CHAPTER 2: THE FIRST LIE
The mansion fell into a silence so complete that even the rain outside seemed afraid to make a sound.
Victor Blackwood stood motionless in the doorway.
Water dripped from the hem of his black overcoat onto the white marble, each drop echoing through the vast foyer.
His expression revealed nothing.
That was what frightened people most about him.
Victor never shouted.
Never panicked.
Never acted before he understood every piece on the board.
The calm came first.
The storm always followed.
His icy blue eyes moved slowly across the room.
Broken crystal.
Blood smeared across the marble floor.
A nanny kneeling beside his unconscious son.
His fiancée standing only a few feet away, perfectly composed.
Something didn't fit.
Serena recovered first.
She rushed toward Victor, her face transforming into the image of concern.
"Victor!"
Her voice trembled just enough to sound believable.
"I tried to stop her!"
She pointed toward Lily.
"She lost control!"
Victor didn't answer.
Serena grabbed his arm.
"I walked in and found her shaking Ethan. She threw him onto the floor when she heard your car."
Lily's head snapped upward.
"What?"
Her voice cracked.
"No! That's a lie!"
Serena's eyes instantly filled with tears.
"I knew she'd deny it."
She buried her face against Victor's shoulder.
"I never wanted you to see something like this..."
Lily couldn't believe what she was hearing.
The woman had switched masks in less than five seconds.
Moments ago she had spoken about removing Ethan as if discussing the weather.
Now she looked like a grieving future mother.
Victor still said nothing.
Instead, he walked past Serena.
Straight toward Ethan.
Lily instinctively shielded the toddler with her own body.
"Please..."
Her voice shook.
"He needs a hospital."
Victor crouched beside them.
For the first time, he noticed the details.
Lily's swollen cheek.
Her split lip.
Blood soaking through the knees of her uniform.
Her trembling hands.
Then he looked at Ethan.
The child's breathing was shallow.
His left arm hung unnaturally.
Purple fingerprints surrounded the tiny wrist.
Victor's jaw tightened.
Barely.
To anyone else, the movement would have meant nothing.
To the bodyguards standing outside...
It meant someone was about to die.
Serena continued crying behind him.
"Victor... please say something."
Still nothing.
Victor gently lifted Ethan into his arms.
The little boy didn't wake up.
His head rested limply against Victor's shoulder.
A tiny whimper escaped his lips.
That sound...
It pierced something buried deep inside Victor.
Something he had spent decades pretending no longer existed.
He remembered another child.
Another small body.
Another night filled with helpless cries.
He was eight years old.
His younger sister had reached for him while flames swallowed the old Blackwood estate.
He couldn't save her.
The memory vanished as quickly as it appeared.
Victor looked toward one of the guards.
"Doctor."
Only one word.
The guard sprinted away.
Another turned toward the garage.
Within seconds, engines roared to life.
The mansion exploded into controlled chaos.
Medical staff.
Security teams.
Communication lines.
Everyone moved with military precision.
Everyone except Serena.
She smiled inwardly.
Perfect.
Hospitals meant doctors.
Doctors looked for injuries.
Injuries could be explained.
Children fell all the time.
But frightened nannies...
They became unstable.
Emotional.
Unreliable witnesses.
Especially against someone like her.
She stepped closer.
"Victor..."
She reached for Ethan.
"I'll stay with him."
Victor moved away before her fingers touched the child.
The movement lasted less than a second.
Yet Serena felt it.
A tiny rejection.
Small.
Almost invisible.
But real.
Her smile nearly faltered.
Only years of practice kept it intact.
"He's scared," she whispered softly.
"He probably wants a mother's comfort."
Victor finally looked directly at her.
His gaze was unreadable.
"You are not his mother."
The sentence was calm.
Simple.
But it landed like ice.
Serena forced herself to nod.
"Of course."
"I'm just worried."
Behind them, Lily struggled to stand.
Every rib screamed in protest.
She staggered toward Victor.
"I have to tell you something."
Before she could continue, Serena interrupted.
"Victor, don't listen."
"She's trying to save herself."
Lily ignored her.
"She hurt him."
The words echoed through the foyer.
Every guard heard them.
Every servant hiding in nearby corridors heard them.
Serena gasped dramatically.
"I did what?"
"You heard me."
Lily's voice became stronger.
"She dragged him across the floor."
"She twisted his arm."
"She kicked me when I tried to stop her."
For one heartbeat...
Nobody moved.
Then Serena laughed softly.
Not mockingly.
Sadly.
Exactly as though she pitied Lily.
"This is why I wanted to keep her away from Ethan."
Victor remained silent.
Serena sighed.
"I didn't want to tell you..."
She hesitated just long enough.
"...but Lily has been unstable for weeks."
Lily stared at her in disbelief.
Serena continued.
"I found her crying alone several times."
"Talking to herself."
"She even told me she was becoming too attached to Ethan."
Victor's expression didn't change.
Serena pressed on.
"I wanted to fire her."
"But she begged me."
"She said Ethan was all she had left."
Lily felt sick.
Every sentence sounded rehearsed.
Prepared.
As if Serena had anticipated this exact moment.
Victor finally spoke.
"When?"
Serena blinked.
"What?"
"When did you decide to fire her?"
"Last week."
Victor looked at another guard.
"Check."
The guard immediately nodded.
"Yes, sir."
Serena's heartbeat skipped.
Why verify something so small?
Victor asked another question.
"Who else knew?"
"The house manager."
Victor looked again.
"Bring him."
Another guard disappeared.
Serena swallowed.
This wasn't how she expected the conversation to go.
She wanted Victor angry.
Emotional.
Instead...
He was collecting information.
Like an investigator.
Like a judge.
Like the mafia boss who had built an empire by trusting evidence instead of words.
Minutes later, the house manager hurried into the foyer.
His face turned pale at the sight before him.
"Sir..."
Victor asked only one question.
"Did Serena tell you to dismiss Lily?"
The manager frowned.
"No, sir."
Silence.
Victor looked at Serena.
She smiled nervously.
"He must have forgotten."
The manager shook his head immediately.
"I would never forget something like that."
Another silence.
Longer this time.
Serena felt the temperature in the room dropping.
She forced a laugh.
"It was only a discussion."
The manager looked confused.
"We never discussed it."
Victor said nothing.
He simply turned toward another guard.
"Security."
"Yes, sir."
"The cameras."
Serena's heart stopped.
The cameras.
She had forgotten.
No...
She hadn't forgotten.
She had disabled them herself.
She relaxed again.
"There won't be much to see."
Victor nodded slightly.
"We'll find out."
Five minutes later...
The head of security returned.
His face had lost all color.
"Sir..."
Victor didn't look away from Serena.
"Report."
"The foyer cameras..."
He hesitated.
"...were manually disconnected at 1:12 this afternoon."
Lily closed her eyes.
She knew it.
Serena's pulse pounded violently.
Victor asked one final question.
"Who has authorization?"
The head of security answered quietly.
"Only three people."
"Myself."
"You."
"And Miss Serena."
No one spoke.
The rain outside struck the enormous windows harder than before.
Serena's carefully constructed smile finally cracked.
Only for an instant.
But Victor saw it.
He always saw everything.
Still...
He didn't accuse her.
He didn't raise his voice.
Instead, he looked toward the unconscious child in his arms.
Then he spoke in the same calm tone that had terrified rivals for decades.
"Seal the mansion."
Every guard straightened instantly.
"No one leaves."
Serena felt ice crawl through her veins.
Victor continued.
"Until I know exactly what happened..."
He slowly lifted his eyes to meet hers.
May you like
"...everyone is a suspect."
END OF CHAPTER 2
