Chapter 6 - BEFORE SUNRISE
The call ended.
Dominic did not move.
The room seemed to shrink around him.
Marcus was the first to speak.
“We have a partial trace.”
Dominic turned sharply.
“Where?”
“South side.”
“That’s not enough.”
“I know.”
“Then make it enough.”
Marcus looked toward the technician behind the glass.
“Run every cell tower between the hospital and the river.”
Detective Collins stepped closer.
“Mr. Blackwood, we need to consider that this may be a trap.”
Dominic stared at her.
“It is a trap.”
“Then don’t walk into it blindly.”
“They have Lily.”
“They also want access to your son.”
Dominic’s face hardened.
“I know.”
Collins lowered her voice.
“If they’re forcing you to release Serena and sign legal documents, then this is bigger than a family dispute.”
Dominic said nothing.
She continued.
“This is organized.”
Marcus glanced at Dominic.
“That’s what worries me.”
Dominic looked back at the frozen image of the black-stone ring.
Victor Blackwood.
Dead for eighteen years.
At least officially.
Dominic walked toward the door.
“Take me back to the estate.”
Collins blocked him.
“Why?”
“Because Serena knows something.”
“She asked for a lawyer.”
“She can keep asking.”
“You cannot interrogate her.”
Dominic’s expression did not change.
“I didn’t say I was going to interrogate her.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
He opened the door.
“I’m going to let her think she’s winning.”
Forty minutes later, Serena sat alone in the west drawing room.
No guards were visible.
That was deliberate.
She had been given water.
Coffee.
Her phone had been returned.
That was also deliberate.
When Dominic entered, she was standing by the window.
She turned slowly.
“You came.”
Dominic closed the door behind him.
Serena studied his face.
Then she smiled.
“Where’s Lily?”
Dominic said nothing.
Her smile widened.
“So they really took her.”
Dominic walked toward the fireplace.
“You sound disappointed.”
“I’m relieved.”
Serena crossed her arms.
“Maybe now you’ll stop believing every pathetic word that woman says.”
Dominic looked at her.
“She told me they want you released.”
For the first time, Serena’s expression broke.
Just slightly.
Dominic saw it.
“They?”
She tried to recover.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“They also want the wedding documents signed.”
Serena looked away.
Dominic stepped closer.
“What documents?”
“I don’t know.”
“You know enough.”
“No.”
“Then why did your friend on the phone say the wedding had to happen?”
Serena turned back.
Her face hardened.
“You recorded me.”
“You used my house to coordinate with someone threatening my son.”
“I was scared.”
“You were planning.”
“That isn’t the same thing.”
Dominic stared at her.
“No.”
He nodded slowly.
“It’s worse.”
Serena laughed bitterly.
“You think you’re so much smarter than everyone.”
“No.”
Dominic’s voice stayed calm.
“I just know fear when I see it.”
Her smile faded.
“You’re afraid too.”
“Yes.”
That answer surprised her.
Dominic continued.
“My son is injured.”
“My nanny was taken.”
“Someone who should be dead is appearing on hospital surveillance.”
Serena’s eyes flickered.
There.
Dominic caught it.
“You know about Victor.”
“I know the name.”
“You know more than that.”
“No.”
Dominic moved closer.
“You reacted.”
“I reacted because your family is insane.”
Dominic stared at her.
Serena laughed.
“Your father died under mysterious circumstances.”
“Your uncle supposedly died overseas.”
“Your mother disappeared.”
“Your entire family history sounds like something out of a war story.”
Dominic became still.
“What did you say?”
Serena realized it immediately.
Too late.
Dominic’s voice lowered.
“My mother.”
Serena looked toward the window.
“You said my mother disappeared.”
“So?”
“She didn’t.”
Serena’s mouth tightened.
“She died.”
Silence.
Dominic took another step.
“And nobody outside the family knows anything different.”
Serena said nothing.
Dominic’s face became cold.
“Who told you she disappeared?”
“I heard things.”
“From whom?”
“People talk.”
“Not about that.”
Serena’s fingers curled at her sides.
Dominic leaned slightly toward her.
“Who told you?”
She stared back.
“You really want to know?”
“Yes.”
Her face changed.
For the first time, she looked less like a frightened fiancée and more like someone holding a knife behind her back.
“Your father.”
Dominic’s expression did not move.
Serena smiled.
“Or maybe I should say the man who signed his name as your father.”
Dominic stared at her.
A knock sounded at the door.
Marcus entered.
“Sir.”
Dominic did not look away from Serena.
“What?”
“We found the document.”
Serena’s face changed instantly.
Dominic turned.
Marcus held a thick folder.
“Where?”
“In the safe.”
Dominic looked toward Serena.
She stopped breathing.
Marcus opened the folder.
“It’s a marital succession agreement.”
Dominic frowned.
“I never authorized one.”
“You didn’t.”
Marcus flipped to the final pages.
“There’s a forged signature prepared in your name.”
Dominic walked toward him.
“What does it transfer?”
Marcus looked at Serena before answering.
“Control of the Blackwood family trust.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“To whom?”
“Your legal spouse.”
Serena looked away.
Marcus continued.
“But there’s a condition.”
Dominic took the folder.
“What condition?”
Marcus pointed to a paragraph.
“If Ethan dies before reaching twenty-one…”
Dominic stopped reading.
Marcus finished quietly.
“…the surviving spouse becomes sole trustee and beneficiary.”
The room went silent.
Dominic slowly lifted his eyes toward Serena.
She backed away.
“No.”
Dominic said nothing.
“That isn’t mine.”
He walked toward her.
“I never wrote that.”
Another step.
“I never asked for that.”
Another.
Serena hit the window behind her.
“Dominic, listen to me.”
“You wanted me to marry you.”
“That doesn’t mean—”
“You needed me to sign this.”
“I didn’t know what was in it.”
“You called Ethan a complication.”
“I was angry.”
“You dragged him across the floor.”
“No.”
“You told Lily you’d make her disappear.”
“She was lying.”
Dominic stopped inches away.
“Then explain this.”
He held up the agreement.
Serena’s eyes filled with tears.
Real tears this time.
Not for Ethan.
Not for Lily.
For herself.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then help me.”
Her lips trembled.
Dominic waited.
Finally, Serena whispered.
“I didn’t start this.”
“Who did?”
She looked at the door.
Dominic followed her gaze.
“Nobody can hear you.”
Serena laughed nervously.
“That’s what you think.”
“Who?”
Her voice broke.
“He was already inside your life before I met you.”
Dominic stared at her.
“Victor?”
Serena shook her head.
Then whispered two words.
“Your father.”
Dominic became still.
“My father is dead.”
Serena’s eyes locked onto his.
“No.”
She swallowed.
“He isn’t.”
And somewhere across the city, Lily Parker opened her eyes in complete darkness.
Her wrists were tied.
Her mouth tasted like blood.
She could hear water dripping nearby.
Then a light switched on.
A man stood across from her.
Older.
Silver hair.
A scar running from his left temple to his jaw.
And on his right hand—
was the black-stone ring.
He smiled.
“Hello, Lily.”
May you like
Her heart stopped.
“You look exactly like your mother.”
