Chapter 3 – The Mafia Boss’s Hidden Investigation
Chapter 3 – The Mafia Boss’s Hidden Investigation
Victor Blackwood had spent his entire life learning one important lesson.
Never trust what you see first.
Appearances were weapons.
A smile could hide a threat.
A handshake could hide betrayal.
A promise could hide a trap.
That was how he built his empire.
Not through strength alone.
Through suspicion.
Through patience.
Through knowing that every person around him wanted something.
But there was one place where he had stopped looking.
His own home.
And now he hated himself for it.
The Blackwood mansion was supposed to be the safest place in the world for Ethan.
The one place where his son could grow up without fear.
Instead...
The danger had been living under his roof.
Victor stood in his private office, watching the security footage again.
For the fifth time.
The same scene.
The same moment.
The same unbearable truth.
Serena grabbing Ethan.
Serena hurting him.
Lily running to protect him.
Serena attacking Lily.
The image played again.
And again.
Victor's hands tightened.
He had trusted Serena.
Not because he was foolish.
Because she had spent years building that trust.
She had been there after Ethan's mother died.
She had comforted him.
She had helped him through the darkest period of his life.
Or at least...
That was what he believed.
Now he wondered.
How much of it had been real?
A knock came at the door.
"Come in."
Marcus entered.
Victor's head of security.
His most loyal man.
The only person Victor trusted without question.
"Did you find anything?"
Victor asked.
Marcus placed a folder on the desk.
"More than we expected."
Victor opened it.
Inside were photographs.
Documents.
Transaction records.
"Serena's financial history?"
Marcus nodded.
"Hidden accounts."
Victor looked up.
"How hidden?"
"Hidden enough that most people would never find them."
A pause.
"But we did."
Victor continued reading.
The numbers made his expression change.
Serena had been receiving large payments.
Not from one source.
From several.
"Who are these people?"
Marcus hesitated.
"That's the problem."
Victor looked at him.
"Explain."
"They don't exist officially."
Silence.
Victor understood immediately.
Ghost companies.
Fake identities.
Money moved through invisible channels.
The same methods used by criminals.
The same methods used by people who wanted to stay unseen.
"How long?"
"Almost two years."
Victor leaned back.
Two years.
The same amount of time Serena had become closer to Ethan.
The same amount of time she had been preparing to become his wife.
A cold feeling settled in his chest.
This was not an accident.
It was planned.
Meanwhile...
Lily sat in the guest room.
The room Victor had ordered prepared for her after the incident.
She still couldn't believe she was there.
Yesterday, she thought she would be thrown out.
Humiliated.
Arrested.
Today, she was being protected.
But she couldn't relax.
Because Serena was still somewhere inside this house.
And Lily knew something about dangerous people.
They didn't forgive.
They waited.
A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.
Lily opened the door.
Victor stood outside.
She immediately stepped back.
"Mr. Blackwood."
"We need to talk."
Lily nodded.
Victor entered.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Victor said:
"I watched the footage."
Lily's expression changed.
"You did?"
"Yes."
A pause.
"And I owe you an apology."
Those words shocked her.
Because Victor Blackwood did not apologize.
Not according to the stories.
Not according to the rumors.
But he did.
"I should have seen it."
Lily looked away.
"She was very careful."
Victor looked at her.
"You knew."
Lily nodded slowly.
"I suspected."
"Why didn't you leave?"
The question was not accusing.
It was genuine.
Lily looked toward Ethan's room.
"Because of him."
Victor followed her gaze.
"You stayed because of my son?"
"Yes."
A pause.
"He didn't have anyone else."
Those words hit Victor harder than he expected.
Because they were true.
Victor had hired people to care for Ethan.
Doctors.
Nannies.
Security.
But Lily was the one person who stayed because she wanted to.
Not because she was paid.
Victor looked at her carefully.
"Why do you care so much?"
Lily smiled sadly.
"Because children shouldn't have to earn kindness."
For some reason...
Victor remembered those words.
Later that night...
Victor made a decision.
He would not confront Serena yet.
Not until he knew everything.
A person like Serena was dangerous when cornered.
He needed proof.
Not suspicion.
Not anger.
Proof.
So he began his hidden investigation.
The first step:
Find out who Serena really was.
Marcus uncovered her old records.
And the more they found...
The worse it became.
Serena Montigue was not her original name.
Victor stared at the document.
"What?"
Marcus placed another file down.
"Her birth records were changed."
Victor looked up.
"Changed by who?"
Marcus hesitated.
"Someone with enough power to erase a person."
That answer bothered Victor.
Because there were very few people capable of that.
"Find out."
Marcus nodded.
The next discovery came two hours later.
Serena had been monitoring Ethan.
Not caring for him.
Monitoring him.
Victor found hidden notes.
Schedules.
Medical information.
Behavior reports.
A normal caregiver would write:
"Likes blue toys."
"Prefers sleeping with music."
"Gets scared during storms."
But Serena's notes were different.
"Attachment to nanny increasing."
"Father's attention decreasing."
"Potential obstacle."
Victor stopped reading.
Potential obstacle.
She wasn't talking about a schedule.
She was talking about Lily.
Victor felt anger rising.
She had viewed a woman protecting his son as an obstacle.
Then he found the final piece.
A photograph.
Serena.
Standing with a man Victor knew.
A man who should have been impossible.
Victor's face changed.
"No."
Marcus looked at him.
"You know him?"
Victor stared at the photograph.
"Yes."
"Who is he?"
Victor didn't answer immediately.
Because the truth was worse than he expected.
"He was my enemy."
Years ago...
Before Victor became the most feared man in Chicago...
There had been another man.
Adrian Voss.
A businessman.
A strategist.
A man who smiled while destroying people.
Victor had thought he defeated him.
But apparently...
He had been wrong.
"Why would Serena work with him?"
Marcus asked.
Victor looked toward the mansion.
Toward Ethan's room.
"Because this was never about marrying me."
A pause.
"It was about getting close to my family."
At that exact moment...
Serena stood in her room.
She removed her diamond earrings.
Her perfect mask was gone.
The woman staring back from the mirror was someone else.
Someone colder.
Her phone rang.
She answered.
"He's suspicious."
The voice on the other end was calm.
"Then accelerate the plan."
Serena frowned.
"What about Lily?"
A pause.
"She is becoming a problem."
Serena looked toward the hallway.
"She won't be for long."
The next morning...
Victor made another decision.
He moved Lily and Ethan away from the main mansion.
To a private Blackwood estate outside the city.
"For protection."
He explained.
Lily looked uncertain.
"From Serena?"
Victor looked at her.
"From everyone."
Because he knew something now.
The woman trying to hurt Ethan was not acting alone.
And whoever was behind Serena was powerful enough to challenge the Blackwood family.
As the car drove away from the mansion...
Lily looked back.
She had no idea when she would return.
She had no idea what secrets waited ahead.
But she knew one thing.
Victor Blackwood was no longer ignoring the truth.
And Serena Montigue had made the biggest mistake of her life.
She had hurt the one thing Victor loved most.
His son.
And now...
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The most feared man in Chicago was no longer investigating.
He was hunting.
