Chapter 4 - THE SECOND CHILD
Ethan stared at Nora.
“Explain that sentence.”
Nora’s lips trembled.
“Another woman gave birth that night.”
“Her husband worked for Blackwood Holdings.”
“Victor paid him.”
“For what?”
“To let Reed use their newborn as a substitute.”
Ethan’s stomach turned.
“A substitute for Lily?”
Nora nodded.
“The plan was to make everyone believe your baby died in the fire.”
“They needed remains.”
Samuel’s expression hardened.
“You’re saying another infant was deliberately left in that maternity wing?”
“No.”
Nora shook her head desperately.
“The baby had already died during delivery.”
“Reed switched the hospital identification bands before the fire.”
Ethan felt sick.
The tiny coffin he had buried had contained someone else’s child.
Some other parents had been told a lie too.
“Who were they?”
“Daniel and Rebecca Cole.”
Ethan recognized Daniel’s name.
He had been a junior Blackwood accountant.
He disappeared shortly after the hospital disaster.
“What happened to them?”
“Rebecca believed her daughter survived.”
“She spent years searching.”
“And Daniel?”
Nora lowered her eyes.
“Victor had him killed.”
Silence settled over the room.
Ethan’s phone rang.
His security chief was calling from the Blackwood estate.
“We have another problem.”
Ethan stepped away.
“What happened?”
“Someone entered your private office after we left.”
“Who?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“The intruder accessed the family trust files.”
Ethan understood immediately.
Victor was not only running.
He was preparing for the board vote.
“What did they take?”
“A sealed copy of the original Blackwood succession agreement.”
Ethan’s pulse quickened.
That document contained the clause that made Lily’s existence financially catastrophic for Victor.
“Check every camera.”
“We did.”
“Whoever entered used your biometric authorization.”
Ethan looked toward Nora.
“Impossible.”
“Unless someone copied it.”
The security chief hesitated.
“There’s more.”
“What?”
“Lily’s room was searched.”
Ethan’s voice sharpened.
“Was she inside?”
“No.”
“She’s still with our team.”
“What did they take?”
“We’re trying to determine that.”
Ethan ended the call.
Lily was brought into the room ten minutes later.
When Ethan asked what important belongings had been inside her bedroom, she thought carefully.
“My drawings.”
“Anything else?”
She shook her head.
Then she suddenly gasped.
“The red box.”
“What red box?”
“Aunt Nora told me never to open it.”
Ethan turned toward Nora.
Her face had lost all color.
“What was inside?”
Nora whispered.
“A letter Amelia wrote after the fire.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“You had a letter from my wife?”
“She wrote it during one of the brief periods when her memory returned.”
“What did it say?”
Nora looked toward Lily.
“It said she remembered seeing Victor in the hospital.”
“That is not all.”
Nora began shaking her head.
“What else?”
“She remembered someone helping him.”
“Who?”
Nora’s voice dropped.
“Your father.”
Ethan felt the floor disappear beneath him.
May you like
Charles Blackwood had died three years before the fire.
At least that was what Ethan had always believed.
