Chapter 2: The Name Hidden in the File
Victor Blackwood had stared down hostile CEOs, corrupt executives, and men who had spent years trying to destroy his company.
None of them had ever made his hands shake.
But the piece of paper in front of him did.
Not because of what it said.
Because of who had written it.
At the bottom of the page was a name.
*Daniel Vale.*
Serena’s father.
A man who had been dead for six years.
Victor slowly lifted his eyes from the paper and looked at Martha.
“Where did you get this?””
The housemaid swallowed.
“I found it hidden in Miss Vale’s office.””
Serena immediately stepped forward.
“You went through my things?””
Her voice was sharp again.
The fear was disappearing.
The arrogance was returning.
Victor noticed.
That was the thing about liars.
They could control their words.
They could control their faces.
But they struggled to control the moment they realized the story was falling apart.
Martha looked down.
“I wasn’t searching through her belongings, sir.””
“Then explain.””
The old woman glanced at Ethan, who was still resting against Victor’s chest.
“I was cleaning the office two weeks ago. Miss Vale left the room quickly when someone called her. I saw a folder on the floor.””
Serena laughed.
“So now a piece of paper proves something?””
Victor didn’t answer.
He unfolded the page again.
It wasn’t a letter.
It was a copy of a document.
At the top was a company logo.
Blackwood Holdings.
His company.
His family’s legacy.
Victor’s eyes moved across the page.
And then he saw the date.
Three years earlier.
Before Serena had ever met him.
Before she had ever stepped into his life.
Before she had ever smiled at Ethan.
The document was a background investigation.
Someone had hired a private investigator.
Someone had been looking into the Blackwood family.
Victor looked at Serena.
“Why was your father investigating me?””
For the first time, she had no immediate answer.
Only silence.
A dangerous silence.
“Victor, I can explain.””
“No.””
His voice was quiet.
But it carried more power than shouting.
“Explain why your dead father was investigating my family.””
Serena’s lips parted.
Nothing came out.
Lily watched from the other side of the room, still holding her injured stomach.
She looked exhausted.
But for the first time since Victor entered the mansion, she looked like she believed someone might finally listen.
Victor gently placed Ethan in the arms of another employee who had rushed into the room after hearing the commotion.
“Take him upstairs.””
The employee nodded quickly.
Victor turned to Lily.
“Can you walk?””
She nodded.
“Yes, sir.””
“Then stay here.””
Lily looked confused.
“Why?””
“Because I need you to tell me everything you know.””
Serena’s eyes flashed.
“No.””
Everyone looked at her.
She immediately softened her expression.
“I mean… Victor, you’re upset. You’re not thinking clearly.””
Victor stared at her.
“I’m thinking more clearly than I ever have.””
The words hit harder than he intended.
Or maybe exactly as hard as he intended.
Serena’s face tightened.
“You’re really going to believe a nanny over me?””
Victor looked toward the recorder on the table.
Then back at her.
“I’m going to believe evidence.””
The room went silent.
Serena looked away.
And Victor noticed something.
She wasn’t scared about the recording anymore.
She was scared about something else.
The paper.
The name.
Daniel Vale.
Twenty minutes later, Victor sat inside his private office.
The same office where he had signed contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
The same room where he had made decisions that affected thousands of employees.
But tonight, he wasn’t thinking about business.
He was thinking about his son.
His wife.
And the woman he almost brought into their lives forever.
Lily sat across from him, a medical ice pack pressed against her side.
Victor placed the recorder on the desk.
“Start from the beginning.””
Lily looked nervous.
“I don’t want to lose my job.””
Victor’s expression changed.
“You think your job matters more than what happened to Ethan?””
“No.””
“Then tell me.””
She took a deep breath.
“The first time I noticed something was wrong was three months ago.””
Victor leaned forward.
“Three months?””
Lily nodded.
“Ethan started becoming afraid whenever Miss Vale entered the room.””
Victor frowned.
“Afraid?””
“Yes.””
She looked down.
“He would cry. He would reach for me.””
Victor remembered.
Small moments he had ignored.
Because he was busy.
Because Serena always had an explanation.
“He’s just tired.””
“He’s going through a phase.””
“He misses his mother.””
Victor closed his eyes briefly.
How many signs had he missed?
Lily continued.
“One afternoon, I walked in and found Ethan sitting alone in the nursery.””
Victor looked up.
“Where was Serena?””
“She was standing outside the door.””
“Doing what?””
Lily hesitated.
“She was just watching him.””
“What do you mean?””
“She wasn’t smiling.””
The room grew colder.
“She was looking at him like she was angry.””
Victor’s fingers tightened around the edge of the desk.
“What happened next?””
“She saw me and immediately changed.””
Lily looked at the floor.
“She picked Ethan up and started acting like the perfect mother.””
Victor said nothing.
Because he knew that performance.
He had seen it hundreds of times.
At dinner.
At parties.
In photographs.
Everywhere.
“What else?””
Lily looked uncomfortable.
“There were other things.””
“Tell me.””
“She would pinch his arm when nobody was watching.””
Victor’s expression hardened.
“How many times?””
“I don’t know.””
Lily’s voice became smaller.
“But enough that I started paying attention.””
Victor stood up.
The chair moved sharply against the floor.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
Lily looked at him.
“Because I tried.””
That stopped him.
“What?””
“I tried twice.””
“When?””
“The first time, after Ethan had a bruise on his shoulder.””
Victor froze.
“A bruise?””
Lily nodded.
“I told Miss Vale I was concerned.””
“And?””
“She smiled.””
Lily’s eyes filled with tears.
“She told me if I wanted to keep working here, I should learn the difference between caring and accusing.””
Victor looked away.
The anger inside him was becoming difficult to control.
“And the second time?””
Lily swallowed.
“The second time, she made sure I understood.””
“What did she say?””
Lily looked toward the closed office door.
As if she was afraid Serena could still hear her.
“She said people disappear from powerful families all the time.””
Victor felt a chill.
“Those were her exact words?””
“Yes.””
A long silence followed.
Then Victor picked up the document again.
“Daniel Vale.””
He said the name slowly.
“Tell me about him.””
Lily shook her head.
“I don’t know much.””
“But you know something.””
She hesitated.
“Everyone in the house knows something.””
Victor looked up.
“Everyone?””
Lily nodded.
“The staff talks.””
“What do they say?””
“That Miss Vale didn’t meet you by accident.””
Victor stopped moving.
“What does that mean?””
Before Lily could answer, the office door suddenly opened.
Martha stood there.
Her face was pale.
“Sir.””
Victor turned.
“What happened?””
Martha stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
“I remembered something.””
“What?””
She looked at the document in Victor’s hand.
“When Miss Vale first came here, she asked me strange questions.””
“About what?””
“About your schedule.””
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
“My schedule?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
Martha’s hands trembled.
“Before you even met her.””
The room went silent.
Victor slowly walked toward the window.
Outside, the Blackwood estate stretched across hundreds of acres.
A place he had always considered safe.
A place where his son had grown up.
But suddenly it felt like a carefully designed trap.
“Why would she need my schedule before meeting me?””
Neither woman answered.
Because they both knew.
Victor turned back.
“Find everything.””
Martha looked confused.
“Sir?””
“Every document. Every message. Every security file.””
His voice became colder.
“I want to know exactly how Serena Vale entered my life.””
A moment later, Victor’s phone rang.
The screen showed an unknown number.
Everyone looked at it.
Victor answered.
“Hello?””
For several seconds, there was only breathing.
Then a man’s voice spoke.
Low.
Distorted.
“Victor Blackwood.””
Victor’s expression changed.
“Who is this?””
A pause.
Then the voice said:
“You finally found the recording.””
Victor stood completely still.
“How do you know about that?””
The caller ignored the question.
“You need to leave Serena before midnight.””
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
“Or what?””
Another pause.
Then the man whispered:
“Or you’ll discover what happened to your wife wasn’t an accident.””
The call ended.
Victor stared at the phone.
Lily covered her mouth.
Martha looked terrified.
And for the first time that night, Victor felt something worse than anger.
Fear.
Because Serena had not just entered his home.
May you like
She had entered his family’s history.
And somewhere inside the Blackwood estate, hidden for years, was a secret that connected Serena Vale to the one person Victor had never stopped mourning.
