security system.
Four hundred thousand dollars in secret payments.
A mysterious man.
A conspiracy involving his son's inheritance.
And now—
his dead father's voice.
Victor had spent his entire life believing his family was the one place he didn't need to investigate.
That belief had almost cost Ethan everything.
He looked down at his son.
“No more.”
His voice was barely a whisper.
“No more unexplained bruises.”
“No more secrets.”
“No more trusting the wrong people.”
Outside the nursery, the mansion remained dark.
But Victor Blackwood was no longer blind.
And somewhere inside that house, someone was still watching.
May you like
Someone who had underestimated the one thing Victor would never surrender.
His son.
