Chapter 3 - The Password
Victor had known Adrian Blackwood his entire life.
They had fought as children.
Competed as teenagers.
Built different parts of Blackwood Holdings as adults.
But Victor had never believed his brother capable of harming Ethan.
He still refused to believe it.
“Run the log again.”
Marcus did.
The result remained unchanged.
Every camera shutdown command had originated from Victor’s office computer.
Serena folded her arms.
“So somebody used your computer.”
Victor stared at her.
“You were in my office two days ago.”
“To get your passport.”
“What about the other ten times?”
She had no answer.
Marcus looked through the access history.
Victor’s private office required fingerprint authorization.
There were only three approved users.
Victor.
Daniel Cross, Victor’s longtime chief of staff.
And Adrian Blackwood.
Lily leaned against the doorway.
“So one of them helped her.”
Serena snapped around.
“You don’t know anything.”
Lily met her gaze.
“I know what I heard tonight.”
Serena moved toward her.
Victor stepped between them.
“Enough.”
Serena looked at him in disbelief.
“You’re protecting her?”
“I’m protecting my son.”
The words landed harder than a shout.
Dr. Hale recommended taking Ethan to a pediatric clinic for imaging and a complete examination.
Victor agreed immediately.
Before leaving, Marcus called him aside.
“I found something else.”
He displayed the office logs.
On six of the eleven dates, Victor had been traveling.
Daniel had been with him on four of those trips.
That left Adrian.
Victor stared at the screen.
“Where was my brother tonight?”
Marcus checked.
“At the Blackwood Foundation dinner.”
Victor remembered declining that dinner because his flight was not supposed to land until morning.
Except the meeting in Chicago had ended early.
His aircraft had left five hours ahead of schedule.
Nobody except the flight crew knew he was returning.
Victor looked at Serena.
“How did you know my arrival time?”
“I didn’t.”
“You told Lily I wouldn’t be home until morning.”
“That was the schedule.”
“Who told you?”
Serena hesitated.
“My assistant.”
Victor’s phone suddenly vibrated.
Adrian was calling.
Victor answered without saying hello.
His brother sounded cheerful.
“I heard you’re back early.”
Victor’s expression changed.
Nobody had told Adrian.
Victor walked away from the others.
“How did you know?”
Silence.
Then Adrian laughed softly.
“Know what?”
“That I’m home.”
Another pause.
“I must have heard it from Serena.”
Victor turned toward his fiancée.
She was staring directly at him.
May you like
And for the first time, Victor realized the problem was no longer just what Serena had done.
The bigger question was who had been helping her do it.
