CHAPTER 3 — THE PHOTOGRAPH
CHAPTER 3 — THE PHOTOGRAPH
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Victor stood beneath the dim light of his father's study, the photograph still in his hand.
Lily stared at it.
At the little girl.
At the little boy standing beside her.
At the man behind them.
Victor Blackwood Sr.
Her breathing became shallow.
"I know him."
The words barely escaped her lips.
Victor looked at her.
"You said you didn't."
"I don't remember."
"You just said you know him."
"I know his face."
Lily pressed her fingers against her temple.
"But I don't know how."
Victor looked back at the photograph.
The image was old.
The edges had yellowed.
There was a crease running diagonally across one corner.
Someone had folded it many times.
His father had kept it hidden.
Not displayed.
Not stored in the family albums.
Hidden.
Victor turned it over.
The handwriting on the back was unmistakable.
His father's.
She is the key. Protect her.
And beneath it:
If Marcus finds her, we all die.
Victor read the words twice.
Then a third time.
His stomach tightened.
"Who is Marcus Vale?"
Lily looked at him.
"I don't know."
Victor studied her.
"You've never heard the name?"
"No."
"Not even once?"
Lily shook her head.
Victor walked toward the desk.
He placed the photograph beneath the lamp.
"Then why do you remember this boy?"
Lily stared at the image.
"I don't know."
"Try."
She closed her eyes.
Nothing.
Only darkness.
Then—
A sound.
A child's laughter.
Lily opened her eyes.
Her heart was pounding.
"I remember a house."
Victor turned.
"What house?"
"I don't know."
"Describe it."
"White."
Victor waited.
"There was a garden."
"What else?"
"A red door."
She swallowed.
"And a swing."
Victor looked at Daniel.
"Write this down."
Daniel immediately took out his phone.
Lily continued.
"There was a tree."
"What kind?"
"I don't know."
"Anything else?"
Lily closed her eyes again.
"I remember a woman."
"Serena?"
"No."
Lily's brow furrowed.
"Someone older."
"My mother?"
"I don't know."
She pressed her fingers harder against her temple.
Then suddenly—
A child's scream flashed through her mind.
Lily gasped.
Victor moved toward her.
"What did you see?"
"A door."
"What kind of door?"
"Wood."
"Where?"
"I don't know."
"Was it locked?"
Lily looked at him.
"Yes."
Her voice dropped.
"It was locked from the outside."
Victor's expression darkened.
"What was behind it?"
"I don't know."
"You were there?"
"I think so."
"With your brother?"
Lily looked at the photograph.
"Yes."
Victor waited.
"What happened?"
Tears slid down Lily's cheeks.
"He was crying."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"Try to remember."
"He was calling for me."
Victor's jaw tightened.
"What did you do?"
"I tried to open the door."
"And?"
"I couldn't."
Lily's breathing became faster.
"I was crying."
She looked at Victor.
"Someone came."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"A man?"
She nodded.
"Was it your father?"
"No."
"Victor Sr.?"
"I don't know."
"What did he say?"
Lily closed her eyes.
A man's voice echoed in her memory.
Deep.
Cold.
"Don't let them find the girl."
She opened her eyes.
"I remember that."
Victor's expression changed.
"What?"
"Someone said..."
She swallowed.
"'Don't let them find the girl.'"
Daniel looked at Victor.
Victor said nothing.
Lily continued.
"Then another voice."
"Whose?"
"I don't know."
"What did they say?"
Lily's face went pale.
"'The boy doesn't matter.'"
Victor's blood ran cold.
He looked at the photograph.
The little boy.
His father's handwritten warning.
Lily.
Marcus.
The pieces weren't connecting.
They were forming something worse.
Victor walked toward a bookshelf.
"My father kept everything."
He ran his fingers along the spines.
"Business records. Correspondence. Photographs."
Daniel looked around.
"Maybe there's more."
Victor nodded.
"Search the room."
They began opening drawers.
One after another.
Nothing.
Old contracts.
Personal letters.
A collection of antique watches.
A few photographs.
But no answers.
Lily remained beside the desk.
Her eyes kept returning to the photograph.
Something about the little boy bothered her.
Not just familiarity.
Something deeper.
She touched his face.
"I remember his hand."
Victor looked at her.
"What?"
"His hand."
She stared at the photograph.
"He used to hold mine."
Victor said nothing.
"He was smaller than me."
Lily smiled sadly.
"I think he was always scared."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"Do you remember his name?"
Lily closed her eyes.
The answer seemed just beyond reach.
Then—
A whisper.
"Michael."
Her eyes opened.
"Michael."
Victor turned.
"What?"
"His name was Michael."
Daniel stopped searching.
Victor stared at Lily.
"Are you sure?"
"I think so."
"You think?"
Lily nodded.
"Michael."
Victor looked at the photograph again.
On the bottom corner was a tiny handwritten number.
Victor frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Daniel came closer.
"Could be a date."
"No."
Victor pointed.
"It's written on another photograph."
Daniel checked.
Another photograph had the same number.
Then another.
Then another.
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"Bring them all here."
Daniel gathered the old photographs.
They placed them across the desk.
Six photographs.
All marked with numbers.
Victor stared.
"What are these?"
Daniel shook his head.
"I don't know."
Lily looked at them.
Something about the numbers made her uncomfortable.
Then she saw something.
"Wait."
Victor turned.
"What?"
She pointed at photograph 07.
"The house."
Victor looked.
It was the same white house from her memory.
Red door.
Garden.
Swing.
Lily's hands began trembling.
"That's it."
Victor stared at the photograph.
"When was this taken?"
Daniel examined the back.
"No date."
Victor looked at Lily.
"How old were you?"
"Six."
"Your brother?"
"Four."
Victor's expression darkened.
"Where were your parents?"
"I don't know."
"Think."
Lily shook her head.
"My mother said my father died before I was born."
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
"Did you ever see him?"
"No."
"Then why do you remember a little boy?"
"I don't know."
Victor turned to Daniel.
"Find Lily's birth records."
Daniel nodded.
"Already working on it."
"And her mother's."
"Yes."
"Also find every property Victor Sr. owned fifteen years ago."
Daniel paused.
"All of them?"
"All."
"Even the ones under shell companies?"
Victor looked at him.
"Especially those."
Daniel nodded.
He left.
Lily looked at Victor.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because someone lied to you."
She stared at him.
"And I want to know why."
Victor looked down at the photograph.
"My father was many things."
His voice became quieter.
"But he didn't hide things without a reason."
Lily looked away.
"Maybe I should leave."
Victor's head snapped toward her.
"No."
She blinked.
"You said I'm in danger."
"You are."
"Then why keep me here?"
"Because I can protect you here."
"I don't want to cause more trouble."
Victor walked closer.
"You didn't cause this."
Lily lowered her eyes.
"Maybe if I had kept quiet..."
Victor interrupted.
"If you had kept quiet, my son could be dead."
She looked up.
His eyes were intense.
"You did the right thing."
Lily's lips trembled.
"Nobody has ever said that to me."
Victor's expression softened.
"They should have."
Silence settled between them.
For a moment, the world outside the study seemed to disappear.
Then Lily's phone rang.
She froze.
She hadn't expected anyone to call.
The number was unknown.
Victor immediately held out his hand.
"Don't answer."
But the phone stopped.
A second later, a message appeared.
Lily looked down.
Her blood turned cold.
There was no text.
Only a photograph.
A photograph of Ethan.
Sleeping in his hospital bed.
Lily's hand began shaking.
Victor saw it.
"Give me the phone."
She handed it over.
Victor stared at the picture.
His face became terrifyingly calm.
"Daniel."
His voice was low.
Daniel appeared in the doorway.
"Boss?"
"Find where this was taken."
Daniel looked at the screen.
"That's the hospital."
Victor's eyes sharpened.
"Who took it?"
"We'll find out."
Victor immediately called the hospital.
"Put every security unit around my son's room."
A voice answered.
Victor listened.
His expression changed.
"What do you mean?"
Daniel watched him.
Victor ended the call.
"What happened?"
Victor looked at him.
"The security camera outside Ethan's room was disabled."
Lily felt sick.
"When?"
"Twenty minutes ago."
Victor's eyes moved to the photograph.
"Someone was inside."
Lily covered her mouth.
"But Ethan..."
"He is safe."
Victor's voice was firm.
"For now."
Lily stared at him.
"What are they trying to do?"
Victor didn't answer.
He was already thinking.
Someone had accessed his email.
Someone inside the mansion had helped Serena.
Someone had entered the hospital.
And now someone was sending him photographs.
This wasn't about Serena anymore.
It was organized.
Planned.
Personal.
Victor walked to the desk.
He opened a hidden drawer beneath the photograph.
Inside was a small black notebook.
He froze.
Daniel came closer.
"Boss?"
Victor pulled it out.
There was no name on the cover.
Only a symbol.
A black circle crossed by three lines.
Victor recognized it.
His father had used the symbol years ago.
"Where did you find that?"
Lily whispered.
Victor looked at her.
"You know this?"
She shook her head.
"No."
"But you've seen it."
"I don't think so."
Victor opened the notebook.
The first pages were filled with names.
Some crossed out.
Some circled.
Some marked with numbers.
He turned another page.
Then stopped.
Lily's name was there.
LILY HARPER — 07
Below it:
STATUS: ACTIVE
Victor's heart sank.
He turned the page.
There was another name.
MICHAEL HARPER — 08
Lily stopped breathing.
"Michael."
Victor looked at her.
The room seemed to tilt.
Her brother had not been a forgotten childhood memory.
He had been part of something.
Something organized.
Something that had been documented.
And someone had kept track of him.
Victor turned another page.
A line was written beneath Michael's name.
TRANSFERRED — 2009
Nothing else.
Lily grabbed the notebook.
"Where?"
Victor caught her hand.
"Careful."
"Where was he transferred?"
"I don't know."
"We have to find him."
"I know."
Lily looked at Victor.
"You don't understand."
Her voice broke.
"If he's alive..."
Victor stared at her.
"If he's alive, we find him."
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"And if he's not?"
Victor didn't answer immediately.
Then he said:
"We find the truth."
A sound came from the hallway.
A metallic click.
Victor instantly pulled Lily behind him.
Daniel drew his weapon.
The study door slowly opened.
Nobody stood outside.
Victor raised his gun.
"Stay here."
He stepped into the hallway.
Daniel followed.
The mansion was silent.
Then—
A phone began ringing.
Not Lily's.
Not Victor's.
A phone lying on the floor.
Victor approached it carefully.
It was an old black phone.
The screen displayed one word.
MARCUS.
Victor stared at it.
Then answered.
"Who is this?"
For several seconds, there was only static.
Then a man's voice.
Deep.
Calm.
Almost amused.
"Victor Blackwood."
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"Marcus."
The man laughed softly.
"So you finally found the photograph."
Victor tightened his grip on the phone.
"Where are you?"
"Closer than you think."
"What do you want?"
A pause.
Then:
"I want what your father stole from me."
Victor's eyes moved toward Lily.
"What did my father steal?"
Marcus laughed again.
"Not what."
He paused.
"Who."
Lily's face went pale.
Victor stepped toward her.
"Leave her out of this."
"She's already in it."
Marcus's voice became colder.
"She has been in it since the day she was born."
Victor's jaw tightened.
"You touch her, and I'll find you."
"I know."
"You know who I am."
"I know exactly who you are."
Marcus laughed.
"That's why I know you'll come looking for me."
The call ended.
Victor stared at the phone.
Lily whispered:
"What did he mean?"
Victor looked at her.
"I don't know."
But deep down, he knew one thing.
The past wasn't buried.
It had been waiting.
Waiting for Lily to come back.
Waiting for Victor to discover the truth.
And waiting for the Blackwood family to pay for a secret that had begun long before Ethan was born.
Victor returned to the study.
He picked up the photograph again.
This time, he looked carefully at the people standing behind the children.
His father.
Serena.
And a third person barely visible in the shadows.
A man.
Victor's eyes widened.
He recognized him.
Not from fifteen years ago.
From now.
The man was still alive.
Still working inside Victor's organization.
Still close to him.
Victor's voice became a whisper.
"No..."
Daniel looked over.
"What is it?"
Victor handed him the photograph.
"Look at the man behind them."
Daniel stared.
His face changed.
"Boss..."
Victor nodded.
"Exactly."
The man in the photograph was Thomas.
The security officer who had disappeared thirty minutes earlier.
The man Serena had personally recommended.
The man who had access to the mansion.
The man who knew Ethan's hospital security schedule.
Victor's eyes turned cold.
"Find Thomas."
Daniel nodded.
"Alive?"
Victor looked toward Lily.
Then toward the photograph.
"Alive."
He paused.
"But this time..."
His voice dropped.
"I want answers."
Outside the mansion, thunder rolled across the night sky.
And miles away, in a dark room lit only by a single lamp, a man placed another photograph on a table.
It was a photograph of Lily.
Beside it was a photograph of Ethan.
And beneath both—
a photograph of Michael.
The man smiled.
Then he picked up his phone.
"Tell Serena the plan has changed."
A voice answered.
"What should we do?"
The man's eyes remained fixed on Lily's photograph.
"We don't kill the nanny."
He smiled.
"We use her."
Then he looked at the photograph of Ethan.
"And we take the boy."
The call ended.
The man leaned back in his chair.
On the wall behind him hung a single photograph.
Victor Blackwood Sr.
Marcus Vale.
And three children.
Two of them were Lily and Michael.
The third child's face had been carefully scratched away.
Someone had wanted the world to forget that child ever existed.
But the truth was coming.
May you like
And when Victor discovered who the third child was—
the Blackwood family would never be the same again.
