Chapter 6: The Woman Who Knew Everything
Victor stared at the photograph.
For several seconds, his mind refused to understand what his eyes were seeing.
The image was old.
The edges were worn.
But there was no mistake.
Standing beside Eleanor Blackwood was a woman Victor had known his entire life.
A woman who had held him when he was a child.
A woman who had kissed his forehead before every important day.
A woman who had cried at his wedding.
His mother.
*Clara Blackwood.*
Victor’s fingers went numb.
His mother had been dead for twenty years.
But the photograph showed something impossible.
Eleanor standing beside her.
Alive.
Together.
Talking.
And on the back of the photograph was a date.
Three months before Eleanor’s accident.
Victor looked at Serena.
“Where did you get this?””
Serena’s face was full of regret.
“My father kept it hidden.””
“Why?””
“Because he said it was proof.””
“Proof of what?””
She hesitated.
Then whispered:
“That your family had been lying to you longer than anyone realized.””
Victor looked back at the photograph.
His mother.
The person he had trusted most as a child.
The person who had died before he became the man he was today.
Could she have known?
Could she have been part of it?
His chest tightened.
“No.””
Serena looked at him.
“Victor…”
“No.””
He placed the photograph on the table.
“My mother would never.””
The words came out immediately.
Automatically.
Because some beliefs were too deeply rooted to question.
But then another thought entered his mind.
That was exactly what everyone had said about Richard.
That was exactly what he had said about Serena.
And he had been wrong.
Victor returned to the archive before sunrise.
He needed answers.
Not guesses.
Not theories.
Not another person’s version of the truth.
He needed facts.
Lily followed him.
“You shouldn’t do this alone.””
Victor looked at her.
“You’ve already done enough.””
She shook her head.
“No.””
Her voice was quiet.
“But I was there when Ethan needed someone.””
Victor paused.
The words stayed with him.
Because that was the truth.
When he had been absent, Lily had protected his son.
When he had trusted the wrong people, she had seen what others ignored.
“Thank you,” he said.
Lily looked surprised.
It was the first time Victor had spoken to her without the weight of employer and employee between them.
Then Martha appeared carrying a small metal box.
“Sir.””
Victor turned.
“What is that?””
Martha placed it on the table.
“I found it hidden behind a panel.””
Victor frowned.
“Behind a panel?””
“Yes.””
“Who hid it?””
Martha looked uncomfortable.
“I think you already know.””
Victor stared at the box.
Because there was only one person who knew the archive well enough to hide something there.
His father.
Richard.
The lock was old.
But Victor managed to open it.
Inside were dozens of papers.
Letters.
Bank records.
And a journal.
The first page had a name written on it.
*Clara Blackwood.*
Victor’s heart sank.
He opened the journal.
The handwriting was his mother’s.
The first entry was dated twenty-two years earlier.
*I finally understand what Richard has been hiding.*
Victor stopped.
The next line made his breathing change.
*The Blackwood fortune was never built the way my husband claims.*
He kept reading.
*When I married Richard, I believed I was joining a family. I didn’t know I was joining a war.*
Victor turned the page.
*Daniel Vale’s father lost everything because of a decision Richard made.*
He frowned.
That was what Richard had mentioned.
But then he read the next sentence.
And everything changed.
*But Daniel’s father was not innocent either.*
Victor leaned closer.
*Both families destroyed each other.*
The journal continued.
*Richard wanted to hide the past. Daniel wanted revenge. And I was trapped between them.*
Victor looked up.
“So my mother knew.””
Martha nodded slowly.
“Yes.””
Lily looked at him.
“What does it mean?””
Victor kept reading.
Then he found something unexpected.
A name.
A name he had never seen before.
*Adrian Cross.*
Victor frowned.
“Who is this?””
Martha’s expression changed.
“I don’t know.””
Lily shook her head.
“Neither do I.””
Victor continued.
The journal entry became darker.
*Adrian knows the truth. He was there the night everything changed.*
Victor turned the page.
But the rest was missing.
The next pages had been torn out.
Someone had removed them.
Victor ran his fingers over the ripped paper.
Someone had wanted this part hidden.
Then he noticed something written in the corner.
A single sentence.
*Do not trust the person who tells you they saved you.*
Victor froze.
Because he knew that sentence.
Eleanor had said something similar.
The person closest to you.
The person protecting you.
The person who saved you.
A terrible thought entered his mind.
What if everyone who claimed to protect him had actually controlled him?
Later that morning, Victor called his company’s security department.
“I need all access records from the estate.””
The security director hesitated.
“Sir, those records are encrypted.””
“Unlock them.””
“Mr. Blackwood, only the family administrator can—”
Victor stopped.
“Say that again.””
“Only the family administrator can access the complete archive.””
Victor slowly sat back.
“Who is the family administrator?””
The man went quiet.
Then answered:
“Richard Blackwood.””
Victor closed his eyes.
Of course.
His father controlled everything.
The cameras.
The files.
The records.
The information.
For years, Richard had been the gatekeeper of Victor’s life.
“Send me everything Richard accessed in the last year.””
A pause.
Then:
“Sir, there’s something strange.””
“What?””
“The system shows someone else accessed the archives.””
“When?””
“Three weeks before Miss Eleanor’s accident.””
Victor leaned forward.
“Who?””
The man hesitated.
Then:
“Someone using an old Blackwood family code.””
Victor’s expression changed.
“Whose code?””
A long pause.
Then the answer came.
“Your mother’s.””
That evening, Victor sat across from Serena in the dining room.
Neither had touched their food.
The mansion felt different now.
Every hallway.
Every room.
Every memory.
All of it felt like a place filled with hidden doors.
Victor placed the photograph on the table.
“Why did your father have this?””
Serena looked at it.
“I don’t know.””
“Don’t lie.””
She looked hurt.
“I’m not.””
Victor studied her.
“Then tell me what you know.””
Serena took a breath.
“My father believed the Blackwoods destroyed his family.””
“Why?””
“Because of a company deal twenty years ago.””
Victor waited.
“He told me Richard Blackwood took everything from him.””
“But?””
Serena looked down.
“But after he died, I found documents that didn’t match his story.””
Victor frowned.
“What documents?””
“He had paid someone inside Blackwood Holdings.””
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
“Who?””
“I don’t know.””
She looked up.
“But I know the payment records continued for years.””
“To who?””
Serena reached into her bag.
She pulled out another document.
Victor took it.
His eyes scanned the page.
Then stopped.
The payment recipient was listed as:
*C. Blackwood.*
Victor’s face changed.
“No.””
Serena watched him.
“Victor…”
“No.””
He stood.
“My mother was dead.””
Serena’s voice was quiet.
“The payments continued after her death.””
Silence.
Because that was impossible.
Unless someone had been using her identity.
Unless someone wanted everyone to believe she was gone.
Victor looked at the document again.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
Again.
This time he answered immediately.
“Who are you?””
A woman’s voice responded.
An older woman.
Calm.
Familiar.
“Victor.””
His blood turned cold.
Because he knew that voice.
He had not heard it in twenty years.
“Mom?””
Everyone in the room froze.
The woman on the phone breathed softly.
“I’m sorry it took this long.””
Victor couldn’t speak.
“You need to listen carefully.””
His hand tightened around the phone.
“Where are you?””
A pause.
Then his mother whispered:
“I was never dead.””
The room went silent.
And before Victor could ask another question, she said:
“Your father didn’t bury my secret.””
May you like
A pause.
“He buried me.””
