Chapter 2: One Word. Flat. Final.
Lily's fingers finally closed around Ethan.
She pulled him against her chest, curling her body around his like a shield.
He was trembling.
So was she.
"You're okay," she whispered into his hair.
"I've got you.
I've got you."
Serena crouched down slowly, her designer dress perfectly still, her voice dropping to something quieter and far more dangerous.
"Put.
Him.
Down."
Lily looked up at her.
"No."
Something shifted in Serena's face.
Not anger.
Calculation.
"You have no idea who I am," Serena said.
"Or what I've already arranged.
Victor thinks you're just the nanny.
And after tonight, he won't even remember your name."
Then Lily heard it.
The front door.
The deep, unhurried sound of footsteps crossing the threshold.
Serena heard it too.
She straightened instantly, smoothed her dress, and arranged her face into something soft and worried — the face of a woman who had been trying to help.
The footsteps stopped.
Victor Blackwood stood in the doorway.
He took in the marble floor.
Lily on her knees, clutching Ethan.
The baby's face still wet with tears.
Lily's torn sleeve.
The red marks already rising on Ethan's small arm.
His eyes moved to Serena.
She opened her mouth first.
"Victor, thank God.
I came home and found her on the floor with him.
I don't know what happened, but I think she—"
"Serena."
One word.
Flat.
Final.
She stopped.
Victor had not looked away from Ethan's arm.
---
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What Victor said next made Serena's face go white.
Click the link below to read the full story — the truth she tried to bury goes deeper than anyone knew.
