CHAPTER 4 — THE WOMAN IN THE MIRROR
CHAPTER 4 — THE WOMAN IN THE MIRROR
The first thing Victor noticed was the silence.
The second was the missing guard.
Thomas had disappeared.
No warning.
No struggle.
No body.
Nothing.
One minute, he had been inside the Blackwood security system.
The next, every trace of him had vanished.
Victor stood in the center of the security room, staring at the monitors.
"Run it again."
Daniel looked at the screens.
"We've already checked the footage three times."
"Run it again."
Daniel didn't argue.
He rewound the footage.
11:42 p.m.
Thomas walked through the west corridor.
11:43.
He stopped.
Looked toward the camera.
11:44.
The screen flickered.
11:45.
Nothing.
Then the footage resumed.
Thomas was gone.
Victor stared.
"How long?"
"One minute."
"Exactly?"
"Fifty-eight seconds."
Victor's jaw tightened.
"That's not a camera failure."
"No."
Daniel zoomed in.
"There."
A tiny reflection appeared in one of the security monitors.
Victor leaned closer.
Someone was standing behind Thomas.
A woman.
Daniel froze.
"Boss..."
Victor stared at the reflection.
"Enhance it."
Daniel did.
The image became grainy.
The woman's face was barely visible.
But Victor recognized the dress.
White silk.
Long sleeves.
A thin silver bracelet.
Serena.
Victor's expression became unreadable.
"She was supposed to be locked in the east wing."
Daniel nodded.
"She was."
"Check her room."
A guard rushed from the control room.
Three minutes later, his radio crackled.
"Boss."
Victor answered.
"Talk."
"The room is empty."
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"How?"
"We don't know."
"Check the windows."
"Already checked."
"And?"
"Locked from the inside."
Victor stared at Daniel.
"How does someone leave a locked room?"
Daniel shook his head.
"They don't."
Victor turned toward the monitors.
"Then we have a problem."
Daniel looked at him.
"What kind?"
Victor's eyes remained on the screen.
"The kind where someone has been inside my house longer than we realized."
Across the city, Lily sat beside Ethan's hospital bed.
The room was quiet.
Too quiet.
Machines beeped softly beside the crib.
Ethan's tiny fingers were wrapped around hers.
His arm was covered in a white cast.
Lily looked at it and felt tears burn her eyes.
"I'm sorry."
Ethan shifted in his sleep.
Lily stroked his hair.
"I should have protected you."
A voice came from behind her.
"You did."
She turned.
Victor stood in the doorway.
He looked exhausted.
But his eyes were still sharp.
Lily looked at him.
"Did you find Thomas?"
"No."
Her heart sank.
"What about Serena?"
"She's gone."
Lily stared.
"What?"
Victor stepped inside.
"She disappeared from a locked room."
Lily's face went pale.
"That's impossible."
"That's what I thought."
He walked toward the bed.
His gaze softened when he saw Ethan.
"He looks better."
"The doctor said the surgery went well."
Victor nodded.
"Good."
Lily looked at him.
"Did you find out who the woman in the photograph was?"
Victor went still.
"The woman?"
"The one from my memory."
Lily lowered her voice.
"I keep seeing her."
Victor pulled a chair closer.
"Tell me."
Lily looked at Ethan.
"She was standing in front of a mirror."
Victor frowned.
"A mirror?"
"Yes."
"Describe it."
"Old."
"Anything else?"
"It had a black frame."
Victor's eyes sharpened.
"Where?"
"I don't know."
Lily closed her eyes.
"I was little."
"What happened?"
"I was hiding."
"From whom?"
"I don't remember."
"Try."
Lily's breathing became shallow.
"I heard footsteps."
"Then?"
"A door opened."
"Who came in?"
"I don't know."
"Was it Serena?"
Lily shook her head.
"No."
Victor leaned forward.
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
"Then who?"
Lily opened her eyes.
"The woman."
"What woman?"
"The woman in the mirror."
Victor stared at her.
Lily's voice trembled.
"She was crying."
Victor said nothing.
"She looked at herself."
"Then?"
"She wiped her face."
"Did she see you?"
Lily shook her head.
"I was hiding behind the door."
"Did she say anything?"
Lily frowned.
"Yes."
"What?"
"I remember one sentence."
Victor waited.
"She said..."
Lily swallowed.
"'I'm sorry.'"
Victor's expression changed.
"To whom?"
"I don't know."
Lily looked frightened.
"Then I heard my brother."
"What did he say?"
"He called her Mom."
Victor froze.
Lily stared at him.
"I don't know if that's real."
"It may be."
"No."
Her voice became desperate.
"My mother was different."
"How?"
"My mother had brown hair."
Victor stared.
"Serena is blonde."
"I know."
"Then who was the woman?"
"I don't know."
Lily covered her face.
"I don't remember."
Victor gently lowered her hands.
"Don't force it."
"But if I can remember—"
"We'll figure it out."
Lily looked at him.
"You promise?"
Victor held her gaze.
"Yes."
Neither noticed the nurse standing outside the room.
The nurse was watching them.
Her hand slowly moved toward the pocket of her uniform.
Inside was a phone.
The screen showed a message.
IS SHE REMEMBERING?
The nurse typed:
YES.
Another message arrived.
THEN MOVE TO PHASE TWO.
The nurse looked through the glass at Lily.
Then at Ethan.
She smiled faintly.
And walked away.
Three hours later, Victor returned to the Blackwood mansion.
The security team had searched every room.
Nothing.
No sign of Serena.
No sign of Thomas.
No sign of an intruder.
Victor entered his father's study.
The photograph was still on the desk.
He picked it up.
His eyes moved to the third person in the shadows.
Thomas.
His father's old security officer.
But something bothered him.
Victor turned the photograph sideways.
Then upside down.
Daniel watched.
"What are you looking for?"
"The reflection."
"What reflection?"
Victor pointed toward a small mirror visible in the background.
"There."
Daniel leaned closer.
The mirror reflected part of the room.
Victor enlarged the image.
A woman stood there.
Not Serena.
Daniel's expression changed.
"Who is that?"
Victor stared.
He didn't know.
But the woman's face looked familiar.
Very familiar.
He had seen her before.
Years ago.
At his mother's funeral.
Victor's heart began pounding.
"No."
Daniel looked at him.
"Boss?"
Victor dropped the photograph.
"That's my mother."
Silence.
Daniel stared at the image.
"But Mrs. Blackwood died twenty years ago."
Victor nodded slowly.
"Exactly."
He picked up the photograph again.
His mother's face was unmistakable.
But that created an impossible question.
Why was she in a photograph with Lily?
And why had Victor never seen this picture?
Victor searched the back.
Nothing.
He opened the hidden notebook again.
There were names.
Numbers.
Dates.
Then he saw something he hadn't noticed before.
A page near the back had been torn out.
Only one word remained.
MOTHER.
Victor's phone rang.
He answered.
"Yes?"
Daniel's voice came through.
"We found something at the hospital."
Victor's expression changed.
"What?"
"One of the nurses."
"What about her?"
"She isn't registered under her real name."
Victor stood.
"Where is she?"
"Missing."
Victor's eyes became cold.
"Find her."
"We're trying."
"Now."
He ended the call.
Then another call came.
An unknown number.
Victor answered.
"Who is this?"
A woman's voice.
Soft.
Shaking.
"Victor?"
He froze.
"Who are you?"
"I can't talk for long."
"Name."
A pause.
"My name is Elena."
Victor's heart stopped.
Elena.
His mother's name.
"That's impossible."
"I know."
"Where are you?"
"I can't tell you."
"How did you get this number?"
"I've been watching you."
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"Who are you?"
The woman breathed shakily.
"I knew your father."
"Who are you?"
"I knew Lily too."
Victor's entire body went still.
"What did you say?"
"I knew Lily when she was a child."
"Where?"
"At the house."
Victor looked at the photograph.
"The white house?"
Silence.
"Yes."
Victor's voice became urgent.
"What happened there?"
"I can't tell you over the phone."
"Then tell me where you are."
"I'll send you an address."
The call ended.
Victor stared at the phone.
A message appeared.
An address.
An abandoned church on the outskirts of Chicago.
Victor looked at Daniel.
"We're leaving."
At the same time, Lily woke in the hospital.
She didn't know how long she had been asleep.
The room was dark.
Ethan was sleeping.
She sat up.
Something felt wrong.
She looked toward the door.
It was open.
She was certain she had closed it.
"Ethan?"
The baby stirred.
Lily climbed out of the chair.
She walked toward the door.
Then stopped.
A faint sound came from the hallway.
A woman humming.
An old lullaby.
Lily's heart stopped.
She knew that song.
Her mother used to sing it.
But her mother had been dead for years.
Lily stepped into the hallway.
"Hello?"
No answer.
The humming continued.
She followed it.
Past the nurses' station.
Past the elevator.
Toward the old wing of the hospital.
The hallway lights flickered.
Lily stopped.
At the end of the corridor stood a woman.
Long dark hair.
White coat.
Her back was turned.
Lily's heart pounded.
"Excuse me?"
The woman slowly turned.
Lily's breath caught.
She didn't recognize the face.
But she recognized the eyes.
The same eyes she had seen in her childhood memories.
The woman smiled.
"Lily."
Lily stepped backward.
"How do you know my name?"
The woman looked toward the room where Ethan was sleeping.
"Because I knew your mother."
Lily's blood ran cold.
"Who are you?"
The woman took one step closer.
"My name is Elena."
Lily stared.
That name.
The name Victor had heard on the phone.
But Lily didn't know that.
She only knew the woman standing in front of her looked strangely familiar.
"Why do I remember you?"
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
"Because you were there."
"Where?"
"The house."
Lily's breathing became shallow.
"The white house?"
Elena nodded.
"You were six."
"And Michael?"
Elena's expression broke.
"Yes."
"What happened to him?"
Elena looked away.
"I tried to save both of you."
Lily's heart hammered.
"From who?"
Elena's eyes moved toward the elevator.
"We don't have much time."
"Tell me!"
Elena grabbed her hand.
"Your father wasn't dead."
Lily froze.
"What?"
"He was alive."
"My father?"
"Yes."
"Who was he?"
Elena opened her mouth.
Before she could answer—
The lights went out.
Lily screamed.
A hand covered her mouth.
She struggled.
The hallway disappeared into darkness.
Then—
A man's voice whispered in her ear.
"Still asking questions you shouldn't?"
Lily's blood turned to ice.
She knew that voice.
She had heard it in her dreams.
A voice from behind the locked door.
The man from her childhood.
The man who had told someone to hide her.
She struggled harder.
The man whispered:
"Hello, little girl."
Then something struck the back of her head.
Everything went black.
At the abandoned church, Victor stood beneath a broken stained-glass window.
Daniel and six armed men surrounded him.
"Boss."
Victor looked at his phone.
The address had been sent twenty minutes ago.
But there was no one inside.
Only dust.
Broken pews.
And a single mirror standing against the altar.
Victor approached it.
Something was written across the glass.
Three words.
LOOK BEHIND YOU.
Daniel turned immediately.
Nothing.
Victor slowly looked into the mirror.
His reflection stared back.
Then—
A woman's reflection appeared behind him.
Victor spun around.
Nobody was there.
He looked back at the mirror.
The woman was still there.
His mother.
She was standing behind him in the reflection.
Victor's breath caught.
Then she spoke.
Not aloud.
But clearly enough for him to understand.
"Protect Lily."
The mirror shattered.
Victor stepped backward.
Daniel rushed toward him.
"Boss!"
Victor stared at the broken glass.
His face had gone pale.
"My mother."
Daniel looked confused.
"What about her?"
Victor slowly answered.
"She isn't dead."
Across the city, Lily opened her eyes.
Her head was pounding.
Her hands were tied.
She was lying on a cold floor.
A single light hung above her.
She looked around.
An abandoned room.
Concrete walls.
A metal door.
Then she saw someone standing in front of her.
Serena.
Lily's heart dropped.
Serena smiled.
"You really should have stayed quiet."
Lily struggled against the ropes.
"Where's Ethan?"
Serena crouched.
"Still alive."
Lily's blood ran cold.
"What do you want?"
Serena smiled.
"Not what you think."
She leaned closer.
"I don't want to hurt you, Lily."
"Then let me go."
"I can't."
"Why?"
Serena's smile disappeared.
"Because you're the only person who can lead me to him."
"Who?"
Serena whispered:
"Your brother."
Lily froze.
Serena stood.
"You thought Michael was dead."
She smiled.
"He isn't."
Lily stared at her.
"Where is he?"
Serena walked toward the door.
"That's the question."
She paused.
Then looked back.
"Because Marcus Vale found him first."
The door slammed shut.
Lily sat alone in the darkness.
And for the first time in fifteen years—
she remembered the boy's face clearly.
Michael.
Her little brother.
He had been crying behind the locked door.
And someone had been standing beside him.
A man.
A man Lily suddenly remembered.
She whispered his name.
"Victor..."
Then she realized something terrifying.
The man she remembered from that night—
was not Victor Blackwood Sr.
It was Victor.
Young Victor.
May you like
He had been there too.
And he had been holding a gun.
