Chapter 2: The Woman Who Was Never Supposed to Exist
“Lily.”
Victor’s voice cut through the foyer.
“Tell me what Serena meant.”
Lily stood completely still.
Her heart hammered against her ribs.
Ethan was crying in Victor’s arms, but Lily barely heard him anymore.
She could only hear Serena’s words.
Ask Lily who Ethan’s real mother is.
The secret Lily had buried for fourteen months.
The secret she had promised Ethan’s father she would never reveal.
But Victor was staring directly at her now.
Waiting.
Demanding the truth.
“I don’t know what she’s talking about,” Lily whispered.
Serena laughed.
It was a broken, bitter laugh.
“Of course you don’t.”
Victor turned toward her.
“Take her away.”
Two guards grabbed Serena’s arms.
She didn't resist.
Instead, she looked at Lily.
And smiled.
That smile followed Lily all the way to the hospital.
Three hours later, Ethan was finally stable.
Victor stood outside the hospital room, staring through the glass.
His son was asleep.
A small bandage wrapped around his injured arm.
The doctor had told him the damage could have been much worse.
Victor hadn't responded.
He simply stood there.
Still.
Silent.
Dangerous.
Lily sat several feet away with an ice pack pressed against her stomach.
A nurse had examined her injuries.
Nothing was broken.
But the bruising would be severe.
Victor finally turned.
“You lied to me.”
Lily looked down.
“Yes.”
“How long?”
She swallowed.
“Fourteen months.”
Victor's jaw tightened.
“You knew something about Ethan.”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me.”
“I was protecting him.”
Victor stepped closer.
“From whom?”
Lily looked through the glass at the sleeping baby.
“From the people who wanted him dead.”
Victor's eyes sharpened.
“What people?”
Lily hesitated.
Then the lights in the hospital corridor suddenly flickered.
Once.
Twice.
The entire hallway went dark for three seconds.
When the lights returned, Victor's phone vibrated.
He checked the screen.
One message.
No number.
Just a photograph.
Victor opened it.
His expression changed.
Lily immediately noticed.
“What is it?”
Victor didn't answer.
He turned the phone toward her.
Lily's blood ran cold.
The photograph showed Ethan.
Not today.
Not yesterday.
It had been taken months earlier.
Ethan was sleeping in his crib.
Standing beside him was a woman Lily had never seen before.
A woman wearing a white dress.
Her face was partially hidden.
But Lily recognized the necklace around her neck.
A small silver pendant shaped like a crescent moon.
Lily stood abruptly.
“No.”
Victor looked at her.
“You know her.”
Lily shook her head.
“I don't.”
“You just said no.”
“I mean…”
Her voice trembled.
“I've seen that necklace.”
“Where?”
Lily couldn't answer.
Because she remembered.
Fourteen months ago.
The night Ethan was born.
It had been raining.
Lily had been working at the hospital cafeteria when she heard a woman screaming from the private maternity wing.
She remembered the chaos.
Doctors running.
Nurses shouting.
Security guards blocking the hallway.
Then a newborn's cry.
One sharp cry.
Then silence.
Lily had seen the woman being rushed away.
Her face had been pale.
Blood stained the sleeve of her white dress.
Around her neck was that exact silver crescent pendant.
The woman had looked directly at Lily.
And whispered four words.
“Protect my baby, please.”
Lily had never forgotten her face.
But she had never known her name.
Until now.
Victor stared at Lily.
“Who was she?”
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
“I don't know.”
“Lily.”
“I swear.”
Victor's voice hardened.
“Then why are you afraid?”
Lily looked at Ethan.
“Because she wasn't supposed to be alive.”
Silence.
Victor's face became unreadable.
“What?”
Lily lowered her voice.
“The hospital records said she died that night.”
Victor stared at her.
“Who?”
Lily whispered the name.
“Isabella Blackwood.”
Victor stopped breathing.
For several seconds, the hallway seemed to disappear.
“That's impossible.”
“I know.”
“My mother told me Isabella died before Ethan was born.”
Lily shook her head.
“She didn't.”
Victor stared at the photograph again.
Then suddenly, his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
“Who is this?”
Nothing.
Only breathing.
Then a woman's voice.
Soft.
Calm.
Almost familiar.
“Victor.”
His entire body went rigid.
Lily watched his face.
The voice continued.
“You finally found the truth.”
Victor's grip tightened around the phone.
“Who are you?”
A quiet laugh.
“You already know.”
Victor looked through the glass at Ethan.
“Where are you?”
“Closer than you think.”
The call ended.
Victor immediately handed the phone to one of his men.
“Trace it.”
The man nodded.
Then froze.
“Sir…”
“What?”
“The signal is coming from inside this hospital.”
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“Lock the building down.”
Within seconds, his men moved through the corridors.
Doors were checked.
Elevators stopped.
Security cameras were reviewed.
Lily remained beside Ethan's room.
Then she noticed something.
The nursery door was slightly open.
She frowned.
“Victor.”
He turned.
“What?”
“The door.”
Victor looked.
His expression changed instantly.
He drew his weapon.
“Stay here.”
He pushed the door open.
The room was empty.
Ethan was still asleep.
But on the table beside his crib sat a white envelope.
Victor approached slowly.
He opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
This time, Victor was in it.
He was standing outside the Blackwood mansion fourteen months earlier.
Beside him stood a woman.
Isabella.
Alive.
And pregnant.
Victor stared at the image.
His hands began to tremble.
Lily stepped closer.
“What does it say?”
Victor pulled out a folded piece of paper.
Three sentences were written on it.
You believed your brother.
You buried the wrong woman.
And your son was never meant to be yours.
Victor's face went pale.
Lily stared at the final sentence.
“What does that mean?”
Victor didn't answer.
Then a scream erupted from the hallway.
One of Victor's guards came running.
“Boss!”
Victor turned.
“What happened?”
“We found someone.”
“Who?”
The guard's face was white.
“She was hiding in the maintenance room.”
Victor walked toward him.
“Bring her here.”
The guard hesitated.
“Sir…”
“Who is she?”
The guard swallowed.
“She says she's Ethan's mother.”
Victor froze.
Lily's heart stopped.
Then a woman stepped slowly into the corridor.
White dress.
Pale face.
Silver crescent necklace.
She looked directly at Victor.
Then at Lily.
And finally at the sleeping baby.
Tears filled her eyes.
“My son.”
Victor couldn't move.
The woman whispered:
“I'm sorry it took me fourteen months to come back.”
Lily stared at her in horror.
Because she recognized that face.
It was the woman from the hospital.
The woman everyone believed was dead.
Isabella Blackwood.
Victor's dead sister.
And Ethan's supposed mother.
But before Victor could speak, Isabella looked at him and said something that shattered everything.
“Victor…”
She pointed toward Lily.
“She's not Ethan's nanny.”
“She was the one I hired to hide him from you.”
The corridor went silent.
Victor slowly turned toward Lily.
May you like
Lily's face drained of color.
And for the first time, she realized there was nowhere left to run.
