Chapter 9 – The Woman Who Tried to Destroy Her
Chapter 9 – The Woman Who Tried to Destroy Her
The room changed the moment Serena Montigue placed the photographs on the table.
Before that moment, Lily had believed the hardest part was telling the truth.
She was wrong.
The hardest part was watching a lie become more believable than reality.
The photographs were spread across the table.
One showed Lily carrying Ethan through the garden.
Another showed her sitting beside his crib late at night.
Another showed her holding him while he cried.
To anyone who did not know the story...
They looked suspicious.
Serena stood there with tears in her eyes.
Perfectly controlled.
Perfectly convincing.
"I never wanted to accuse her."
Serena whispered.
Her voice was soft.
Broken.
"I tried to understand."
Lily stared at her.
Understand?
This woman had hurt Ethan.
Had threatened her.
Had tried to destroy her.
And now she was pretending to be the victim.
"I thought maybe Lily was lonely."
Serena continued.
"Maybe she became too attached."
She looked at the investigators.
"But when she started believing Ethan needed her more than his own family..."
She shook her head sadly.
"I became afraid."
The room murmured.
Lily felt sick.
Because Serena was doing what she always did.
Changing the story.
Making cruelty look like concern.
"That's a lie."
Lily finally said.
Her voice was quiet.
But clear.
Serena looked at her.
"Is it?"
Lily stepped forward.
"Yes."
A pause.
"Because you know exactly what happened."
Serena smiled sadly.
"Everyone can see who is emotional here."
She looked around.
"The nanny who refuses to accept she crossed a line."
Then she looked at Victor.
"The woman who wants to replace me."
Victor's expression became dangerous.
"Enough."
The room went silent.
Serena turned toward him.
"Victor..."
"You are done."
For the first time, Serena's expression cracked.
"What?"
Victor stood.
"You came here pretending to defend yourself."
He looked at the photographs.
"But you forgot one thing."
Serena said nothing.
"You don't know Lily."
The words shocked everyone.
Because Victor Blackwood was not defending a witness.
He was defending Lily.
Serena's eyes hardened.
"You trust her?"
Victor stared at her.
"I trust what I saw."
The investigator raised a hand.
"Mr. Blackwood, we need to remain objective."
Victor nodded.
"I agree."
Then he looked at Lily.
"Which is why she deserves a chance to answer."
Lily returned to the chair.
Her hands were shaking.
But she refused to look away.
"Where did these photographs come from?"
The investigator asked.
Serena answered immediately.
"Security cameras."
Lily frowned.
"That's impossible."
Everyone looked at her.
She continued:
"The cameras were not working."
A pause.
"That night."
Serena smiled.
"Convenient."
The investigator looked at Victor.
"Is that true?"
Victor remained silent for a moment.
Then:
"Yes."
The room reacted.
"The cameras were disabled."
The investigator looked serious.
"By whom?"
Victor's eyes moved to Serena.
And Serena understood.
She was losing control.
"You're accusing me?"
Serena asked.
"No."
Victor replied.
"I'm saying someone manipulated the evidence."
Serena laughed.
"Of course."
She looked around.
"Everyone is against me."
Then she pointed at Lily.
"Because of her."
Lily felt the old fear return.
The fear from the mansion.
The fear of being powerless.
But then she remembered Ethan.
The little boy who had held her finger.
The little boy who had whispered her name.
She would not run.
Not this time.
"I want to say something."
Lily said.
The investigator nodded.
"Go ahead."
She looked directly at Serena.
"You keep saying I wanted your life."
Serena's expression changed slightly.
"But I never wanted your money."
A pause.
"I never wanted your position."
Another pause.
"I only wanted Ethan to be safe."
The room became quiet.
Lily continued.
"You called me a nobody."
She swallowed.
"Maybe I am."
Victor looked at her.
"But being nobody doesn't mean I don't know right from wrong."
For the first time...
Some people in the room looked uncomfortable.
Because Serena's story sounded polished.
But Lily's sounded real.
Then Daniel, Victor's lawyer, stepped forward.
"I have a question."
He looked at Serena.
"Why were you alone with Ethan that evening?"
Serena blinked.
"Because I am his future stepmother."
"That wasn't my question."
A pause.
"Why was everyone else removed from the house?"
Serena's face changed.
"What?"
Daniel continued.
"According to staff records, you personally sent away three employees that afternoon."
Silence.
"Why?"
Serena didn't answer.
Daniel looked at the documents.
"You also requested Ethan's nanny schedule."
Another pause.
"And you changed security access codes."
The room grew tense.
Serena looked at Victor.
"You investigated me?"
Victor's expression was cold.
"I had to."
That hurt her more than any accusation.
Because she finally understood.
Victor no longer saw her as family.
He saw her as a threat.
"You think you've won?"
Serena whispered.
Victor said nothing.
Serena smiled.
A dangerous smile.
"No."
She turned toward Lily.
"I haven't even started."
That night, Lily returned to the mansion.
But something felt different.
The security had increased.
The atmosphere was heavier.
Victor found her sitting alone in the kitchen.
"You should sleep."
She looked up.
"I can't."
He understood.
After everything she had been through...
How could she?
"They will believe her."
Lily whispered.
Victor frowned.
"No."
"They already wanted to."
A silence.
"People like Serena know how to make people doubt."
Victor sat across from her.
"You were telling the truth."
"But truth isn't always enough."
The words surprised him.
Because she was right.
Victor had built his life around power.
But Lily had learned something he hadn't.
Power could silence people.
But it couldn't always reveal the truth.
Suddenly, Victor's phone rang.
Marcus.
Victor answered.
"What happened?"
The voice on the other side was urgent.
"Sir..."
A pause.
"We found who gave Serena the photographs."
Victor stood.
"Who?"
Marcus hesitated.
"It was someone from inside the mansion."
Lily looked at Victor.
"Who?"
Victor's expression darkened.
"The head of Ethan's security."
Silence.
The one person Victor trusted to protect his son...
Had helped someone hurt him.
Minutes later, another message arrived.
Unknown number.
A single sentence.
You are looking at the wrong enemy.
Then a photograph appeared.
Victor opened it.
His blood ran cold.
It was Serena.
But not recently.
Years ago.
Standing beside Isabella.
And beside them...
Was Victor's own father.
The man who had been dead for ten years.
Lily saw Victor's face.
"What is it?"
He slowly turned the phone toward her.
And whispered:
"Serena didn't enter my family four years ago."
A pause.
"She was connected to us long before that."
Across the city, Serena watched the news report.
She smiled.
Because Lily thought Serena was trying to destroy her.
But Lily was wrong.
Serena wasn't trying to destroy one person.
She was trying to destroy the entire Blackwood family.
May you like
And the next move would hurt the person Victor loved most.
Ethan.
