Chapter 2 - THE FIRST LIE
Dr. Samuel Reeves arrived at the estate twelve minutes later.
He had served the Blackwood family for nearly twenty years.
He had treated gunshot wounds without asking questions.
He had stitched Victor’s men in hidden rooms.
Yet when he examined Ethan, his hands trembled.
“The shoulder is dislocated.”
Dr. Reeves spoke carefully.
“There may also be a fracture near the wrist.”
Victor stood beside the examination table.
His expression was cold.
“Will he recover?”
“With proper treatment, yes.”
The doctor looked toward Lily.
“She may have saved him from permanent damage.”
Serena let out a sharp laugh.
“That woman caused the injury.”
Dr. Reeves glanced at her.
“The bruising does not support that claim.”
Serena’s smile disappeared.
Victor stepped closer.
“What does it support?”
The doctor hesitated.
“Repeated force.”
Silence swallowed the room.
Victor looked down at Ethan’s small body.
There were faint marks along his upper arms.
Some were fresh.
Others had already begun to fade.
“How long?”
Victor’s voice barely rose above a whisper.
Dr. Reeves studied the bruises.
“Several days.”
Serena quickly moved beside him.
“Ethan has been falling lately.”
“He is fourteen months old.”
Lily pushed herself upright in the chair.
“He doesn’t fall hard enough to leave fingerprints.”
Serena turned on her.
“You manipulative little liar.”
Victor’s gaze snapped toward Serena.
“Enough.”
Lily swallowed through the pain.
She knew Serena was watching her.
She also knew that speaking now could place both her and Ethan in greater danger.
But remaining silent had nearly killed him.
Victor crouched in front of her.
“What did you see?”
Lily looked at Ethan.
She remembered his terrified cries.
She remembered Serena’s threats.
She remembered the locked nursery door three nights earlier.
“I saw Serena drag him across the floor.”
Serena gasped dramatically.
“She attacked me first.”
Lily continued.
“She twisted his arm because he would not stop crying.”
“That is insane.”
“She kicked me when I tried to protect him.”
Serena turned toward Victor.
“You cannot possibly believe her.”
Victor studied Lily’s bruised face.
Then he studied Serena’s spotless dress.
There was not a single mark on his fiancée.
Victor looked at his security chief.
“Bring me the foyer recordings.”
The man’s face tightened.
“There is a problem.”
“What problem?”
“The security system stopped recording eleven minutes before you entered.”
Serena lowered her eyes.
Victor noticed the smallest movement at the corner of her mouth.
It was almost a smile.
May you like
Then the security chief delivered the final blow.
“The cameras were disabled from inside the house.”
