Chapter 6 - The First Betrayal
Victor reached Serena’s guest suite in less than a minute.
The door stood open.
Serena was inside.
Her phone lay shattered near the window.
“What happened?”
She stared at him.
“Someone called me.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
Victor did not believe her.
Serena sat on the edge of the bed.
“You think I’m a monster.”
“I heard the recording.”
Her face tightened.
“You heard part of it.”
“I heard Ethan screaming.”
She looked away.
“And I will never forgive you for that.”
Serena’s eyes filled with tears.
“But Adrian told me Lily was dangerous.”
Victor nearly laughed.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“He said she was watching you.”
“Why?”
“He said she had been hired by someone connected to Grace.”
Grace.
Victor had not heard his late wife’s name spoken inside the mansion for months.
“What does Grace have to do with this?”
“I don’t know.”
Serena shook her head.
“That’s the truth.”
Victor stepped closer.
“You threatened Lily.”
“I wanted her gone.”
“You dragged my son.”
“I lost my temper.”
Victor’s face hardened.
“That sentence does not make it better.”
Serena lowered her head.
“No.”
For the first time, she did not argue.
Then Marcus appeared.
“Sir.”
He held Serena’s damaged phone.
“We recovered the last incoming number.”
Victor looked at the screen.
It belonged to Daniel Cross.
Victor’s missing chief of staff.
Serena whispered.
“He told me to destroy the recorder.”
Victor stared at her.
“How did Daniel know about it?”
“I told Adrian.”
The room went silent.
Victor understood.
“You called Adrian after I came home.”
Serena nodded.
“What did he say?”
“He said if you found the recorder, everything could collapse.”
Victor’s pulse quickened.
“What is everything?”
Serena hesitated.
Then she answered.
“The board vote.”
Victor stared at her.
“What board vote?”
Before Serena could answer, Marcus’s phone rang.
He listened.
His expression changed.
“Victor.”
“What?”
“Adrian just requested an emergency meeting of Blackwood Holdings.”
“For what reason?”
May you like
Marcus looked toward Ethan’s room down the hall.
“To question whether you should remain controlling trustee of your son’s shares.”
