Chapter 4 - The Unraveling Web
By the next morning, the Blackwood mansion was crawling with private investigators, cyber-forensic experts, and high-ranking detectives.
Serena sat in the guest house, furious, pacing across the hardwood floor in her designer silk robe. Her legal team had already arrived at the front gates, but Victor’s private security detail blocked them from entering, citing a active criminal investigation on private property.
Inside the main study, Victor sat behind his heavy oak desk, flanked by Harrison and a lead forensic technician named Cole. Lily sat across from Victor, holding a hot cup of tea he had personally handed her.
“We found it, Mr. Blackwood,” Cole said, pulling up a digital file on the large monitor mounted on the wall. “Ms. Montigue thought she deleted the cloud backups for the east wing camera. She hired an outside hacker to overwrite the drive. But our servers keep a mirror copy in an encrypted vault in Zurich.”
Cole hit play.
The screen lit up with high-definition video from three weeks prior. The video showed the nursery. Serena entered the room while Ethan was crying in his crib. Her face wasn't smooth or elegant—it was twisted with pure malice. The video showed her snatching the baby out of the crib by one arm, shaking him violently, and tossing him onto the changing table while whispering venomous words.
The audio was horrifyingly crisp.
“Shut up, you little brat,” Serena’s recorded voice echoed through Victor’s study. “Your father thinks he’s marrying me for love, but once I have that ring, your little trust fund will be funneled into my family’s holdings. And if you make another sound, I’ll make sure you never walk right.”
Victor stood up slowly. The air in the study felt toxic. His fists were clenched so tight his knuckles bled through the skin.
“There’s more,” Cole added quietly. “We cross-referenced Serena Montigue’s private financial accounts. Her family’s real estate empire in Europe went bankrupt six months ago. They owe over forty million dollars to offshore creditors. She wasn't just marrying you for status, Mr. Blackwood. She was targeting Ethan’s trust fund, which unlocks upon your marriage.”
Lily felt a chill run down her spine. “She was planning to get rid of Ethan entirely once the marriage was official.”
May you like
Victor looked at Lily, his silver eyes burning with a dark, vengeful fire. “She will never see the light of day again.”
He turned to Harrison. “Call the District Attorney. Tell him Victor Blackwood is handing him a slam-dunk case of attempted grand larceny, child abuse, and felony assault. And bring the police inside the gates.”
