Chapter 6 – Kidnapped
Chapter 6 – Kidnapped
The first rule of the Blackwood family was simple.
Trust no one.
Victor Blackwood had lived by that rule for most of his life.
It was how he survived.
How he built his empire.
How he defeated enemies who smiled at him while planning his downfall.
But there was one place where he had broken his own rule.
His home.
He had allowed people inside.
He had allowed Serena inside.
And now he was discovering that the greatest danger had been standing beside him all along.
The diary sat open on Victor’s desk.
The pages were old.
The ink had faded.
But the message was clear.
Isabella had been afraid.
Not for herself.
For Ethan.
Every page revealed pieces of a hidden war.
Serena’s obsession with power.
Suspicious meetings.
Secret conversations.
And finally…
Richard Blackwood.
Victor’s older half-brother.
A man who had disappeared from the family business years ago after a violent disagreement.
Everyone believed Richard had left Chicago.
Victor knew better.
People like Richard never truly left.
They waited.
They watched.
They returned when the moment was right.
And now Victor understood.
Serena was not trying to marry him because she loved him.
She was trying to enter the Blackwood family because someone wanted access.
Access to power.
Access to money.
Access to Ethan.
“Find Richard.”
Victor’s voice was calm.
Too calm.
Marcus looked up.
“Immediately?”
“Yes.”
“Alive?”
Victor stared at him.
The answer was obvious.
“I need answers first.”
Marcus nodded.
“And Serena?”
Victor looked toward the window.
Outside, the city lights reflected against the glass.
“She stays.”
Marcus looked surprised.
“You’re keeping her here?”
“Where else would she go?”
“She’ll know something is wrong.”
Victor’s expression didn’t change.
“Good.”
A pause.
“Let her think she still has control.”
For the next two days, the Blackwood mansion became a battlefield of silence.
Serena pretended nothing had changed.
Victor pretended he believed her.
The servants pretended they weren’t terrified.
And Lily pretended she wasn’t afraid.
But she was.
Not for herself.
For Ethan.
Every shadow in the mansion felt dangerous.
Every unfamiliar sound made her heart race.
Because now she knew.
The person who hurt Ethan was not acting alone.
One evening, Lily sat beside Ethan’s bed.
The little boy was almost asleep.
His tiny fingers held onto hers.
He had become more attached after the incident.
Whenever Lily left the room, he cried.
Whenever someone unfamiliar came near him, he reached for her.
She hated that he had been forced to feel afraid.
A child should never know fear like that.
“You’re safe now.”
Lily whispered.
“I promise.”
She gently brushed his hair.
“You have people who love you.”
A small voice interrupted.
“Lily.”
She smiled.
“Yes?”
“Stay.”
Her heart broke.
“I’m staying.”
She didn’t see Victor standing outside the door.
He heard every word.
And for a moment…
He imagined something he had not allowed himself to imagine for years.
A family.
Not built on power.
Not built on fear.
Just love.
The next morning, Victor left for a private meeting.
Before leaving, he found Lily in the hallway.
“Stay inside today.”
She looked confused.
“Why?”
“Security reasons.”
She studied his face.
“What happened?”
Victor hesitated.
That alone frightened her.
Because Victor Blackwood never hesitated.
“Someone is trying to hurt Ethan.”
Lily’s face changed.
“Serena?”
Victor said nothing.
But his silence answered.
“Then why are you leaving?”
“Because I need to stop them.”
Lily looked toward Ethan’s room.
“Don’t leave him unprotected.”
Victor looked at her.
“I won’t.”
A pause.
Then quietly:
“I’m trusting you.”
Those four words meant more than any order.
Because Victor Blackwood trusted almost nobody.
Lily nodded.
“I won’t let anything happen to him.”
At 3:17 p.m., the power went out.
The entire mansion went dark.
Lily immediately knew something was wrong.
The Blackwood mansion had backup generators.
The lights should have returned within seconds.
But they didn’t.
“Mrs. Carter?”
A guard’s voice came through the hallway.
Then silence.
Lily froze.
Something was wrong.
She looked toward Ethan.
The baby was awake.
Scared.
She picked him up.
“It’s okay.”
But her voice was not convincing.
The security alarms suddenly activated.
A loud warning echoed through the mansion.
Then stopped.
Too quickly.
Someone had disabled them.
Lily moved toward the panic button.
Before she reached it, a figure appeared in the doorway.
A guard.
At least…
He looked like one.
“Miss Carter.”
She relaxed slightly.
“Is everything okay?”
The man smiled.
Wrong.
Something about the smile made her blood run cold.
“No.”
The lights flickered.
And then Lily saw it.
The symbol on his wrist.
A tattoo.
A black wolf.
She had seen it before.
On one of the documents Marcus showed Victor.
Richard Blackwood’s people.
Her heart dropped.
She stepped backward.
“Who are you?”
The man’s smile widened.
“Someone who needs the child.”
Lily tightened her hold on Ethan.
“No.”
The man sighed.
“Don’t make this difficult.”
“You’re not taking him.”
For the first time, the man looked impressed.
“You know, everyone says the nanny is the weak point.”
He stepped closer.
“But I understand now.”
His eyes moved to Ethan.
“You’re the dangerous one.”
Lily’s anger replaced her fear.
“Stay away from him.”
She grabbed the nearest object.
A heavy decorative vase.
The man laughed.
“You really think you can fight me?”
“No.”
Lily looked at Ethan.
“But I can slow you down.”
She threw the vase.
It shattered.
The man moved back.
Lily ran.
Not toward the exit.
Toward the hidden security room.
If she could activate the emergency signal—
But she didn’t make it.
A second person appeared.
Then a third.
They surrounded her.
Lily’s breathing became uneven.
Three against one.
And Ethan in her arms.
Impossible.
But she remembered Serena’s words.
You’re just a nanny.
Maybe she had no money.
No power.
No weapons.
But she had something Serena never understood.
Love.
And love made people do impossible things.
The struggle lasted less than a minute.
But it felt like hours.
Lily fought desperately.
She protected Ethan with her own body.
She refused to let go.
Until someone struck her from behind.
Pain exploded.
Her vision blurred.
She fell.
But even as darkness took over…
She kept holding Ethan.
When Victor returned, he knew immediately.
Something was wrong.
The mansion was too quiet.
A house with Ethan inside was never quiet.
“Where is my son?”
His voice terrified everyone.
The guards rushed forward.
“Sir…”
Victor grabbed one of them.
“Where is Ethan?”
The guard looked terrified.
“We were attacked.”
The world seemed to stop.
“And Lily?”
The guard looked away.
That was enough.
Victor’s expression changed.
“Where are they?”
Ten minutes later, Victor stood inside Ethan’s empty room.
The crib was untouched.
The toys remained.
But Ethan was gone.
So was Lily.
On the floor, Victor found something.
A small piece of fabric.
From Lily’s dress.
And beneath it…
A note.
He opened it.
Only one sentence.
Written in black ink.
“You took everything from me, Victor. Now I take everything from you.”
No signature.
But Victor knew.
Richard.
Serena.
Both of them.
His enemies had taken his son.
They had taken Lily.
And for the first time in many years…
Victor Blackwood lost control.
He destroyed the desk beside him with one strike.
The guards froze.
Because they had never seen him like this.
Not when enemies betrayed him.
Not when rivals attacked him.
Not ever.
Marcus arrived moments later.
“Sir…”
Victor turned.
His eyes were filled with something darker than anger.
Fear.
“My son is gone.”
A pause.
“And Lily.”
Marcus understood.
This was no longer business.
No longer revenge.
This was personal.
Victor looked at the security team.
“Find them.”
His voice was quiet.
But everyone in the room heard the promise behind it.
“I don’t care how far they run.”
A pause.
“I don’t care who protects them.”
His eyes hardened.
“They took my family.”
And then Victor Blackwood said the one sentence that made every enemy in Chicago afraid.
“Now I take theirs.”
Across the city, inside an abandoned warehouse, Serena watched Ethan sleeping peacefully in a stranger’s arms.
Lily was tied to a chair nearby.
Bruised.
Exhausted.
But awake.
Serena walked closer.
“You know what’s funny?”
Lily glared at her.
“What?”
Serena smiled.
“Everyone thought I wanted Victor’s money.”
She touched Ethan’s blanket.
“They were wrong.”
Lily’s heart raced.
“Then what do you want?”
Serena looked toward the baby.
And whispered:
“I want the Blackwood name.”
She smiled.
“And there is only one way to get it.”
Lily stared at her.
“What are you planning?”
Serena leaned closer.
“A funeral.”
A cold smile.
May you like
“For Victor Blackwood.”
End of Chapter 6
