Chapter 10 – The Confession
Chapter 10 – The Confession
There was a moment before every collapse.
A moment when a person still believed they were winning.
A moment when arrogance became so powerful that fear disappeared completely.
Serena Montigue was standing in that moment.
She believed she had defeated Lily.
She believed she had manipulated Victor.
She believed the Blackwood name was almost hers.
She didn’t know she was standing at the edge of a cliff.
And Victor Blackwood was waiting for her to take the final step.
The next morning, the Blackwood mansion was unusually busy.
Lawyers arrived before sunrise.
Security teams moved quietly through the halls.
Everyone knew something was happening.
But nobody knew what.
Except Victor.
And Lily.
They stood together in the private security room, watching the cameras.
“She’s coming.”
Lily looked at the screen.
Serena walked through the front entrance.
Confident.
Elegant.
Smiling.
Like a woman who already owned the house.
Lily shook her head.
“I don’t understand.”
Victor looked at her.
“What?”
“How can someone be so sure they’re right when they’ve hurt so many people?”
Victor was silent.
Then he answered:
“Because people like Serena don’t see themselves as villains.”
A pause.
“They believe they are the hero of their own story.”
Serena entered Victor’s office carrying a folder.
She didn’t knock.
A small detail.
But Victor noticed.
She had always knocked before.
Now she acted like she belonged.
“Victor.”
He looked up.
“Serena.”
She smiled.
“I think it’s time we fixed everything.”
He remained silent.
She placed the folder on his desk.
“I found a solution.”
Victor looked down.
The adoption papers.
Exactly what he expected.
“What is this?”
Serena sat across from him.
“A way to protect Ethan.”
The irony almost made him laugh.
Almost.
“You want to protect him?”
Her expression softened.
“Of course.”
She opened the folder.
“With everything that happened, the court may question your ability to provide a stable environment.”
Victor looked at her.
“And?”
Serena smiled.
“If we are married, and I become Ethan’s legal guardian…”
She touched the papers.
“He will be protected.”
Protected.
A beautiful word.
Used by dangerous people.
Victor looked at the document.
“And Lily?”
Serena’s eyes changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
“She cannot remain.”
“Why?”
Serena sighed.
“Victor, you know why.”
“I want to hear you say it.”
A pause.
Then Serena leaned back.
“She is obsessed with Ethan.”
Victor said nothing.
“She has crossed boundaries.”
Still nothing.
“She thinks she is his mother.”
Victor watched her carefully.
“Do you?”
Serena frowned.
“What?”
“Do you think Lily believes she is Ethan’s mother?”
Serena smiled.
“No.”
Then she whispered:
“I think she knows she is replaceable.”
The conversation was being recorded.
Every word.
Every lie.
Every confession hidden between sentences.
Marcus watched from the security room.
He looked at Lily.
“She’s getting close.”
Lily didn’t answer.
Because she was watching Victor.
She knew this was difficult for him.
He was sitting across from the woman who had betrayed him.
Pretending.
Listening.
Waiting.
Victor leaned back.
“You know what bothers me?”
Serena looked curious.
“What?”
“I keep thinking about Isabella.”
The name changed everything.
Serena’s expression froze.
Just for a moment.
Victor noticed.
“Why?”
He continued.
“Because before she died, she wrote something.”
Serena’s face became careful.
“What did she write?”
Victor looked directly at her.
“She warned me.”
A silence.
“About you.”
The room became still.
For the first time, Serena lost control.
Not completely.
But enough.
“You’re lying.”
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
“Why would you say that?”
Serena realized her mistake.
She recovered quickly.
“I mean… Isabella loved me.”
Victor watched her.
“Did she?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did she hide a diary warning me about you?”
Serena stopped breathing.
The silence was the confession.
Victor didn’t need more.
But Serena didn’t know when to stop.
Because pride was stronger than caution.
“She was paranoid.”
Victor remained quiet.
“She became unstable after Ethan was born.”
A pause.
“She imagined things.”
Victor’s hands tightened.
Because Serena was insulting Isabella.
The mother of his child.
The woman who died protecting Ethan.
But he controlled himself.
“What things?”
Serena looked away.
“Things about me.”
“Such as?”
She hesitated.
Then laughed.
“Victor, you’re being ridiculous.”
“No.”
His voice changed.
Cold.
“You’re afraid.”
That word hit her.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
Victor leaned forward.
“Because Isabella knew something.”
Serena stood.
“This conversation is over.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re choosing a nanny over me.”
Victor looked at her.
“No.”
A pause.
“I’m choosing the truth.”
Serena’s patience broke.
“You want the truth?”
Victor said nothing.
She laughed.
“You really think Lily is innocent?”
“Yes.”
“You’re wrong.”
Victor remained calm.
“Then prove it.”
Serena smiled.
Finally.
A mistake.
Because she thought she had an opportunity.
“You want proof?”
“Yes.”
She stepped closer.
“You want to know why Ethan was always closer to Lily?”
Victor watched.
“Because she manipulated him.”
A pause.
“From the beginning.”
The recording continued.
“You think she just became attached to him?”
Serena shook her head.
“She planned it.”
Victor’s expression did not change.
But inside, anger burned.
“Planned what?”
“To replace Isabella.”
The words left her mouth.
And then she realized.
Too late.
She had gone too far.
Victor stood.
“Interesting.”
Serena froze.
“What?”
“You seem very certain about things only someone involved would know.”
Her face changed.
“What are you talking about?”
Victor walked around the desk.
“You knew Lily’s intentions.”
“I know because I observed her.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“You knew because you were watching.”
Serena stepped back.
“Victor…”
The office doors opened.
Marcus entered.
Behind him were lawyers.
Security officers.
And a screen.
Serena stared.
“What is this?”
Victor pressed a button.
The audio from their conversation played.
Her own voice filled the room.
Every lie.
Every accusation.
Every word.
Her face slowly lost color.
“No.”
Victor looked at her.
“You wanted proof.”
A pause.
“Now you have it.”
Serena looked around.
Then laughed.
Quietly.
Almost unbelievably.
“You recorded me.”
“Yes.”
“You trapped me.”
“Yes.”
She looked at him.
“You planned this.”
Victor said nothing.
That was enough.
Her expression changed from shock…
To anger.
“You never loved me.”
Victor stared at her.
“No.”
The answer was immediate.
Brutal.
“I loved the person I thought you were.”
The words hurt her more than any punishment.
Because Serena had spent years creating an illusion.
And Victor had finally destroyed it.
The lawyers opened another folder.
Marcus placed the missing diary page on the desk.
Serena saw it.
And everything changed.
Her eyes widened.
“You found it.”
Victor watched her carefully.
“Yes.”
She whispered:
“No…”
Because she knew.
That page contained the final truth.
The one secret she could never allow Victor to discover.
Victor unfolded the page.
And read aloud.
“Victor, if you are reading this, then Serena has already tried to take Ethan away from us.”
Serena closed her eyes.
“No.”
“She did not come into our lives by accident.”
Victor continued.
“She was sent.”
Silence.
Everyone looked at Serena.
Victor read the final lines.
“The person controlling Serena is someone closer to you than you realize.”
A pause.
“Someone who shares your blood.”
Victor looked up.
Richard.
Again.
But then came the final sentence.
The one nobody expected.
“And Victor… the truth about Ethan’s birth is not what you believe.”
Victor froze.
Lily looked at him.
Marcus went silent.
Even Serena looked surprised.
Because she had never expected Isabella to write that.
Victor slowly turned the page.
But there was nothing else.
The rest was missing.
Again.
Someone had removed the final answer.
Someone had hidden the truth about Ethan himself.
And suddenly the entire war changed.
Because this was no longer about Serena.
No longer about revenge.
It was about a secret surrounding Victor’s own son.
That night, Serena was placed under private security.
Not arrested.
Not yet.
Victor needed answers.
But as she was escorted away, she stopped.
She looked at him.
“You think you won.”
Victor stared.
“I know I did.”
Serena smiled.
A cold, broken smile.
“No.”
She whispered.
“You only found the beginning.”
Later, Victor stood alone beside Ethan’s crib.
The baby slept peacefully.
Lily stood nearby.
“What does she mean?”
Victor looked at the child.
“I don’t know.”
For the first time, he admitted uncertainty.
And that frightened him.
Because Victor Blackwood could fight enemies.
He could fight betrayal.
But how do you fight a secret about your own child?
Then his phone rang.
A message.
From an unknown number.
One sentence.
“If you want the truth about Ethan, come alone.”
Attached was a location.
Victor stared at the screen.
Lily saw his expression.
“What happened?”
Victor looked at her.
And for the first time…
He looked afraid.
May you like
“Someone knows the truth about my son.”
End of Chapter 10
