CHAPTER 5: THE KIDNAPPER’S MESSAGE
The Blackwood mansion had survived wars.
It had survived betrayals.
It had survived enemies who believed they could destroy the family from the outside.
But nothing had ever broken its walls like the silence that filled Ethan’s empty nursery.
Victor Blackwood stood frozen.
The small piece of paper in his hand trembled slightly.
Not from fear.
Victor Blackwood did not fear easily.
It trembled because the message represented something far more dangerous.
Someone had touched the one thing he could not replace.
His son.
“Search every room.”
His voice was quiet.
But every person inside the nursery felt the command like thunder.
“Seal every exit. Check the cameras. Nobody leaves this property.”
The guards immediately moved.
They knew that tone.
The tone Victor used before something terrible happened.
Lily stood near the crib, unable to move.
Her eyes were fixed on the empty space where Ethan had been sleeping only moments ago.
“No…”
Her voice cracked.
“No, no, no…”
She covered her mouth.
“This is my fault.”
Victor turned.
“Don’t say that.”
“But I should have stayed.”
Her tears began falling.
“I knew something was wrong. I knew Serena was dangerous. I should have watched him.”
Victor stepped toward her.
“Lily.”
She looked at him.
For the first time since entering the Blackwood mansion, she looked completely broken.
Not afraid.
Not cautious.
Broken.
“I promised him,” she whispered.
“I promised Ethan I would protect him.”
Victor looked at the woman standing in front of him.
The same woman who had crawled across marble floors while injured.
The same woman who had placed herself between danger and his child.
And now she was blaming herself because someone stronger and more prepared had found a way inside.
Victor spoke firmly.
“You kept your promise.”
Lily shook her head.
“He’s gone.”
Victor’s expression changed.
“He is not gone.”
His voice became colder.
“He is alive.”
Everyone in the room looked at him.
Because Victor did not say it like a hope.
He said it like a fact.
“Whoever took Ethan wanted me to know.”
He held up the message.
“If they wanted him dead, they would have done it without leaving a message.”
Adrian Cross nodded slowly.
“They want something.”
Victor looked at him.
“Yes.”
The old adviser studied the note.
“The wording…”
“What about it?”
Adrian’s face became serious.
“It sounds personal.”
Victor looked down at the paper again.
You took my future away. Now I take yours.
Those words were not written by someone seeking money.
Not by someone looking for power.
They were written by someone driven by revenge.
Someone who believed Victor had destroyed their life.
“Richard.”
The name left Adrian’s mouth quietly.
Victor’s eyes moved toward him.
“You think it’s him?”
Adrian hesitated.
“I think it is possible.”
Victor’s expression hardened.
Richard Blackwood.
His uncle.
The man who vanished after his father’s death.
The man who had every reason to hate him.
But there was a problem.
Richard had been missing for fifteen years.
No confirmed sightings.
No financial records.
No communication.
He had disappeared like a ghost.
“How would he get inside my mansion?”
Adrian looked uncomfortable.
Victor noticed.
“What?”
Adrian was silent.
“Adrian.”
Finally, the old man spoke.
“There is another possibility.”
“What possibility?”
Adrian looked toward the broken window.
“Someone helped him.”
The room became silent.
Again.
Someone inside.
Someone with access.
Someone who knew the mansion.
Someone who knew Ethan’s routine.
Victor looked around.
His security team.
His employees.
His advisers.
The people who had worked for him for years.
One of them had betrayed him.
And now his son was paying the price.
A guard suddenly rushed into the room.
“Sir.”
Victor turned.
“We found something.”
The guard handed him a tablet.
The security footage.
Victor watched.
The recording showed the hallway outside Ethan’s nursery.
Everything appeared normal.
A guard passed by.
A few minutes later, the lights flickered.
Then the camera went black.
Seven minutes later, it returned.
And the nursery door was open.
Victor narrowed his eyes.
“Seven minutes.”
The guard nodded.
“We checked. The power interruption was not accidental.”
Victor looked at the screen.
Someone knew exactly how long they needed.
Someone knew exactly where the cameras were.
Then Lily noticed something.
“Wait.”
Everyone looked at her.
She pointed at the screen.
“Go back.”
The guard rewound.
The hallway appeared again.
The lights flickered.
But before the camera went dark...
A shadow appeared near the nursery door.
Victor leaned closer.
“Enhance.”
The image became clearer.
A person standing in the hallway.
Wearing black clothing.
The face hidden.
But there was something visible.
A small silver object attached to their wrist.
Lily suddenly froze.
Her breathing stopped.
“What?”
Victor noticed immediately.
“You know that?”
Lily stared at the screen.
“That bracelet…”
Her voice became weak.
“My father had one exactly like it.”
Adrian looked shocked.
“That’s impossible.”
Victor turned.
“Explain.”
Adrian stared at the image.
“That bracelet belonged to Thomas Hale.”
The room went silent.
Lily stepped closer.
“My father’s bracelet?”
Adrian nodded slowly.
“He wore it every day.”
Victor looked at the screen again.
The person who took Ethan was wearing something connected to Thomas Hale.
But Thomas Hale had been dead for fifteen years.
Unless…
Victor looked at Lily.
“You said your father died.”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
“Are you certain?”
Lily’s face changed.
“My mother told me.”
Victor understood.
The truth was beginning to reveal itself.
And every answer created another question.
Then Victor’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
Everyone became still.
Victor answered.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then a child’s voice came through.
“Daddy?”
Victor froze.
Every muscle in his body tightened.
“Ethan?”
A small cry.
“Daddy… Lily…”
Victor closed his eyes for a second.
His son was alive.
Then another voice came.
A man.
Calm.
Controlled.
“You have twenty-four hours.”
Victor’s voice became dangerous.
“Who are you?”
The man laughed softly.
“You spent years building an empire, Victor.”
A pause.
“Now watch it collapse.”
Victor gripped the phone.
“If you touch my son—”
“You still don’t understand.”
The voice interrupted.
“This isn’t about money.”
Victor stayed silent.
“It’s about justice.”
A pause.
“Your father took something from my family.”
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
“What did he take?”
The man answered:
“My life.”
The call ended.
Victor stared at the phone.
Then he looked at Adrian.
“Find everything about Richard Blackwood.”
Adrian nodded.
Victor turned toward Lily.
“And find everything about Thomas Hale.”
Lily looked at him.
“Why?”
Victor looked toward the empty crib.
Because the truth was no longer buried.
It was coming back.
And it had taken his son as the price.
“Because Ethan’s kidnapper is connected to your father.”
A long silence followed.
Then Victor said the words nobody expected.
“Lily…”
She looked at him.
“I need you.”
Her eyes widened.
The most feared man in Chicago had just admitted something almost impossible.
He could not do this alone.
Because this was no longer a war between enemies.
It was a war against the ghosts of the past.
And somewhere in the darkness of Chicago…
Someone was holding Ethan Blackwood.
May you like
Waiting for Victor to discover the truth.
Mình sẽ viết tiếp Chapter 6: The Ghost of Thomas Hale ở phần sau.
