Chapter 6 - The Trap Collapses
The news of the scandal hit Chicago like an earthquake.
Serena Montigue was arrested at the Blackwood estate, handcuffed and loaded into the back of a police cruiser in front of dozens of news cameras that Victor had strategically alerted. The media exposed her family’s financial ruin, the brutal abuse of 14-month-old Ethan, and her failed attempt to contract an assassination on the nanny.
The Montigue name was dragged through the dirt. Serena’s wealthy elite friends instantly abandoned her, horrified by the terrifying evidence leaked to the press—including the explicit video footage of her abusing an innocent child.
Three weeks passed.
The trial was short and devastating. Facing overwhelming physical evidence, forensic cloud video, and the testimony of the caught assassin who turned state's evidence, Serena Montigue was sentenced to twenty-five years in a federal penitentiary without the possibility of parole.
On the day of the sentencing, Victor stood on the steps of the Cook County Courthouse. He wore a sharp black suit, his expression commanding and resolute. Surrounding him were dozens of reporters shoving microphones into his face.
“Mr. Blackwood! What do you have to say about Serena Montigue’s sentence?” a reporter shouted.
Victor leaned into the microphone, his voice echoing across the plaza. “Justice has been served. But the true hero of this story isn't the police or the court system. It is a woman who put her own life on the line to shield my son from evil.”
He turned sideways and extended his hand.
Lily stepped out from behind the security detail. She looked radiant, dressed in a simple, elegant navy dress. Her cheeks were flush with health, the dark bruises gone.
Victor wrapped a protective arm around her waist, drawing her to his side in front of the world’s press.
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“Lily represents everything that is good in this world,” Victor announced clearly, looking down at her with unshielded affection. “She saved Ethan. And from this day forward, she will never be treated as just an employee. She is family.”
Lily looked up at Victor, her heart doing a strange, fluttering flip. The cold, distant billionaire who had hired her six months ago was completely gone. In his place was a fierce protector—a man who looked at her not as a subordinate, but as his savior.
