Chapter 12: The Order Victor Never Gave
Lily stared at Victor.
Her entire body was trembling.
“You told me to kill him.”
Victor didn't answer.
He couldn't.
The words had struck him harder than any bullet.
“No.”
Lily shook her head.
“I remember your voice.”
“You're mistaken.”
“You were standing beside the crib.”
“I wasn't.”
“You put your hand on my shoulder.”
Victor stepped toward the vault door.
“Lily, listen to me.”
She backed away.
“You said Ethan was dangerous.”
Victor's expression changed.
“Lily…”
“You told me he could destroy the Blackwoods.”
“That wasn't me.”
“You said I had one job.”
Victor's voice became urgent.
“What job?”
Lily stared at him.
“To kill him before he became the heir.”
Silence.
Behind Victor, the old Blackwood patriarch smiled.
“There.”
He slowly applauded.
“Now she remembers.”
Victor turned toward him.
“You did this.”
His father smiled.
“I only showed her the truth.”
“No.”
Victor raised his weapon.
“You manipulated her memories.”
“I restored them.”
“You made her believe I gave the order.”
His father tilted his head.
“Did I?”
Victor froze.
The old man reached into his coat.
He pulled out an old recording device.
“I think you should listen.”
He pressed a button.
Static filled the chamber.
Then a younger Victor's voice emerged.
Cold.
Calm.
“Ethan cannot survive.”
Lily's face went pale.
Victor stared at the device.
“That isn't…”
The recording continued.
“Lily knows what she has to do.”
Lily began crying.
Victor shook his head.
“No.”
The old man smiled.
“Recognize your own voice?”
Victor stepped backward.
“That recording is fake.”
His father laughed.
“Is it?”
He played another.
“You were always willing to sacrifice anything for the empire.”
Victor's face became pale.
“I never said that.”
“You did.”
“No.”
Victor looked toward Isabella.
“Do you remember?”
Isabella shook her head.
“I wasn't there.”
Victor looked at Adrian.
“You?”
Adrian remained silent.
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“You knew.”
Adrian finally spoke.
“I knew there was a recording.”
“Was it real?”
“Yes.”
Victor stared at him.
The room went silent.
Lily looked at Victor.
“So you did tell me.”
Adrian shook his head.
“Not him.”
Everyone turned.
“What?”
Adrian stepped forward.
“The voice is Victor's.”
Lily whispered:
“Then who was it?”
Adrian looked toward Victor's father.
“Your father created a recording using Victor's voice.”
Victor's eyes widened.
“What?”
“He used an old voice sample.”
The old man smiled.
“Technology has always been useful.”
Victor's hand tightened.
“You manufactured the order.”
“Yes.”
“You made Lily believe I wanted Ethan dead.”
“Yes.”
“You erased our memories.”
“Yes.”
“You destroyed my family.”
The old man shrugged.
“I protected my empire.”
Victor's expression became empty.
Then he fired.
The bullet struck his father's shoulder.
The old man fell backward.
Everyone froze.
Victor lowered the weapon.
“I should have done that six years ago.”
His father laughed through the pain.
“You still don't understand.”
Victor approached him.
“Explain.”
“The empire is already gone.”
Victor frowned.
“What?”
The old man pointed toward the screen.
Every secret from the vault was still uploading.
“Your empire is being destroyed as we speak.”
Victor looked at the files.
Police reports.
Bank accounts.
Names of officials.
Orders signed by Blackwood executives.
The entire criminal network was being exposed.
His father smiled.
“And when the world sees everything…”
He paused.
“…they'll come for all of you.”
Victor stared.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
His father laughed.
“Your family did it.”
Inside the vault, Lily held Ethan tightly.
The baby had stopped crying.
He looked at her with innocent eyes.
Lily kissed his forehead.
“I would never hurt you.”
Elena stood beside her.
“You know that.”
“But I remember holding him.”
“You were manipulated.”
“I remember blood.”
“That wasn't Ethan's.”
Lily looked up.
“What?”
Elena pointed toward one of the monitors.
A medical recording appeared.
Lily watched herself standing beside Ethan fourteen months earlier.
But the image showed something she hadn't remembered.
A doctor approached her.
He handed her a syringe.
Then someone grabbed the doctor's arm.
Victor.
Young Victor.
He pushed the syringe away.
“Don't touch her.”
Lily's eyes widened.
The recording continued.
Victor turned toward Lily.
“Take Ethan and run.”
Lily whispered:
“You protected me.”
Elena nodded.
“He did.”
“But why did I remember the opposite?”
“Because your grandfather altered the footage.”
Lily looked at the screen.
Victor had protected Ethan.
He had protected her.
And yet someone had spent fourteen months convincing her that he was the enemy.
Lily suddenly understood.
“The entire story was manufactured.”
Elena nodded.
“Yes.”
“Serena.”
“She was manipulated.”
“Damian.”
“Manipulated.”
“Marcus.”
Elena hesitated.
“Not entirely.”
Lily frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Marcus suddenly appeared on the monitor.
His face was bruised.
He was standing beside Adrian.
Then he looked directly into the camera.
“Lily.”
She stepped closer.
“Marcus?”
His voice was weak.
“I need you to listen.”
“What?”
“I lied about one thing.”
Lily's stomach tightened.
“What?”
“I wasn't working for your grandfather.”
“Then who?”
Marcus looked toward Adrian.
“For your father.”
Lily froze.
Adrian's eyes closed.
“He was working for me.”
Lily stared.
“You knew?”
Adrian nodded.
“Marcus helped me hide you.”
“Then why did he pretend to betray me?”
“Because we needed your grandfather to believe he had won.”
Lily shook her head.
“You could have told me.”
“You weren't ready.”
“I'm tired of hearing that.”
Adrian looked down.
“You deserved the truth.”
“Yes.”
“You'll have it now.”
Lily waited.
Adrian took a breath.
“Your grandfather wasn't the mastermind.”
Lily froze.
“Then who?”
Adrian looked toward Victor.
Victor stared back.
“The person who created Project Black Wolf…”
Adrian's voice lowered.
“…was your mother.”
Lily's face went completely blank.
“My mother?”
Her mother began crying.
“I didn't want this.”
“You created it?”
“I created the first version.”
“Why?”
“To stop your grandfather.”
“Then why did it become this?”
Her mother looked at Lily.
“Because I made one mistake.”
“What?”
“I trusted Victor's father.”
Silence.
Her mother continued:
“He took my research.”
“He turned it into a weapon.”
“He created Elena.”
“He altered your memories.”
“And he turned sisters against each other.”
Lily looked at Elena.
Elena was crying.
“So all of this…”
“Yes.”
Her mother nodded.
“Started with me.”
Suddenly, the countdown stopped.
00:00
Everyone froze.
Nothing happened.
Lily looked at the screen.
“What?”
Elena stared at the vault controls.
“The timer stopped.”
“Why?”
She shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Then every screen in the vault turned black.
One sentence appeared.
BLACK WOLF PROTOCOL COMPLETE.
Lily stared.
“What does that mean?”
A hidden compartment opened beneath the floor.
Inside was a small metal box.
Victor's father stared at it.
His expression changed for the first time.
“No.”
Victor looked at him.
“What is that?”
The old man whispered:
“The original Black Wolf file.”
Victor approached.
He opened the box.
Inside was a single document.
No photographs.
No recordings.
Just one page.
At the top:
FINAL SUBJECT: L-01
Victor read the first line.
His face slowly changed.
Lily stepped closer.
“What does it say?”
Victor looked at her.
His voice was barely audible.
“It says…”
He swallowed.
“…you were never the subject.”
Lily frowned.
“Then who was?”
Victor turned the page.
At the bottom was a name.
ETHAN BLACKWOOD.
Lily's blood ran cold.
Victor continued reading.
“Project Black Wolf was never designed to create an heir.”
He looked at Ethan.
“It was designed to create…”
A pause.
“…the person who would destroy the Blackwood bloodline.”
Lily stared at the baby.
Ethan's eyes suddenly opened.
A black crescent appeared beneath his left wrist.
The same mark Lily carried.
Elena whispered:
“He's activated.”
Then the vault doors opened by themselves.
Victor's father smiled.
“No.”
Everyone turned toward him.
He was laughing.
“You still don't understand.”
Victor raised his weapon.
“What now?”
The old man looked at Ethan.
“The child isn't the weapon.”
He looked at Lily.
“She is.”
Then he pointed at the glowing mark on Lily's wrist.
“And now that she's remembered everything…”
May you like
His smile widened.
“…she's finally awake.”
