Chapter 3 – The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Chapter 3 – The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
A cold rain swept across Chicago before dawn, turning the windows of the Blackwood estate into sheets of silver.
No one inside had slept.
Victor stood alone in Ethan's bedroom, watching his son breathe. The toddler rested peacefully after the doctors had reset his fractured arm. A stuffed elephant lay tucked beneath his good arm, while a heart monitor emitted steady, reassuring beeps.
Victor gently brushed Ethan's hair away from his forehead.
"I failed you," he whispered.
The words barely escaped his lips.
For years, Victor Blackwood had built one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the country. He had anticipated betrayals from rival syndicates, corrupt officials, even trusted allies.
But he had never imagined the greatest threat would come from the woman he had planned to marry.
A soft knock interrupted his thoughts.
Dominic entered.
"We've finished searching Serena's suite."
Victor didn't look away from Ethan.
"And?"
"We found three hidden phones."
"Anything useful?"
Dominic nodded.
"More than we expected."
Minutes later, the private conference room was filled with intelligence officers, cybersecurity experts, and Victor's senior advisors.
Every screen displayed evidence recovered overnight.
Bank transfers.
Encrypted messages.
Travel records.
Fake identities.
Serena had lived several lives.
Her real name wasn't Serena Montigue.
According to federal databases, she had disappeared nearly twelve years earlier after being presumed dead in a house fire.
Victor folded his arms.
"So who is she?"
One analyst answered.
"We're still confirming."
"But every identity leads back to one organization."
"The Romano Syndicate."
Victor wasn't surprised.
"What about the phones?"
The analyst projected a map onto the largest screen.
"One device contacted the same number every Thursday for nearly two years."
"Location?"
"Always changing."
"Burner phones?"
"Yes."
Victor's expression remained unreadable.
"They were careful."
"They were."
"But they made one mistake."
The analyst enlarged a photograph captured automatically by one phone during a software update.
A man's reflection appeared in a nearby mirror.
Only half his face was visible.
Dominic leaned closer.
"I know him."
The room turned toward him.
"His name is Gabriel Kane."
Victor slowly raised an eyebrow.
"I thought he was dead."
"So did everyone else."
Across the city...
Inside an abandoned cathedral converted into the Romano Syndicate's headquarters...
Gabriel Kane stood before the silver-haired leader.
The failed assassination still weighed heavily on the room.
"Our sniper missed."
The old man remained calm.
"I've already accounted for that."
Gabriel frowned.
"Victor will strengthen security."
"Good."
"You expected this?"
The old man smiled.
"Victor has always been predictable."
Gabriel looked uncertain.
"What about Serena?"
"She served her purpose."
"You aren't trying to rescue her?"
The old man's smile disappeared.
"Dead pieces don't return to the board."
Gabriel understood immediately.
Serena had just received her death sentence.
Back at the estate...
Serena sat handcuffed inside a secure interview room.
The confidence she had worn for years was gone.
Dark circles framed her eyes.
Her expensive makeup had long since faded.
The steel door opened.
Victor entered alone.
No guards.
No weapons.
He closed the door quietly behind him.
Serena tried to smile.
"It doesn't have to end like this."
Victor remained standing.
"Who is Gabriel Kane?"
Her smile vanished.
"I don't know anyone by that name."
Victor placed a photograph on the table.
She glanced down.
For the first time...
Her breathing stopped.
Victor noticed.
"You recognize him."
"No."
"You just did."
She looked away.
Victor calmly placed another item beside the photograph.
Her smartwatch.
Unlocked.
Every deleted message restored.
Color drained from Serena's face.
Victor spoke almost gently.
"You've lied to me for two years."
Silence.
"You lied to Ethan."
Silence.
"You tortured my son."
Still silence.
Finally...
Victor asked the question that mattered most.
"Who ordered you?"
Serena stared at the table.
"If I tell you..."
"They'll kill me."
Victor leaned forward.
"If you don't..."
"I will."
The room became deathly quiet.
Downstairs...
Lily remained beside Ethan.
She had refused every offer to rest.
One of the nurses approached carefully.
"You should have your injuries examined."
"I'm fine."
"You were kicked hard."
Lily forced a tired smile.
"Ethan needs someone familiar when he wakes up."
The nurse nodded.
"He trusts you."
Lily looked at the sleeping toddler.
"He deserves someone he can trust."
A faint movement caught her attention.
Ethan's eyes slowly opened.
His tiny voice cracked.
"Lily..."
She immediately leaned closer.
"I'm here."
He blinked sleepily.
"Don't let the scary lady come back."
Lily's heart broke.
"I won't."
"I promise."
The little boy reached for her hand with his uninjured arm.
Then quietly whispered words that froze her blood.
"She said Mommy cried too."
Lily stopped breathing.
"What?"
Ethan's eyelids fluttered.
"The basement..."
Before he could continue, exhaustion pulled him back to sleep.
Lily stared at him.
The basement?
What basement?
She immediately found Dominic.
"Ethan said something."
"What?"
"He mentioned his mother."
Dominic frowned.
"His mother died."
"He also mentioned a basement."
Dominic's expression changed instantly.
"What exactly did he say?"
"He said..."
Lily repeated every word.
Dominic became unusually quiet.
Finally he spoke.
"There is a basement."
"Under the east wing."
"I've never been inside."
"Why not?"
He hesitated.
"Victor sealed it himself."
"When?"
"The day Mrs. Blackwood supposedly died."
Meanwhile...
Victor still sat across from Serena.
Neither had spoken for nearly five minutes.
Then Serena laughed.
Softly at first.
Then louder.
Victor never moved.
Finally she looked up.
"You still think your wife died in that fire."
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"What did you say?"
Serena smiled bitterly.
"You never questioned it."
"You buried an empty coffin."
Victor took one slow step forward.
"Choose your next words carefully."
Serena leaned back.
"I didn't kill your wife."
Victor's pulse quickened.
"She's dead."
"Is she?"
Silence.
Serena watched the uncertainty appear in Victor's eyes.
For the first time since her capture...
She felt she had regained control.
"I've seen her."
Victor's fists slowly clenched.
"Where?"
"I'll tell you..."
She smiled weakly.
"...after you guarantee my safety."
Victor stared at her for several seconds.
Then reached into his pocket.
He removed his phone.
Instead of calling anyone...
He played a recording.
The hidden audio Lily had captured months earlier.
Serena's own voice echoed through the room.
"After the wedding... Ethan won't be an issue much longer."
Her smile vanished.
Victor quietly stopped the recording.
"You negotiated with me once."
"You won't again."
He turned toward the door.
As he reached it...
Serena finally panicked.
"Victor!"
He paused.
"My wife."
She swallowed.
"She's alive."
Victor slowly turned.
For the first time in years...
The unshakable Mafia Boss looked genuinely stunned.
Before either of them could speak again—
A violent explosion rocked the entire estate.
The lights flickered.
Security alarms screamed through every hallway.
Dominic's voice erupted through Victor's earpiece.
"Boss!"
"East wing!"
"The basement entrance has been breached!"
Victor's eyes widened.
Someone wasn't trying to escape.
May you like
Someone was trying to get inside.
End of Chapter 3
