Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN IN WHITE
Serena did not look at the necklace.
That was the first thing Victor noticed.
An innocent person would have stared at it in confusion.
They might have asked where it came from.
They might have denied owning it.
Serena did none of those things.
Her eyes remained fixed on Victor.
Adrian looked from the evidence bag to his brother.
“Is that Amelia’s?”
Victor did not answer.
Dominic took the bag from the guard.
“It was inside the locked compartment of Miss Montigue’s jewelry case.”
Serena finally spoke.
“I have never seen that before.”
The lie came too late.
Victor watched her carefully.
“The compartment required your fingerprint.”
“Then someone put it there.”
“Inside a biometric safe?”
“You have people who can do anything.”
Her voice sharpened.
“Perhaps your nanny is not as helpless as she wants everyone to believe.”
Lily stared at her.
“I’ve never been inside your bedroom without you.”
Serena turned toward Victor.
“She knows the house.”
“She knows the staff.”
“She could have stolen the necklace months ago.”
Victor extended his hand toward Dominic.
Dominic placed the evidence bag in his palm.
The necklace was delicate.
A narrow silver chain held a small oval pendant engraved with the letter E.
Amelia had worn it every day after Ethan was born.
Victor remembered fastening it around her neck on the morning of the crash.
She had stood in front of their bedroom mirror wearing a blue coat.
Ethan had been asleep in the next room.
Amelia had looked tired.
Not ordinary new-mother tired.
Afraid.
Victor had asked what was wrong.
She had smiled and said she was worried about a charity board dispute.
He had believed her.
By nightfall, her car had left the road near Lake Forest and struck a concrete barrier.
The fire destroyed most of the vehicle.
The police called it an accident caused by heavy rain.
The necklace was never recovered.
Until now.
Victor looked at Adrian.
“Why are you here?”
Adrian frowned.
“Dominic called.”
“I did not,” Dominic said.
Adrian’s expression shifted.
Only slightly.
“Then one of the staff must have.”
Victor glanced toward the guards.
No one admitted making the call.
Adrian placed his hands in his pockets.
“I came because the gates were locked and my access alert went off.”
“You still have an access alert?”
“I’m family.”
“You stopped living here three years ago.”
Adrian’s smile was thin.
“You never asked me to remove it.”
Victor studied him.
Adrian had always been easier to like.
Where Victor was restrained, Adrian was charming.
Where Victor frightened people into obedience, Adrian made them believe obedience had been their own idea.
He managed the legitimate side of several Blackwood businesses.
He attended charity dinners.
He shook hands with politicians.
He posed beside Serena for photographs when Victor refused to appear.
Amelia had never trusted him.
Victor had thought her judgment unfair.
Now Amelia’s missing necklace was in Serena’s safe, and someone had entered the security room using a code Adrian knew.
Dr. Halpern cleared his throat.
“Ethan needs quiet.”
Victor looked at his son.
The baby’s eyes were heavy from medication.
He remained curled against the nurse.
Victor nodded.
“Move him to the nursery medical room.”
“Two guards at the door.”
“No one enters without my permission.”
Serena stepped forward.
“I am his future stepmother.”
Victor turned toward her.
“You are not going near him.”
The words landed with finality.
Serena’s face tightened.
“You cannot shut me out because of an accusation.”
“I watched you standing over him.”
“You saw a moment without context.”
“I saw your heel on Lily.”
“She attacked me.”
Lily looked at Victor.
“She kicked me before you came in.”
Serena laughed bitterly.
“Convenient.”
The nurse guided Lily back into the chair.
The pain in her abdomen had intensified.
Dr. Halpern glanced at her.
“You need imaging.”
“I’m fine.”
“You are not.”
“Please stay with Ethan.”
Victor spoke without looking away from Serena.
“The doctor will examine you.”
Lily wanted to argue.
Then Ethan made a soft sound from the nurse’s arms.
She looked at him.
His eyes found hers.
His good hand reached toward her.
“Li.”
It was barely more than a breath.
Lily’s eyes filled.
“I’m right here.”
Ethan tried again.
“Li.”
Serena looked away.
Victor did not miss that either.
The baby had never reached for Serena in his presence.
He had assumed it was because she was still new to his life.
Now he wondered whether Ethan’s fear had been trying to tell him something long before any adult did.
Dr. Halpern led Lily into the adjoining examination room.
Victor remained with Serena, Adrian, and Dominic.
He placed Amelia’s necklace on the metal table.
“What does the key open?” Adrian asked.
Victor looked at him.
“You tell me.”
Adrian’s eyebrows rose.
“I have no idea.”
“The security room was accessed with my code.”
“You think I did it?”
“Did you?”
“No.”
The answer came smoothly.
Serena folded her arms.
“This is madness.”
“You return early, find a child crying, and suddenly everyone is part of a conspiracy.”
Victor looked at her.
“A child?”
She hesitated.
“Ethan.”
“You called him a child.”
“I’m upset.”
“You are usually very careful to call him our son in public.”
Serena’s expression hardened.
“Do not twist my words.”
Victor picked up the necklace.
“Amelia was wearing this when she died.”
“I know.”
“How?”
Everyone went still.
Serena stared at him.
Victor continued.
“I never told the press what jewelry she wore.”
“The police report did not list it.”
“The only people who knew it was missing were me, Dominic, and the detective who identified her belongings.”
Serena’s lips parted.
“I saw photographs.”
“What photographs?”
“From before the accident.”
Victor stepped closer.
“You said you had never seen the necklace.”
She realized the trap too late.
“I meant I had never seen that specific necklace in my safe.”
Adrian intervened.
“Victor, everyone is emotional.”
“Do not.”
Victor’s voice stopped him.
“Do not tell me what I am.”
Adrian’s jaw shifted.
Victor turned to Dominic.
“Take Serena to the east guest suite.”
“Two guards outside.”
“Remove every device.”
Serena stared at him.
“You’re imprisoning me?”
“I am keeping you in the house.”
“Against my will.”
“The gates are open to the police.”
“Would you like me to call them?”
Serena’s confidence flickered.
She knew the police could not be trusted completely.
Some belonged to Victor.
Some belonged to Adrian.
A few belonged to whoever paid most recently.
Calling them could protect her.
It could also create a record she was not yet ready to face.
“I want my attorney.”
“You will have one.”
“I want Adrian present.”
Victor’s gaze moved between them.
“Why Adrian?”
Serena answered too quickly.
“He understands the family businesses.”
“This is not a business meeting.”
Adrian gave a short laugh.
“She is frightened.”
Victor faced him.
“Then why does she look at you every time she lies?”
Silence filled the medical suite.
Adrian’s expression remained calm.
Serena’s did not.
Dominic gestured toward the door.
“Miss Montigue.”
She did not move.
Victor picked up a phone from the counter.
“Should I call Detective Mercer?”
Serena’s face changed.
It was the smallest reaction.
A flicker of alarm at the name.
Victor lowered the phone.
“You know him.”
“I know who he is.”
“How?”
“He investigated Amelia’s accident.”
Victor had not told her that.
Adrian stepped forward.
“Everyone in Chicago knows that.”
“No,” Victor said.
“They do not.”
Serena looked at Adrian.
It was only a glance.
But it carried an entire conversation.
Dominic saw it too.
He took Serena firmly by the arm.
She pulled away.
“Do not touch me.”
“Then walk.”
She faced Victor one final time.
“You are making the worst mistake of your life.”
Victor’s expression did not change.
“My worst mistake may have been inviting you into this house.”
Serena left without another word.
Adrian remained.
Victor placed the brass key under the examination light.
It was small enough to belong to a desk drawer, a deposit box, or an old-fashioned lock.
There were three numbers engraved along the side.
Adrian leaned closer.
“Room number?”
“Locker.”
“Safe-deposit box.”
Victor looked at Dominic.
“Search every property Amelia used.”
“Check banks, hotels, clubs, storage facilities.”
Dominic nodded.
Adrian watched him.
“If Amelia hid something, why would Serena have the key?”
Victor looked at his brother.
“That is the question.”
The examination room door opened.
Dr. Halpern stepped out.
“How is Lily?” Victor asked.
“She has deep bruising and likely muscle damage.”
“No internal bleeding.”
“She should rest.”
Lily appeared behind him.
She was pale but standing.
Victor moved toward her.
“Your notes.”
“My laptop is in the third-floor staff room.”
Dominic handed her phone to Victor.
“We recovered this from her room.”
“The laptop is being brought down.”
Victor unlocked the phone after Lily gave him the code.
There were hundreds of photographs of Ethan.
Some showed him sleeping.
Some showed bruises on his arms.
Others showed medicine bottles with dates written beside them.
There were also images of Victor holding the baby in the garden.
Serena had told the truth about those.
But they were clearly arranged inside a folder labeled ETHAN’S FIRST YEARS.
Victor scrolled farther.
He found daily emails.
Each contained time-stamped observations.
May 11.
Ethan unusually drowsy after Serena gave him a bottle.
May 16.
Small bruise behind left shoulder.
Serena said he struck crib railing, but I was present during nap and did not hear him wake.
June 2.
Serena dismissed me early, but I returned for my phone and heard Ethan crying in locked nursery.
June 9.
Appointment with Dr. Halpern canceled by Serena.
June 14.
Ethan flinched when Serena reached toward his face.
Victor kept reading.
Every entry was precise.
No emotional accusations.
No dramatic language.
Only times, dates, symptoms, and explanations Serena had provided.
Lily had documented everything.
“Why didn’t you bring this to me?” Victor asked.
The question sounded harsher than he intended.
Lily lowered her eyes.
“I tried.”
“When?”
“Three times.”
“I never received anything.”
“I left a sealed envelope on your desk.”
“It disappeared.”
“I asked Dominic for a private meeting.”
Dominic looked surprised.
“You asked my assistant.”
“She told me you were unavailable.”
“I was never told.”
Lily continued.
“I sent you an email.”
Victor searched his phone.
There was no message from her.
“What address?”
She told him.
Dominic checked the security archive.
“The message was blocked by the household filter.”
“Who controls the filter?” Victor asked.
Dominic hesitated.
“Serena requested administrative access two months ago.”
Victor’s eyes darkened.
Lily looked at him.
“I knew I could lose my job.”
“But I thought if I kept records, eventually I could prove something.”
“Why stay?”
“Because if I left, she would be alone with him.”
Victor looked toward the nursery door.
For the first time, the full weight of his absence settled over him.
He had believed providing protection meant surrounding Ethan with guards.
He had believed wealth meant the best doctors, the best staff, the safest house.
He had not understood that a danger welcomed through the front door could walk past every armed man he employed.
“I should have seen it,” he said.
Lily looked at him.
“You weren’t here.”
It was not spoken cruelly.
That made it worse.
Victor had spent the months after Amelia’s death burying himself in work.
He told himself he was stabilizing the family.
Protecting Ethan’s inheritance.
Preventing rivals from exploiting grief.
In truth, he had avoided the nursery because every corner reminded him of Amelia.
Serena had stepped into the empty spaces.
She attended events.
Managed household schedules.
Spoke gently about giving Ethan a mother.
Victor had mistaken competence for kindness.
A guard entered carrying Lily’s laptop.
Dominic opened the files.
The same notes appeared.
Then he found an audio folder.
“What is this?”
Lily moved closer.
“I started recording after Serena threatened to fire me.”
Victor selected the most recent file.
A date appeared from three nights earlier.
At first, there was only the sound of Ethan’s nursery monitor.
Then Serena’s voice.
“You will do exactly what I tell you.”
Lily’s voice answered.
“I won’t leave him alone with you.”
“You will if you want to remain alive.”
Victor looked at Lily.
She had not mentioned the threat.
The recording continued.
Serena’s tone became colder.
“Victor already lost one woman.”
“Do you think he will tear Chicago apart over a nanny?”
Lily’s voice trembled.
“What happened to Mrs. Blackwood?”
There was a long pause.
Then Serena laughed softly.
“You ask dangerous questions.”
The recording ended.
Victor replayed the final line.
Adrian had moved toward the door.
Victor noticed.
“Where are you going?”
“To call my lawyer.”
“Why?”
Adrian turned.
“Because you have decided everyone is guilty.”
“No.”
Victor set down the phone.
“I have decided everyone is lying.”
Dominic’s computer made a sound.
The search for the number engraved on the key had returned a result.
He stared at the screen.
“What?” Victor asked.
Dominic looked up.
“Four-seventeen is not a room.”
“It is a private vault at Union Continental Bank.”
“The account was opened by Amelia six days before she died.”
Victor’s pulse slowed.
“Under whose name?”
Dominic turned the screen toward him.
The vault was registered jointly.
One name belonged to Amelia Blackwood.
The second belonged to Lily Hart.
Lily stared at the screen.
“I’ve never been to that bank.”
Victor looked at her.
The tension in the room shifted.
Then Lily’s phone vibrated on the table.
A new message appeared from an unknown number.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT THE BABY ALONE.
A second message followed.
AMELIA DID NOT LISTEN EITHER.
May you like
Attached was a photograph taken through the medical-room window only seconds earlier.
Someone outside the mansion was watching them.
