Chapter 8 - Blackwood Tower rose above the city like a monument to old money.Forty-seven floors of steel, glass, and family secrets.
At 8:00 A.M., every director entered the boardroom.
At 8:07, Victor took the head seat.
At 8:10, a lawyer placed a folder in front of him.
At 8:12, the elevator doors opened.
A little girl walked inside.
Dark braids.
Yellow dress.
Silver locket.
Same crescent mark.
Ethan’s daughter.
Or so it appeared.
Victor smiled.
“Ladies and gentlemen.”
The room fell silent.
“You asked for proof that my nephew is incapable of managing this company.”
He placed the folder on the table.
“You are about to see it.”
The girl stood beside him.
A director approached.
“Who are you?”
The child answered softly.
“Lily Blackwood.”
The room erupted.
Victor lifted a hand.
“This child was rescued after being concealed for years.”
He looked toward the doors.
“Ethan will deny her identity.”
A few directors exchanged worried glances.
Then Victor played a video.
It showed Ethan threatening Nora.
Another clip showed him screaming at a terrified child.
The footage had been edited.
But nobody in the room knew that yet.
A director whispered:
“Is Ethan unstable?”
Victor lowered his voice.
“I would never question my nephew’s condition.”
Then the doors opened.
Ethan walked in.
The entire boardroom froze.
Lily stood beside Victor.
Ethan stopped.
He looked at the child.
The girl looked back.
Same age.
Same hair.
Same face.
He felt sick.
Victor smiled.
“You’re late.”
Ethan ignored him.
He stared at the girl.
“What’s your name?”
“Lily.”
“What’s your mother’s name?”
The girl hesitated.
“Amelia.”
Ethan’s heart dropped.
Victor had prepared everything.
He stepped forward.
“You see?”
Then Ethan noticed something.
The locket.
It was not the one Amelia had given Lily.
The chain was slightly different.
The back had no initials.
Ethan slowly looked toward Victor.
“Where did you get that?”
The girl touched it.
“Mommy gave it to me.”
“Which mommy?”
The girl looked confused.
Victor interrupted.
“This is absurd.”
Ethan moved closer.
“Tell me about the dark room.”
The girl froze.
Victor’s face changed.
She said nothing.
Ethan smiled faintly.
“You don’t know.”
Victor stepped between them.
“You are frightening her.”
Ethan turned to the board.
“You are looking at a fake child.”
Murmurs spread.
Victor laughed.
“Then prove it.”
Ethan pulled a phone from his pocket.
“Gladly.”
He played a recording.
Lily’s real voice.
“Daddy, no. Don’t drink it.”
Then footage from the hidden medical room.
Amelia alive.
Then the hospital photograph.
Two babies.
The room erupted.
Victor’s face hardened.
Ethan turned toward him.
“You have one problem.”
Victor narrowed his eyes.
“What?”
“You forgot something.”
“What?”
“My daughter knows something your replacement doesn’t.”
The boardroom doors opened again.
Amelia entered.
Alive.
Every face in the room went white.
Victor took one step backward.
Amelia looked directly at him.
“You should have killed me when you had the chance.”
Victor stared at her.
Then smiled.
“You still don’t understand.”
He lifted his hand.
The lights went out.
A gunshot echoed.
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When the emergency lights turned on, Amelia was gone.
And so was the fake Lily.
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