Chapter 4 - The Cabin
The cabin stood at the edge of forty acres of forest outside Galena.
It had no internet connection.
No registered telephone line.
No security cameras.
Samuel Harper had purchased the property under a trust seven years earlier.
He told Lily it was a place where the world could not find them.
After his death, she had never returned.
Until now.
A Blackwood convoy stopped two miles from the property.
Victor, Lily, Ethan, Dr. Marino and Marco continued in an unmarked truck.
The rest of the guards scattered across nearby roads.
Snow had begun falling by the time they reached the cabin.
Victor carried Ethan inside.
The baby had awakened during the drive.
He cried whenever anyone touched his injured arm, but his breathing remained stable.
Lily lit the fireplace.
Marco checked every room.
Dr. Marino arranged medical supplies on the kitchen table.
Victor stood near the window, watching the tree line.
Lily recognized his silence.
It was not calm.
It was calculation.
“Serena will tell the police you kidnapped her,” Lily said.
“She already has.”
“And they will believe her.”
“Some will.”
“Because she has money.”
“So do I.”
“That is not the same as innocence.”
Victor turned.
“Do you believe I am innocent?”
Lily looked at Ethan.
“No.”
Marco stopped near the doorway.
Dr. Marino pretended not to hear.
Victor approached her.
“Explain.”
“You built an empire by frightening people.”
“That empire kept my son alive.”
“It nearly got him killed.”
The words settled between them.
Victor looked toward the fire.
“My father believed fear was more reliable than love.”
“Was he right?”
“For business.”
“And for family?”
Victor glanced at Ethan.
“No.”
Lily wrapped a blanket around the child’s legs.
Ethan rested against her chest.
His eyes followed Victor.
Victor moved closer.
For a moment, Lily thought he would take the baby.
Instead, he crouched beside them.
Ethan raised his uninjured hand.
Victor offered one finger.
The child held it tightly.
“I missed two of his first birthdays,” Victor said quietly.
“He has only had one.”
“I missed that one twice.”
Lily looked at him.
“Once because I was not there. Again because I convinced myself sending gifts was enough.”
Victor’s phone vibrated.
Marco handed it to him.
Serena had been released from police custody.
Her attorneys claimed she was a victim of false imprisonment.
The hidden camera footage had not been released.
Victor had ordered Marco to secure it.
Only six people knew the full recording existed.
Yet Serena had already appeared outside the police station wearing a borrowed coat and a bruise on her cheek that had not been present at the mansion.
She told reporters Victor had struck her.
“She did that to herself,” Lily said.
“Probably before entering the station,” Marco replied.
The television had no signal, but Marco displayed the news conference on his phone.
Serena stood behind a line of microphones.
Her eyes were red.
Her voice trembled perfectly.
“I loved Victor’s son as if he were my own.”
Lily’s arms tightened around Ethan.
Serena continued.
“The nanny became obsessed with Victor. When I discovered she had hurt the baby, Victor threatened me to protect her.”
Reporters shouted questions.
“Did Victor Blackwood attack you?”
Serena touched the bruise on her cheek.
“I am not ready to discuss every detail.”
Lily felt sick.
Victor watched without expression.
“Release the video,” she said.
“No.”
“It proves she is lying.”
“It proves she hurt Ethan.”
“That is the point.”
“It also tells Adrian we have evidence.”
“He already knows.”
“He does not know what the recording captured.”
Lily remembered Serena’s words.
Children can be replaced.
“You want her frightened.”
“I want Adrian to wonder what his sister confessed.”
Marco’s phone rang.
He stepped into the hallway to answer.
Lily looked at Victor.
“You are using Serena as bait.”
“Yes.”
“She could hurt someone else.”
“Yes.”
“And that does not bother you?”
“It bothers me less than burying my son.”
Lily stood carefully, holding Ethan.
“You still think this is a war between organizations.”
“It is.”
“No. It is a crime against a child.”
Victor’s voice sharpened.
“In my world, those are the same thing.”
“Then leave your world.”
The cabin became silent.
Victor looked almost amused.
“No one leaves this life.”
“My brother tried.”
“And he died.”
Lily flinched.
Victor regretted the words immediately, but he did not apologize.
Marco returned.
“We have a problem.”
“What?”
“Judge Hollis signed a warrant for Lily’s arrest.”
Lily stared at him.
“For what?”
“Child abuse, kidnapping and conspiracy.”
Victor took the phone.
Judge Arthur Hollis was one of Adrian Montigue’s oldest political allies.
The warrant had been issued without reviewing medical reports or interviewing witnesses.
Marco continued.
“They also froze Lily’s bank account.”
“I have eighty-three dollars.”
“Now you have nothing.”
Lily sat down slowly.
Serena had predicted exactly what would happen.
No family.
No money.
No power.
Nobody cares about a nobody like you.
Ethan stirred against her chest.
Lily looked at him.
“I will turn myself in.”
Victor’s head snapped toward her.
“No.”
“If I run, Serena’s story looks true.”
“If you surrender to Hollis, you will not reach a courtroom.”
“I’m not afraid.”
“You should be.”
Marco placed a laptop on the kitchen table.
“I found something in the backup camera archive.”
The secondary system had recorded more than the foyer.
It also stored audio from the mansion’s private office corridor.
Three weeks earlier, Serena had entered Victor’s study while he was away.
She spoke on the phone for twelve minutes.
Marco played the recording.
Serena’s voice filled the cabin.
“The nanny still suspects the medicine.”
A man answered.
The voice was distorted by the phone connection.
“Then remove her.”
“I cannot until after the wedding.”
“What about the key?”
Lily stopped breathing.
Serena continued.
“She keeps it around her neck during the day. At night, it is under her mattress.”
Victor looked at Lily.
She touched the chain beneath her dress.
Serena knew about the brass key.
The unknown man spoke again.
“Get the box before Blackwood learns what Elena recorded.”
A crackling sound interrupted the call.
Then the voice returned clearly for one second.
“Your brother failed once. He cannot fail again.”
Marco paused the audio.
Victor’s face had changed.
He recognized the voice.
Lily saw it.
“Who is it?”
Victor did not answer.
Marco looked toward him.
“Boss?”
Victor stared at the frozen audio waveform.
“The man speaking to Serena is not Adrian.”
“Then who?”
May you like
Victor slowly raised his eyes.
“It is my uncle.”
