Chapter 3 — The Woman Behind the Perfect Smile
Chapter 3 — The Woman Behind the Perfect Smile
By eight in the morning, Victor Blackwood had stopped believing in coincidences.
He sat alone in his office, surrounded by files that had once represented the stability of his family.
Now they looked like evidence.
Every page contained another contradiction.
Another missing detail.
Another lie.
On the center of his desk lay Serena Montigue's file.
Victor opened it again.
He had read it twice already.
He wasn't looking for proof that Serena was cruel.
He already had that.
He was looking for the reason.
Why had she entered his life?
Why had she become obsessed with Ethan?
Why had she been building a case against Lily?
And most importantly—
Who had helped her?
Victor turned the first page.
SERENA MONTIGUE.
Age: thirty.
Father: deceased.
Mother: deceased.
Education: private institutions in Switzerland and New York.
No criminal history.
No outstanding debts.
No lawsuits.
No major scandals.
A perfect woman.
Almost too perfect.
Victor stared at the file.
"Nobody is this clean."
His security chief, Marcus, stood across from the desk.
"That's what we thought."
Victor looked up.
"You said something was wrong."
Marcus placed another folder beside the first.
"We dug deeper."
Victor opened it.
His expression changed.
"What is this?"
"Her birth records."
Victor read the document.
Then read it again.
The date didn't match.
"Her official birth certificate says June seventeenth."
Marcus nodded.
"The hospital record says June twenty-third."
Victor looked up.
"Six days."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"We don't know."
Victor closed the folder.
"Find out."
Marcus nodded.
Then Victor asked:
"And her parents?"
"That's where it gets stranger."
Marcus placed another document on the desk.
"Serena's father supposedly died when she was eleven."
"Correct."
"He didn't."
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"Explain."
Marcus opened a photograph.
An older man stood outside a private bank.
Victor recognized him.
Not immediately.
But enough.
"That's Victor Montigue."
"Yes."
"Serena's father."
Marcus shook his head.
"No."
Victor looked at him.
"What?"
"That's not Serena's father."
He turned another page.
"This man was actually named Adrian Vale."
Victor stared at the photograph.
The name struck something in his memory.
Vale.
A name he hadn't heard in years.
A name connected to one of the darkest periods in Blackwood history.
Victor stood.
"Where is he now?"
Marcus hesitated.
"We haven't found him."
Victor's voice became quiet.
"Then find him."
The Perfect Woman
Serena had always been good at appearances.
That was the first thing Victor realized.
At charity galas, she laughed at exactly the right moments.
She remembered every donor's name.
She knew which politician's wife was unhappy with her husband.
She knew which businessman was secretly divorcing.
She knew which photograph would look best on the front page.
And she never raised her voice.
Never embarrassed herself.
Never lost control in public.
She was elegance.
Grace.
Perfection.
Victor had once admired that.
Now he found it disturbing.
Because the Serena everyone loved wasn't the woman he had seen in the nursery.
The woman in the nursery had been cold.
Calculated.
Cruel.
That meant the smile wasn't her personality.
It was a mask.
And Victor wanted to know what was underneath it.
The First Interview
Marcus arranged a meeting with one of Serena's former teachers.
Her name was Evelyn Grant.
She lived alone in an expensive neighborhood outside the city.
When Victor arrived, she seemed nervous.
"Mr. Blackwood."
Victor nodded.
"Mrs. Grant."
She invited him inside.
"I don't understand why you're asking about Serena."
"Because I'm investigating her."
The older woman's face tightened.
"Is she in trouble?"
"Yes."
"How serious?"
"Very."
Evelyn looked toward the window.
Then quietly said:
"Then you should have investigated her years ago."
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean?"
"Serena was never what she appeared to be."
"What was she like?"
"Quiet."
"Ambitious."
"Extremely intelligent."
Victor waited.
Evelyn continued.
"But she was also terrified."
"Of what?"
The woman looked at him.
"Of losing."
Victor frowned.
"Losing what?"
"Control."
The Girl Who Never Lost
Evelyn told him something unexpected.
Serena had attended a private school where wealthy children competed constantly.
Grades.
Scholarships.
Social status.
Family influence.
Serena had always been near the top.
But she had one strange habit.
Whenever she lost something—
she didn't accept it.
She manipulated the situation until she won.
"She once lost a debate competition," Evelyn said.
"What happened?"
"She convinced the judges that the winning student's father had bribed them."
"Was it true?"
"No."
Victor stared at her.
"Did Serena get punished?"
Evelyn smiled sadly.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because by the end of the week, the other student's family withdrew her from school."
Victor understood.
"Serena didn't have to prove herself innocent."
Evelyn nodded.
"She only had to destroy the person who threatened her."
Victor's expression hardened.
"Does that sound familiar?"
The teacher looked at him.
"Very."
The Missing Years
After leaving school, Serena's history became strangely empty.
Four years.
No university records.
No employment records.
No photographs.
No documented relationships.
Nothing.
Victor stared at the timeline.
"Where was she?"
Marcus shook his head.
"We don't know."
"Someone does."
"We're searching."
Victor pointed to the missing years.
"These aren't empty."
Marcus looked at him.
"They've been erased."
The Hotel
The first real clue came from an old hotel in Chicago.
Serena had checked in under a different name seven years earlier.
Sophie Maren.
Victor looked at the photograph from the hotel's archived security system.
The woman was unmistakably Serena.
But she looked younger.
And she wasn't alone.
Standing beside her was a man.
Victor zoomed in.
His expression changed.
"Who is that?"
Marcus had already begun searching.
"We're still identifying him."
Victor stared at the image.
The man was wearing a silver ring.
A black stone surrounded by a thin circle.
Victor knew that symbol.
His father had warned him about it when he was a teenager.
The Vale Circle.
An old organization of businessmen, smugglers, and political fixers.
Not technically a criminal organization.
But nobody who understood Chicago believed that distinction mattered.
Victor whispered:
"Vale."
The Woman Who Knew Too Much
That night, Victor returned to the hospital.
Lily was sitting beside Ethan.
She looked exhausted.
"You haven't slept."
She smiled faintly.
"Neither have you."
Victor sat beside the window.
"I need to ask you something."
Lily nodded.
"Did Serena ever mention a man named Adrian?"
Lily thought.
"No."
"Vale?"
Her expression changed.
"Wait."
Victor looked at her.
"I remember something."
"What?"
"About two months ago."
"Serena received a phone call."
"From a man."
"Did you hear his name?"
Lily shook her head.
"But she called him..."
She frowned.
"Uncle."
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"Uncle?"
"Yes."
"Are you certain?"
"I remember because she sounded frightened."
Victor leaned forward.
"What did she say?"
Lily closed her eyes.
"I only heard one sentence."
"What sentence?"
Lily looked at him.
"She said, 'I told you I would marry him.'"
Victor went still.
"Who was she talking about?"
"I don't know."
Then Lily remembered something else.
"She also said..."
"What?"
"'He'll never know why I chose him.'"
Silence.
Victor stared at the floor.
Lily watched him.
"What does it mean?"
Victor stood.
"I don't know yet."
But he did.
Or at least he was beginning to understand.
Serena hadn't chosen him because she loved him.
She had chosen him because he was useful.
The question was—
useful for what?
The Engagement Ring
Victor returned to the mansion.
He went directly to Serena's bedroom.
Everything remained exactly as she had left it.
Perfume.
Jewelry.
Designer clothing.
Photographs.
He opened the jewelry box.
Inside were dozens of expensive pieces.
But something caught his attention.
A second ring.
Hidden beneath a velvet compartment.
It wasn't an engagement ring.
It was the same black-stone symbol he had seen in the photograph.
The Vale Circle.
Victor picked it up.
There was an inscription inside.
V.S.
Victor stared.
Serena's initials.
But then he noticed something else.
The ring wasn't new.
It was old.
Very old.
He called Marcus.
"Come here."
Minutes later, Marcus entered.
Victor held up the ring.
"Find out where this was made."
Marcus examined it.
"This may take time."
"Then take it."
Marcus looked at the inscription.
"V.S."
Victor shook his head.
"No."
He pointed to a second engraving.
"Look underneath."
Marcus tilted the ring.
His eyes widened.
There was another set of initials.
A.V.
Adrian Vale.
The Bank Account
The investigation uncovered something even worse.
Serena had been receiving money for years.
Not from Victor.
Not from her family.
From a private offshore trust.
Marcus placed the records on Victor's desk.
"How much?"
Victor scanned the numbers.
"That's impossible."
"That's what we thought."
The payments had started seven years ago.
Small at first.
Then larger.
Eventually, they became enormous.
Victor pointed to the sender.
"Who owns the trust?"
Marcus answered:
"We're still tracing it."
Victor looked at him.
"Whoever it is..."
He closed the folder.
"...they've been paying Serena to stay close to me."
The First Real Crack
For the first time, Victor felt something more dangerous than anger.
Betrayal.
He had thought Serena wanted his money.
But she had been receiving money from someone else.
That meant Victor wasn't the target.
His position was.
His family.
His company.
His son.
His access.
Everything.
Then another realization hit him.
Ethan was the heir.
Not just emotionally.
Legally.
Financially.
Strategically.
If something happened to Ethan...
the Blackwood inheritance would change.
Victor stared at the documents.
"Marcus."
"Yes?"
"Who becomes guardian of Ethan if something happens to me?"
Marcus went silent.
Then said:
"Your legal wife."
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"I don't have a wife."
"Not currently."
Marcus hesitated.
"But under the current succession agreement..."
Victor understood.
If he married Serena—
and then died—
Serena would control Ethan's inheritance.
Victor slowly sat back.
The room suddenly felt much colder.
"That's why."
Marcus looked at him.
"Sir?"
Victor stared at Serena's photograph.
"She wasn't trying to become Ethan's mother."
He paused.
"She was trying to become his guardian."
The Perfect Smile Cracks
At that exact moment, Serena sat in the interrogation room.
Her lawyer had left.
She was alone.
A detective entered.
"Ms. Montigue."
She looked up.
"Yes?"
"We need to ask you about Adrian Vale."
For the first time...
her perfect smile disappeared.
The detective noticed.
"You know that name."
Serena said nothing.
"Who is he?"
Silence.
"Your father?"
"No."
"Your uncle?"
Serena looked at him.
Still nothing.
The detective placed a photograph on the table.
Adrian Vale.
Seven years earlier.
Standing beside Serena.
Serena stared at it.
Then whispered:
"You should stop asking questions."
"Why?"
She smiled.
But this time the smile was different.
It wasn't charming.
It wasn't elegant.
It was cold.
"Because Victor Blackwood isn't the only person who can destroy your life."
The Message
At 2:11 a.m., Victor's phone vibrated.
A message.
No number.
Just an image.
It showed Ethan sleeping in his hospital bed.
Victor's blood ran cold.
Below the photograph were seven words:
YOU'RE LOOKING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION.
A second message arrived.
SERENA IS NOT YOUR ENEMY.
Victor stared at the screen.
Then came the final message.
SHE'S YOUR WARNING.
Victor slowly lowered the phone.
Behind him, the city lights flickered through the window.
He had spent the entire night uncovering Serena's lies.
But now he understood something.
Every lie had been pointing toward another truth.
And somewhere in the darkness...
someone was watching him investigate.
Someone who knew about Ethan.
Someone who knew about Lily.
Someone who knew Serena's secrets.
Victor looked at Serena's photograph one final time.
The woman behind the perfect smile was no longer a mystery.
She was a clue.
And Victor had just realized the terrifying truth:
He hadn't been investigating Serena.
He had been following the trail she was desperately trying to hide.
May you like
And at the end of that trail...
someone was waiting for him.
