Chapter 8 - THE HOUSE OF BLACKWOOD
Walter wanted to wait for the authorities. Hannah understood why. The evidence was finally strong enough to expose Margaret and Julian, and rushing into the estate could destroy their only chance.
But Lily was a child.
And Hannah knew what it meant to lie awake in a hospital bed, listening for a person who never came.
“We go tonight,” she said.
Nate looked at her. “I'll bring her home.”
“You don't get to promise that.”
“Then I'll do everything I can.”
It was the first time he had offered something without demanding trust in return.
Walter arranged for the evidence to be copied and delivered to an attorney outside the Blackwood organization. Rosa stayed with Ethan and the newborn in a secure medical apartment. Hannah insisted that the police be informed of the location, but she would not allow Walter to decide what happened next.
They entered the Blackwood estate shortly before midnight.
The gates stood open.
No guards challenged them.
That was the first warning.
The mansion looked exactly as Hannah remembered it: polished marble floors, towering windows, and portraits of dead Blackwoods staring down at anyone who entered. Yet the house felt less like a home than a stage prepared for a final performance.
Margaret waited in the drawing room wearing a cream silk dress.
A glass of wine rested in her hand.
“I'm glad you came,” she said.
Nate stepped forward.
“Where's Lily?”
Margaret smiled sadly.
“You always did rush to the wrong question.”
“Where is she?”
“Safe.”
“Show me.”
Margaret set down her glass.
“You've become very dramatic, Nathaniel. Your father has poisoned your mind, and Hannah has made you believe your own family wants to destroy you.”
Hannah moved beside Nate.
“You gave me a necklace with a transmitter. You authorized a plan to remove my baby. You knew Amelia was pregnant, and you helped erase her daughter.”
Margaret's expression remained calm.
“Those are serious accusations.”
“We have recordings.”
For the first time, Margaret's smile faltered.
Then she laughed softly.
“Recordings can be edited. Documents can be forged. People will believe what they want to believe, especially when a scandal involves a wealthy family.”
Walter stepped into the room.
“Not this time.”
Margaret turned toward him.
“You should be dead.”
“You should have chosen a better driver.”
For a moment, hatred stripped away every trace of Margaret's gracious public persona.
“You ruined this family,” she said.
Walter shook his head.
“No. We ruined it together. The difference is that I'm finally willing to admit it.”
Margaret's eyes returned to Nate.
“You were supposed to be stronger than this. I gave you everything.”
“You gave me fear and called it loyalty.”
“I protected you.”
“From what? The truth?”
Margaret's voice rose.
“From the consequences of being born a Blackwood!”
Hannah watched Nate's face. He looked devastated, but he didn't turn away.
Margaret walked toward the fireplace.
“Your grandmother built this family from nothing. She understood that power belongs to whoever can hold it. Amelia threatened that power. Your father threatened it. Hannah threatened it the moment she gave birth.”
“My son is a baby,” Nate said.
“Your son is a key.”
Margaret's words echoed through the room.
She finally admitted that the trust held records capable of exposing the family's crimes. She had spent years manipulating the people around her, ensuring that no single person possessed enough evidence to challenge her.
Amelia had discovered the truth. When she refused to surrender her daughter, Margaret ordered Julian to silence her.
The child was hidden.
The body was moved.
And Nate was told the woman he loved had abandoned him.
“You let me grieve someone who was murdered,” Nate whispered.
Margaret looked almost bored.
“You survived.”
Nate's expression hardened.
“That isn't forgiveness.”
“No. It's reality.”
A door opened behind her.
Julian Cross entered with two armed men.
“Enough,” he said. “The trustee has already been contacted. We need the baby.”
Hannah stepped backward.
“You won't touch him.”
Julian smiled.
“You still think this is about personal feelings. The child activates the trust. Once the records are released, every person connected to this family becomes vulnerable.”
“Then let them be exposed,” Hannah said.
Julian's expression changed.
“You have no idea how many people will die.”
“Neither did Amelia.”
For a moment, the room fell silent.
Then Walter moved toward Julian.
The armed men raised their weapons.
Nate stepped between them.
“Don't.”
Julian looked at him with contempt.
“You were always your father's weakness. You mistake emotion for morality.”
“And you mistake obedience for loyalty.”
Nate lunged.
The first shot shattered a portrait above the fireplace. Walter pulled Hannah behind a marble pillar as the room erupted into chaos.
Julian escaped through a side door.
Margaret ran after him.
Nate followed, but Hannah caught his arm.
“Lily first!”
They found the girl locked inside an upstairs bedroom.
She was sitting beneath a window, clutching a stuffed rabbit. When Nate entered, she recoiled.
“Don't hurt me.”
He stopped immediately.
“My name is Nate.”
The girl studied him.
“Mommy said you would come someday.”
Nate knelt several feet away.
“Your mother was right.”
“Is she coming too?”
His face crumpled.
He could not lie to her.
Hannah approached slowly and crouched beside him.
“Your mother loved you very much,” she said. “We're going to find out what happened to her.”
Lily looked at Hannah.
“Are you going to take me away?”
“No,” Hannah whispered. “We're going to take you somewhere safe.”
A sudden explosion shook the mansion.
The lights went out.
In the darkness, someone grabbed Hannah from behind.
A hand clamped over her mouth.
She heard Nate shout her name.
Then a familiar voice whispered into her ear.
“Your husband still doesn't know what happened the night you first met him.”
May you like
It was Margaret.
And she was holding a gun against Hannah's ribs.
