Chapter 20 - The Father Who Finally Saw Everything
Victor opened Grace’s envelope at sunrise.
Inside were three pages.
He read them alone.
Grace had known Adrian was trying to position himself near Ethan’s future trust.
She had known Margaret Vale was involved.
She had even suspected Serena was being used.
But she had never proved whether Charles Blackwood was part of the conspiracy or secretly trying to stop it.
Her final paragraph was different.
Victor read it twice.
Do not let this family convince you that protecting the Blackwood name is the same thing as protecting Ethan.
They are not the same.
If you ever have to choose, choose our son.
Victor closed his eyes.
For years, he had lived by the opposite rule without realizing it.
He protected meetings.
Deals.
Travel schedules.
Board relationships.
The company.
He assumed the mansion was safe because expensive people protected it.
He assumed the people closest to him deserved trust because they had always been close.
Serena had exploited that blindness.
Adrian had built an entire scheme around it.
But they had failed.
Three months later, Blackwood Holdings completed an independent investigation.
Adrian was permanently removed from company leadership while the criminal case against him continued.
Margaret lost every Blackwood board position.
Daniel was cleared of involvement in the fraudulent accounts.
Maria and Mateo relocated with financial and legal protection.
Lily remained with Ethan.
Victor offered her a large raise.
She refused the first number.
Victor looked surprised.
“That has never happened to me before.”
Lily smiled.
“Then maybe you’ve spent too much time around people who want your money.”
He laughed for the first time in months.
Serena accepted responsibility for her actions and agreed to cooperate with investigators.
Victor never visited her.
He did not hate her.
He simply understood that regret did not erase what Ethan and Lily had endured.
One evening, Victor came home early again.
This time there was no screaming.
No broken recorder.
No disabled camera.
Ethan was sitting on the rug stacking wooden blocks.
Lily sat nearby.
The toddler saw Victor and immediately lifted both arms.
“Da.”
Victor froze.
It was the clearest version of the word Ethan had ever said.
Victor crossed the room and picked him up.
For once, Blackwood Holdings could wait.
Then Marcus called.
Victor almost ignored it.
Something in Marcus’s voice stopped him.
“I traced the phone call Grace received the night she died.”
Victor slowly turned toward the window.
“You found the extension?”
“Yes.”
“Was it Adrian?”
“No.”
Victor’s grip tightened around the phone.
“Margaret?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Marcus remained silent for several seconds.
“The extension belonged to your father’s private office.”
Victor looked down at Grace’s final letter.
Charles Blackwood had been dead for eighteen months.
But suddenly, the man who had built the Blackwood empire seemed more dangerous than anyone still alive.
Victor held Ethan closer.
“What else did you find?”
Marcus lowered his voice.
“A second call.”
“To whom?”
“To Grace.”
“When?”
“Four minutes after her crash.”
Victor stopped breathing.
“That’s impossible.”
“I know.”
“Who answered?”
Marcus spoke the final words quietly.
May you like
“According to the record, Grace did.”
TOBE CONTINUED
