Chapter 2 — The Nanny's Testimony
Chapter 2 — The Nanny's Testimony
The hospital corridor was silent when Lily heard the elevator doors open.
She looked up.
Victor stepped out.
Two men in black suits followed him.
His expression was colder than before.
Lily immediately knew something had happened.
She stood.
“Mr. Blackwood?”
Victor looked at her.
“Is Ethan awake?”
“Not yet.”
He nodded.
Then he walked toward her.
“We need to talk.”
Lily's stomach tightened.
“About Serena?”
“About everything.”
He gestured toward a private consultation room.
“Come with me.”
Lily glanced through the glass at Ethan.
“I don't want to leave him.”
“You won't.”
Victor looked toward one of his men.
“Stay with my son.”
The man nodded.
Only then did Lily follow Victor.
The Room With No Windows
The consultation room had no windows.
A single table stood in the center.
Three chairs.
A recording device.
Lily stared at it.
Victor noticed.
“This conversation is being recorded.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't want anyone changing your words later.”
Lily sat slowly.
Victor sat across from her.
His security chief stood behind him.
Victor pressed a button.
“State your name.”
“Lily Carter.”
“Your position?”
“Nanny to Ethan Blackwood.”
“How long?”
“Six months.”
Victor looked directly into her eyes.
“Tell me what happened tonight.”
Lily took a deep breath.
Then she began.
“Ethan was in the nursery.”
“He was playing with his blocks.”
“Serena came in.”
“She told me to leave.”
“Why?”
“She said she wanted private time with him.”
Victor remained silent.
“I refused because Ethan was already upset.”
“What happened next?”
“Serena became angry.”
“She told me I had no authority over her stepson.”
Lily paused.
Then corrected herself.
“Her future stepson.”
Victor's jaw tightened.
“Continue.”
“She picked Ethan up.”
“He started crying.”
“Then she grabbed his arm.”
Lily's voice trembled.
“She squeezed it.”
“She kept pulling.”
“I told her to stop.”
“What did she say?”
Lily looked at Victor.
“She said, 'Nobody will believe you.'”
The room went silent.
“She said I was just a nanny.”
Victor's eyes hardened.
“Then?”
“I tried to take Ethan from her.”
“She kicked me.”
“Where?”
“My stomach.”
Lily touched the bruised area.
“She knocked me down.”
“And Ethan?”
“She dropped him.”
Victor's hand tightened around the edge of the table.
“She dropped him?”
Lily nodded.
“He hit the floor.”
“Then she grabbed his arm again.”
“And that's when I screamed.”
The First Secret
Victor leaned forward.
“Lily.”
“Yes?”
“How long have you suspected Serena was hurting Ethan?”
Lily froze.
“I..."
"Tell me the truth.”
She looked down.
"About three weeks."
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I tried."
"When?"
"Three weeks ago."
"To whom?"
"Your assistant."
Victor's expression changed.
"Daniel?"
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
"He told me you were busy."
Victor went completely still.
Lily continued.
"I also mentioned it to the house manager."
"And?"
"He told me Serena was going to be Ethan's mother soon."
Lily's voice became smaller.
"He said I needed to learn my place."
Victor stood.
His chair scraped sharply across the floor.
The security chief immediately looked at him.
"Sir."
Victor raised a hand.
"Call Daniel."
"Now?"
"Now."
The Man Who Looked Away
Daniel arrived twenty minutes later.
He entered confidently.
Then saw Lily.
His confidence disappeared.
Victor stood by the window.
"Daniel."
"Yes, sir?"
"Lily says she reported concerns about Ethan three weeks ago."
Daniel swallowed.
"I don't remember that."
Lily stared at him.
"You do."
"I spoke to you in the office."
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
"You told me Mr. Blackwood was too busy."
Victor turned.
"Did you say that?"
Daniel hesitated.
"I may have."
"May have?"
"I don't remember exactly."
Victor's voice became colder.
"You have worked for me for eight years."
"Yes, sir."
"You remember every transaction involving millions of dollars."
"Yes."
"But you can't remember a nanny telling you my son was being hurt?"
Daniel said nothing.
Victor stepped closer.
"Why?"
"I didn't think it was serious."
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
"His bruises were already there."
Daniel looked away.
"You should have told me."
Victor's voice was almost a whisper.
Daniel finally understood.
"I made a mistake."
"No."
Victor shook his head.
"You made a choice."
The Missing Camera
Victor's security chief entered.
"Sir."
Victor turned.
"We found something."
"What?"
"Camera seven."
"The nursery?"
"Yes."
"What's wrong with it?"
"It stopped recording three weeks ago."
Victor stared at him.
"Exactly when?"
"Two days after Lily reported the bruises."
Silence.
Victor looked at Daniel.
Daniel's face had gone pale.
"Who disabled it?"
"We're checking."
Victor's voice became deadly.
"Check faster."
Lily's Fear
After Daniel was taken away, Lily remained seated.
Victor looked at her.
"You knew there was something wrong."
She nodded.
"Why were you afraid to tell me?"
Lily hesitated.
Then whispered:
"Because Serena warned me."
"About what?"
"She said if I went against her, I'd lose my job."
"That's all?"
Lily looked away.
Victor waited.
Finally she said:
"She told me my younger sister would have trouble finding work in Chicago."
Victor's eyes hardened.
"How did she know about your sister?"
"I don't know."
"Did she ever contact her?"
"Once."
"When?"
"Last month."
"What did she say?"
Lily's hands began shaking.
"She told my sister that I was unstable."
Victor's expression darkened.
"Serena was building a case against you."
Lily nodded.
"I think so."
The Envelope
Lily reached into her bag.
"I kept something."
She placed a small envelope on the table.
Victor opened it.
Inside were photographs.
Bruises.
Ethan's back.
His shoulder.
His leg.
All photographed over several weeks.
Victor stared at them.
"Why didn't you show me these?"
"I was scared."
"You photographed my son without permission."
"I know."
Lily's voice broke.
"But I needed proof."
Victor looked at her.
"How did you know you'd need proof?"
"Because nobody believed me."
The words hit harder than any accusation.
Victor looked at the photographs again.
One showed a bruise shaped almost perfectly like fingers.
His fingers tightened around the paper.
"Who took these?"
"I did."
"Where?"
"In the nursery."
"Why?"
"So I could remember."
Victor looked at her.
"No."
Lily met his eyes.
"So I could prove it."
Serena's Voice
The security chief entered again.
"Sir."
Victor turned.
"We recovered audio from the nursery."
"Play it."
A recording began.
Serena's voice filled the room.
"Stop crying."
Ethan cried.
Serena sighed.
"You are making me angry."
Lily's voice could be heard faintly from outside.
"Is everything okay?"
Serena's voice immediately changed.
"Everything is fine."
Then Lily entered.
The recording captured their argument.
Serena:
"Leave."
Lily:
"I'm staying."
Serena:
"You are forgetting who you work for."
Then—
A scream.
Ethan crying.
Lily shouting:
"Stop! You're hurting him!"
The recording ended.
Lily closed her eyes.
She had heard it before.
Victor hadn't.
He sat motionless.
Then asked:
"How many recordings?"
"Forty-seven."
Victor looked up.
"Forty-seven?"
"Yes."
"Play all of them."
Forty-Seven Pieces of Truth
They listened for hours.
Each recording revealed another piece of Serena's behavior.
Threats.
Manipulation.
Cruel remarks.
One recording showed Serena telling Ethan:
"Your father doesn't have time for you."
Another:
"If you tell Lily, she'll disappear."
Another:
"You're going to learn to listen to me."
And another—
Serena laughing while Ethan cried.
Victor said nothing.
His face became colder with every recording.
At 4:18 a.m., the final recording ended.
Nobody moved.
Then Victor asked:
"Where is Serena?"
His security chief answered.
"Police custody."
"Get me everything on her."
"Yes, sir."
"Family."
"Financial records."
"Communications."
"Travel history."
"Everything."
The security chief nodded.
Then hesitated.
"There is one problem."
Victor looked at him.
"What?"
"Some of her communications were routed through a company."
"Whose?"
The man placed a folder on the table.
Victor opened it.
His expression changed.
The company belonged to...
Blackwood Holdings.
Victor stared at the page.
Someone inside his organization had been helping Serena.
The Testimony That Changed Everything
Later that morning, detectives arrived.
They wanted Lily's statement.
She sat in the same room.
This time, she wasn't alone.
Victor stood outside the door.
He didn't interfere.
He only watched.
The detective began.
"Ms. Carter, do you understand that your testimony may become evidence?"
"Yes."
"Do you understand that you may be questioned in court?"
"Yes."
"Are you willing to testify?"
Lily looked through the glass.
Victor was standing there.
Then she looked toward Ethan's room.
She thought about his tiny hand.
His broken arm.
His terrified eyes.
She remembered crawling across the marble floor.
She remembered Serena's threat.
And she finally understood something.
Fear had protected Serena.
Silence had protected Serena.
But truth could destroy her.
Lily lifted her chin.
"Yes."
"I'll testify."
The Threat
That evening, Lily returned to the guest room inside the Blackwood estate.
Security surrounded the property.
Victor had insisted.
Lily finally felt safe.
Until her phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
She opened the message.
You should have kept your mouth shut.
Her blood went cold.
Another message appeared.
You have no idea who you're protecting.
Then a photograph.
Lily stared at it.
It was Ethan.
Taken that afternoon.
Inside the hospital.
Someone had photographed him through the window.
Lily's hands began shaking.
Then one final message arrived.
Next time, we won't miss the child.
Lily dropped the phone.
The door opened.
Victor stood there.
He immediately saw her face.
"What happened?"
Lily couldn't speak.
She handed him the phone.
Victor read the messages.
His expression changed.
The air around him seemed to become colder.
He looked at Lily.
"Did anyone see you receive this?"
"No."
Victor took out his phone.
"Lock down the estate."
Then he looked at her.
"From now on, you don't go anywhere alone."
Lily whispered:
"Victor..."
He met her eyes.
"This isn't Serena anymore."
"What is it?"
Victor looked toward the dark hallway.
"A war."
The Truth Serena Never Expected
Across town, Serena sat in a private holding room.
Her lawyer entered.
She looked up.
"How bad?"
He didn't answer.
"Tell me."
He placed a folder on the table.
"Victor has the recordings."
Serena's face went pale.
"How many?"
"Forty-seven."
She closed her eyes.
"That's impossible."
"There's more."
He placed another folder down.
"Photographs."
Serena's hands trembled.
"Who took them?"
"The nanny."
Serena whispered:
"Lily."
Her lawyer nodded.
Serena suddenly smiled.
"What?"
He looked confused.
"Why are you smiling?"
She leaned back.
"Because Victor still doesn't know everything."
"What does that mean?"
Serena looked toward the door.
"Tell them to call him."
"Who?"
She smiled.
"The person Victor trusts most."
Her lawyer stared at her.
Serena's smile widened.
"Let Victor discover that the betrayal didn't begin with me."
She lowered her voice.
"It began with someone already sitting at his table."
The End of Chapter Two
At sunrise, Victor stood alone in his office.
On his desk lay Lily's photographs.
Beside them were Serena's recordings.
And beneath them was a list of every person who had access to Ethan.
One name had been circled.
Victor stared at it for a long time.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
A familiar voice spoke.
"Victor."
Victor's expression froze.
It was someone he had known for years.
Someone he trusted.
Someone who had been beside him through every crisis.
The voice continued:
"You shouldn't have listened to the nanny."
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
A pause.
Then:
"Because if Lily tells you everything she knows..."
Victor's grip tightened around the phone.
"...you'll realize your own family has been lying to you."
The call ended.
Victor slowly lowered the phone.
Behind him, the morning sun rose over Blackwood Manor.
But there was no warmth in it.
Because Lily's testimony had done more than expose Serena.
It had opened a door.
May you like
And behind that door was a secret Victor Blackwood had never imagined.
Someone inside his own family had been helping Serena all along.
