Chapter 3: The Baby Who Wasn’t Victor’s
Victor stared at Lily.
Not with anger.
Not yet.
Something far more dangerous had entered his eyes.
Doubt.
Behind him, Ethan slept peacefully in the hospital room, unaware that the truth about his birth had just exploded into the corridor.
Victor looked at Isabella.
Then at Lily.
Then back at Isabella.
“Say that again.”
Isabella wiped the tears from her face.
“She isn't Ethan's nanny.”
Lily's heart pounded.
“Isabella…”
“Tell him.”
Isabella's voice broke.
“Tell him why I chose you.”
Victor stepped toward Lily.
“Why?”
Lily couldn't answer.
“Lily.”
She closed her eyes.
“I was trying to protect Ethan.”
“From me?”
“No.”
“Then from whom?”
“From your family.”
Victor's expression darkened.
“My family?”
Lily nodded.
“Your family wanted Ethan gone.”
Isabella interrupted.
“Not just Ethan.”
Victor turned toward her.
“Then who?”
“Me.”
The word fell like a stone.
Victor stared at his sister.
“You were declared dead fourteen months ago.”
“I know.”
“I attended your funeral.”
“I know.”
“I saw your coffin.”
Isabella's eyes filled with tears.
“You saw an empty coffin.”
Victor's face changed.
“What?”
“They needed everyone to believe I was dead.”
“Who?”
Isabella looked toward the hospital cameras.
Her voice dropped.
“Your father.”
Victor went completely still.
His father had been dead for six years.
Yet Isabella continued.
“He was still running everything.”
Victor shook his head.
“My father died six years ago.”
“No.”
Isabella stepped closer.
“The man buried six years ago wasn't your father.”
Silence.
Lily felt a chill run down her spine.
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying the Blackwood family has been controlled by someone else for years.”
Victor stared at her.
“You expect me to believe this?”
“I don't expect you to believe me.”
Isabella looked toward Ethan.
“I expect you to look at the evidence.”
She reached into her coat.
Victor immediately raised his weapon.
“Slowly.”
Isabella nodded.
She pulled out a small black flash drive.
“I stole this from the old Blackwood estate.”
Victor's men surrounded her.
“What is it?”
“Bank transfers. Medical records. Birth certificates.”
She looked at Victor.
“And one DNA report.”
Victor's face hardened.
“Whose?”
“Ethan's.”
Lily's stomach dropped.
Victor took the drive.
“Run it.”
One of his men immediately opened a laptop.
The screen filled with files.
Victor watched silently.
Then the man opened the DNA report.
His expression changed.
“Boss…”
Victor looked at him.
“What?”
The man swallowed.
“The report says Ethan is…”
He hesitated.
Victor stepped closer.
“Finish the sentence.”
The man looked up.
“Ethan is not biologically related to you.”
Everything stopped.
Lily covered her mouth.
Victor stared at the screen.
“No.”
The guard looked at the report again.
“It's a certified test.”
Victor grabbed the laptop.
He read every line.
Again.
And again.
His hands tightened around the device.
“Who is the father?”
Nobody answered.
Victor looked at Isabella.
“Who?”
Isabella lowered her eyes.
“I don't know.”
Victor's voice became dangerously quiet.
“You brought me here for this?”
“I brought you the truth.”
“You disappeared with my nephew.”
“My son.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“Because if I stayed, Ethan would have died.”
Victor slammed the laptop shut.
“Who is his father?”
Isabella's eyes filled with fear.
“I don't know his identity.”
“But you know him.”
She hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Name.”
Isabella looked toward Lily.
Lily immediately shook her head.
“Don't.”
Victor's gaze snapped toward her.
“Don't what?”
Lily stepped backward.
“Please.”
“You knew.”
“I knew Ethan wasn't your son.”
Victor's face became cold.
“How long?”
“Since the day he was born.”
“You lied to me for fourteen months.”
“I saved his life.”
“You lied to me.”
“I had no choice!”
Victor's voice exploded through the corridor.
“You always have a choice!”
Ethan suddenly began crying inside the room.
Everyone froze.
Victor turned immediately.
He rushed inside.
Lily followed.
Ethan's little body trembled.
Victor picked him up.
“Easy.”
The baby's crying slowly weakened.
Victor held him against his chest.
For a moment, the powerful mafia boss looked like nothing more than a terrified father.
He kissed Ethan's forehead.
Then he whispered:
“I don't care whose blood runs through your veins.”
Lily watched him.
“You're still my son.”
Isabella looked away.
But Victor wasn't finished.
He turned to her.
“You said my father arranged this.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Ethan inherited something.”
Victor frowned.
“What?”
Isabella's voice dropped.
“The Blackwood inheritance.”
Victor stared at her.
“Ethan is fourteen months old.”
“Exactly.”
“What does a baby inherit?”
“Everything.”
She reached into her coat again.
This time she pulled out an old document.
Victor unfolded it.
At the top was the Blackwood family seal.
Below it was a clause written decades earlier.
If the head of the Blackwood family dies without a surviving biological heir, control of the entire empire passes to the youngest surviving male descendant.
Victor read it twice.
Then his eyes widened.
“Ethan.”
Isabella nodded.
“Your father knew.”
“And if Ethan died…”
“The empire would go to someone else.”
“Who?”
Isabella didn't answer.
Victor stared at her.
“Who?”
She whispered one name.
“Damian.”
Victor's face hardened.
His younger brother.
The man Victor hadn't seen in eight years.
The man everyone believed had disappeared overseas.
The man who had once sworn he would never forgive Victor for taking control of the Blackwood empire.
Victor's phone suddenly rang.
A message appeared.
UNKNOWN NUMBER
You're asking the wrong questions.
Another message arrived.
Ask Lily who gave her the baby.
Lily's face went pale.
Victor slowly looked at her.
“Who gave you Ethan?”
Lily couldn't speak.
Victor stepped closer.
“Lily.”
She began crying.
“It wasn't Isabella.”
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“Then who?”
Lily looked toward the hospital room.
“I found Ethan in an abandoned warehouse.”
Victor froze.
“What?”
“Fourteen months ago.”
“You said you were hired as his nanny.”
“I lied.”
“Who gave you the baby?”
Lily shook her head.
“I never saw his face.”
“Whose face?”
“The man who left Ethan with me.”
Victor grabbed the back of a chair.
“Describe him.”
“He wore a black mask.”
“Anything else?”
Lily closed her eyes.
“A scar.”
“Where?”
“On his left hand.”
Victor's expression suddenly changed.
Because he knew someone with that scar.
Someone who had stood beside him at his father's funeral.
Someone he had trusted for years.
His personal lawyer.
Marcus Vale.
Victor immediately reached for his phone.
“Find Marcus.”
One of his men made the call.
A few seconds passed.
Then the man's expression changed.
“Boss…”
“What?”
“Marcus Vale hasn't been seen since yesterday.”
Victor stared at him.
“Where was he last?”
“The Blackwood mansion.”
Everyone went silent.
Victor slowly looked toward Lily.
Then Isabella.
Then Ethan.
The pieces were beginning to fit.
Serena had lied.
The nanny accusation had been a trap.
The fake death had been part of something larger.
And Ethan's birth had been hidden for a reason.
But before Victor could speak, his phone rang again.
This time, the caller ID appeared.
Marcus Vale.
Victor answered.
“Where are you?”
A man's voice came through the phone.
Calm.
Almost amused.
“Victor.”
Victor's eyes hardened.
“If you touch my son…”
Marcus laughed softly.
“Your son?”
Victor's grip tightened.
“What do you want?”
“I want what your family stole from me.”
“What did we steal?”
There was a pause.
Then Marcus said:
“Your father's empire.”
Victor's face went cold.
“That's impossible.”
“Is it?”
Marcus continued.
“You've spent fourteen months protecting a child who isn't yours.”
Victor said nothing.
“And now you've finally discovered the truth.”
“Where are you?”
Marcus laughed again.
“Look behind you.”
Victor slowly turned.
The hospital room door stood open.
Ethan's crib was empty.
Lily screamed.
“ETHAN!”
Victor's entire body went rigid.
The baby was gone.
And on the white hospital sheet lay a single black crescent pendant.
Isabella stared at it.
Then whispered:
“No…”
Victor looked at her.
“What?”
Isabella's face was filled with terror.
“That pendant belonged to Ethan's father.”
Victor picked it up.
On the back were three engraved words.
THE HEIR RETURNS.
And somewhere deep inside the hospital...
May you like
a baby's cry echoed once.
Then disappeared.
