Chapter 9 — The Housemaid’s Secret
Chapter 9 — The Housemaid’s Secret
The room seemed to shrink around Victor.
His father stood only a few feet away.
Alive.
Older.
Calmer.
Exactly as Victor remembered him from childhood photographs.
But there was something different in his eyes.
Something Victor had never seen when he was a boy.
Fear.
Not fear for himself.
Fear of Ethan.
Victor's gaze moved immediately to his son.
Ethan sat on the chair, unharmed.
His small hands rested in his lap.
His eyes were tired.
“Daddy.”
Victor took one step forward.
Charles raised a hand.
“Slowly.”
Victor stopped.
“Let him go.”
Charles smiled sadly.
“You still think I'm the enemy.”
“You kidnapped my son.”
“I protected him.”
“You took him from his home.”
“Your home isn't safe.”
Victor's eyes hardened.
“Because of you.”
“No.”
Charles looked toward Richard.
“Because of him.”
Richard's expression remained calm.
Victor turned.
Richard was holding a gun.
Serena stood beside him.
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“You're all working together.”
Charles shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at Serena.
“She is.”
Serena lowered her gaze.
Victor stared at her.
“You knew my father was alive.”
“Yes.”
“You knew where Ethan was.”
“Yes.”
“You helped them.”
Serena's voice trembled.
“I didn't know what they were going to do.”
“You disabled my cameras.”
“I was ordered to.”
“You hurt Lily.”
“No.”
Victor stepped closer.
“You stood there while she was attacked.”
Serena's eyes filled with tears.
“I was afraid.”
Victor laughed bitterly.
“You were afraid?”
“Yes.”
“Lily was afraid.”
“I know.”
“She was afraid of you.”
Serena looked down.
“I know.”
Victor's voice became cold.
“Then you don't get to ask for forgiveness.”
Charles stepped between them.
“Enough.”
Victor looked at him.
“You don't get to control this conversation.”
Charles smiled.
“You sound exactly like your mother.”
Victor froze.
“Where is she?”
“Safe.”
“You're lying.”
“She is alive.”
“Then bring her here.”
Charles hesitated.
Victor noticed.
“What happened?”
Charles looked away.
“Your mother made a choice.”
“What choice?”
“She chose Ethan.”
Victor's heart tightened.
“What does that mean?”
Charles didn't answer.
Then a sound came from the corridor.
Footsteps.
Everyone turned.
A woman appeared.
She was wearing a simple gray uniform.
Her hair was pulled into a bun.
Her hands trembled.
Victor recognized her.
Mrs. Collins.
The oldest housemaid at the Blackwood estate.
She had worked for the family for twenty-seven years.
Victor stared.
“What are you doing here?”
Mrs. Collins looked at him.
Then at Charles.
Then at Ethan.
Her face crumpled.
“I'm sorry.”
Victor frowned.
“Sorry for what?”
She began crying.
“For all of it.”
Mrs. Collins had been in the Blackwood household longer than Victor could remember.
She had prepared his meals.
Read him bedtime stories.
Bandaged his scraped knees.
Sat outside his bedroom when he was sick.
As a child, Victor had trusted her more than almost anyone.
He had called her Aunt Millie.
She had always smiled.
Always protected him.
Always said:
“Your family loves you.”
Now she couldn't look him in the eye.
Victor walked toward her.
“What do you know?”
She shook her head.
“Sir…”
“Don't call me that.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Victor.”
“Tell me.”
Charles looked at her.
“It's time.”
Mrs. Collins closed her eyes.
“I thought I could protect you.”
“From whom?”
“Your father.”
Victor looked at Charles.
“Why?”
“Because I knew what he had done.”
Charles' expression darkened.
“Be careful.”
Mrs. Collins looked at him.
For the first time, there was no fear in her face.
“You've been lying long enough.”
Charles said nothing.
Victor stepped closer.
“What did he do?”
Mrs. Collins swallowed.
“Your father didn't create the Guardian.”
Victor frowned.
“What?”
“He stole it.”
Silence.
Richard looked irritated.
Charles looked away.
Mrs. Collins continued.
“The Guardian existed before the Blackwood family.”
Victor stared.
“What was the Guardian supposed to protect?”
She looked at Ethan.
“The heir.”
Victor's expression changed.
“So the Guardian protects Ethan.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did my father say I'm the Guardian?”
“Because he changed the rules.”
“How?”
Mrs. Collins hesitated.
“He transferred the Guardian's bloodline to you.”
Victor looked confused.
“Why?”
“To keep the heir hidden.”
“From the Architect?”
Mrs. Collins shook her head.
“From everyone.”
Charles stepped forward.
“That's enough.”
Mrs. Collins didn't move.
“You've hidden the truth for thirty years.”
“I protected my son.”
“You protected your empire.”
Charles' jaw tightened.
Victor stared between them.
“Tell me the truth.”
Mrs. Collins looked at him.
“Your father wasn't the man you thought he was.”
Victor almost laughed.
“I've heard that all day.”
“He wasn't always cruel.”
“What happened?”
“Your grandfather.”
Victor frowned.
“My grandfather?”
“Yes.”
Mrs. Collins looked toward the window.
“He created the Blackwood inheritance system.”
Victor said nothing.
“He believed the family fortune could only survive if one heir controlled everything.”
“Why?”
“Because he believed power was the only protection against enemies.”
Victor shook his head.
“And my father continued it.”
“No.”
Mrs. Collins looked at Charles.
“He tried to destroy it.”
Victor turned.
Charles remained silent.
Mrs. Collins continued.
“Your father discovered the system was built around one terrible condition.”
“What condition?”
“If the heir dies before assuming control, the fortune transfers to a hidden foundation.”
Victor frowned.
“Who controls it?”
“The Guardian.”
Victor stared.
“And who is the Guardian?”
Mrs. Collins looked at him.
“You.”
Victor's breathing slowed.
“But why?”
“Because your father wanted to break the cycle.”
Richard suddenly raised his gun.
“Enough.”
Mrs. Collins stepped back.
Richard pointed the weapon at her.
Victor moved between them.
“Put it down.”
Richard smiled.
“You still don't understand.”
Victor stared at him.
“Then explain.”
Richard's eyes moved to Ethan.
“The boy isn't the final heir.”
Victor froze.
“What?”
Richard smiled.
“He is the final key.”
Mrs. Collins shook her head.
“That's not true.”
Richard turned toward her.
“You know it is.”
Victor looked at Ethan.
His son was watching them silently.
Then Ethan said:
“Daddy?”
Victor immediately went to him.
“What?”
“Can we go home?”
Victor's heart broke.
“Yes.”
He reached for his son.
Charles didn't stop him.
Victor lifted Ethan into his arms.
The child wrapped his arms around his father's neck.
Victor whispered:
“I've got you.”
Ethan buried his face against Victor's shoulder.
For the first time in days, Victor felt his son breathing against him.
Alive.
Safe.
At least for this moment.
Then Ethan whispered something into his ear.
Victor froze.
“What did you say?”
Ethan repeated it.
“Mommy told me not to trust the woman who cries.”
Victor looked at Serena.
She went pale.
Serena stepped backward.
“Ethan…”
The child tightened his grip around Victor.
“Don't let her take me.”
Victor's eyes hardened.
“You heard him.”
Serena shook her head.
“I never told him that.”
Ethan began crying.
“You did.”
Victor stared at Serena.
She raised both hands.
“I didn't.”
“Then why is he afraid of you?”
“I don't know.”
Victor's voice became cold.
“Neither do I.”
Charles stepped forward.
“Victor, listen.”
Victor turned.
“No.”
Charles stopped.
“You're not taking my son again.”
“I wasn't going to.”
“You've lied to me since I was a child.”
Charles' face fell.
“I was trying to protect you.”
“By pretending to be dead?”
“Yes.”
“By kidnapping Ethan?”
“No.”
“By letting Richard control my company?”
Charles looked at Richard.
Richard's expression changed.
Victor noticed.
“Richard.”
Richard smiled.
“You're finally seeing it.”
Victor looked at his father.
“You never trusted him.”
Charles shook his head.
“No.”
“Then why did you let him stay?”
“Because he was useful.”
Richard laughed.
“Useful?”
Charles looked at him.
“You were supposed to protect Victor.”
“I did.”
“You manipulated him.”
“I prepared him.”
“You destroyed his family.”
“I strengthened him.”
Charles' expression hardened.
“Enough.”
Richard raised his gun.
Everything happened at once.
A gunshot.
Glass shattered.
Victor dropped to the floor with Ethan.
Harris burst through the door.
Security officers stormed in.
Richard disappeared through the side exit.
Serena screamed.
Charles grabbed Victor's shoulder.
“Are you hurt?”
Victor looked up.
“No.”
Ethan was crying.
Charles looked at the child.
His face changed.
For a brief second, Victor saw something almost human in his father's expression.
Love.
Then it disappeared.
Charles whispered:
“Take him and go.”
Victor stared.
“What?”
“Go.”
“Why?”
“Because Richard isn't after the money.”
Victor frowned.
“Then what?”
Charles looked toward the doorway.
“He's after the housemaid.”
Victor turned.
Mrs. Collins was gone.
They searched the entire building.
No sign of her.
Victor found one thing in the hallway.
A small silver pendant.
Mrs. Collins had worn it for decades.
He picked it up.
There was an inscription on the back.
M.C.
Victor stared.
Harris approached.
“Sir.”
“What?”
“We found a hidden passage.”
Victor looked up.
“Where?”
“Behind the library.”
They rushed there.
The bookshelf had moved.
Behind it was a narrow tunnel.
Victor entered.
The passage smelled of dust.
At the end was a small room.
Inside was a chair.
A table.
And a tape recorder.
Victor pressed PLAY.
Mrs. Collins' voice filled the room.
“If you're hearing this, then I wasn't able to tell you everything.”
Victor listened.
“I have spent twenty-seven years pretending to be a servant.”
Victor's eyes widened.
“I wasn't hired to clean the Blackwood house.”
She paused.
“I was hired to watch Victor.”
Victor stared at the recorder.
“To protect him from his father.”
A second voice appeared.
Elena.
“Millie, if anything happens to me, you must keep him safe.”
Mrs. Collins answered:
“I promise.”
The recording continued.
Elena's voice became quieter.
“Don't let Charles know about Ethan.”
Victor froze.
The recording crackled.
“He will believe the child is the key.”
Mrs. Collins asked:
“What is he?”
Elena whispered:
“He is the lock.”
Victor stopped breathing.
The recording continued.
“The real key is Victor.”
Victor looked at Harris.
“What does that mean?”
Harris didn't answer.
Elena's voice continued.
“And the Guardian isn't meant to protect the heir from the Architect.”
A long silence.
“He is meant to protect the Architect from the heir.”
The tape clicked.
Then Mrs. Collins spoke one final sentence.
“Because Ethan isn't the one who will inherit the Blackwood fortune.”
Victor leaned closer.
“He is the one who will destroy it.”
The recording ended.
Silence filled the room.
Victor stood motionless.
Then he heard a sound behind him.
A woman crying.
He turned.
Mrs. Collins stood at the entrance.
Her face was covered in tears.
“You heard it.”
Victor nodded.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“For twenty-seven years.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your father would have killed you.”
Victor's voice broke.
“You could have trusted me.”
“I was afraid.”
“Of him?”
She shook her head.
“Of what would happen if you knew the truth.”
Victor stared at her.
“What truth?”
Mrs. Collins looked toward Ethan.
Then whispered:
“Your son wasn't born to inherit the Blackwood fortune.”
Victor waited.
“He was born to end it.”
The next morning, Victor stood at the window of his office.
Ethan was sleeping upstairs.
Lily was beside him.
Elena was under guard.
Charles had disappeared before sunrise.
Richard was missing.
Serena had been taken into custody by Victor's security team.
And Mrs. Collins sat downstairs, waiting to tell him everything.
Victor thought he finally understood.
He didn't.
The will hadn't been written to preserve a fortune.
It had been written to destroy a system.
His father hadn't been protecting the family empire.
He had been trying to dismantle it.
And the Guardian wasn't simply a person.
It was a responsibility passed from one generation to another.
Victor's responsibility.
But there was one question he couldn't escape.
Why Ethan?
Why had his father chosen his grandson?
Why had Richard spent years watching him?
Why had Elena hidden?
And why did everyone seem terrified of what would happen when Ethan grew older?
Victor looked through the glass toward the nursery.
His son stirred in his sleep.
Victor whispered:
“I'll protect you.”
Behind him, Mrs. Collins spoke.
“You may not be able to.”
Victor turned.
She was holding another envelope.
“This was given to me by your father thirty years ago.”
Victor stared.
“Why didn't you give it to me before?”
“Because it wasn't time.”
She placed it on the desk.
Victor opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
A newborn baby.
Victor stared.
The baby wasn't Ethan.
It wasn't him.
It was another child.
On the back was written:
THE FIRST HEIR.
Victor looked up.
“Who is this?”
Mrs. Collins' face went pale.
“Your father had another son.”
Victor's heart stopped.
“What?”
She whispered:
“And that boy is the reason the Architect has been hunting your family for thirty years.”
Victor looked at the photograph again.
The child had a small birthmark near his left eye.
A mark Victor recognized.
He had seen it before.
On a photograph of Alexander.
Victor's blood ran cold.
“Where is he?”
Mrs. Collins looked toward the door.
“He has been living under another name.”
“Who?”
She hesitated.
Then said:
“Adrian.”
Victor's entire body went still.
Serena's mysterious partner.
The man who had been helping the Architect.
The man Victor had thought was merely another enemy.
He wasn't an outsider.
May you like
He was family.
And somewhere in the city, Adrian was holding the key to a secret that could destroy the Blackwood bloodline forever.
