Chapter 2 - THE SECRET ETHAN TRIED TO TELL HIS FATHER
Adrian Blackwood had spent his entire life believing he was good at reading people.
It was how he built his empire.
A successful businessman learned quickly that numbers could lie.
Reports could be manipulated.
Contracts could hide dangerous details.
But people…
People always revealed themselves eventually.
A nervous glance.
A pause before answering.
A sudden change in behavior.
Adrian had built a billion-dollar company because he noticed things others missed.
Yet somehow…
he missed everything happening inside his own home.
The next morning, Adrian watched Ethan eat breakfast.
The little boy sat quietly at the large kitchen table.
Too quietly.
Before Claire died, Ethan was different.
He laughed loudly.
He asked endless questions.
He ran through the house pretending to be a superhero.
Now he sat with both hands around his juice cup, waiting for permission before touching anything else.
Adrian noticed.
And he hated himself for not noticing sooner.
“Ethan.”
The boy looked up.
“Yes, Daddy?”
“You can eat.”
Ethan blinked.
“I know.”
“Then why aren’t you?”
The boy looked toward the doorway.
Toward where Victoria usually stood.
Then quickly looked back.
“I’m not hungry.”
Adrian felt something tighten in his chest.
Because five-year-old children did not look around before answering simple questions.
Not unless they were afraid of someone.
Victoria entered the kitchen moments later.
Perfect hair.
Perfect clothes.
Perfect smile.
“Good morning.”
Adrian watched her carefully.
Six months ago, he would have kissed her.
Today…
he just watched.
“Where were you yesterday after the cemetery?”
Victoria stopped.
Only briefly.
But Adrian saw it.
“I was with Ethan.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Her expression changed.
“Adrian, what is this?”
He looked at her.
“This is me asking my wife a question.”
Victoria smiled.
“You’re grieving. I understand.”
That sentence irritated him.
Because it was the same sentence everyone used when they wanted to make him doubt himself.
“You’re stressed.”
“You’re emotional.”
“You’re not thinking clearly.”
But Adrian was thinking clearly.
For the first time in months.
The investigator’s report arrived that afternoon.
Adrian opened it alone in his office.
The first pages were normal.
Victoria Blackwood.
Born Victoria Hale.
Private school.
College.
Charity work.
No criminal record.
No obvious problems.
Almost too clean.
Then he reached page eighteen.
And everything changed.
Victoria Hale had a different name before.
A different identity.
A different life.
She had been connected to a company called Hale Medical Solutions.
A company that collapsed after a financial investigation.
The person who exposed the company?
Claire Blackwood.
Adrian’s first wife.
Adrian stared at the report.
Claire had never told him.
Why?
He kept reading.
Six months before her death, Claire had discovered financial fraud connected to Hale Medical.
She had planned to report it.
Then she died.
Adrian leaned back.
His hands became cold.
Victoria had a reason.
A motive.
But he needed proof.
Not suspicion.
Proof.
That evening, Adrian returned home earlier than expected.
Again.
And this time…
he watched.
He stayed outside the house.
Through the window, he saw Victoria standing in the living room.
Ethan was sitting on the floor.
Holding Claire’s old photo.
“Give me that.”
Victoria’s voice was low.
Ethan held the picture tighter.
“No.”
Adrian froze.
“No?”
The little boy shook his head.
“It’s Mommy.”
Victoria walked closer.
“You don’t need that anymore.”
“Yes, I do.”
“She’s gone, Ethan.”
“I know.”
“Then stop acting like she’s coming back.”
Ethan’s eyes filled with tears.
“She told me Daddy would believe me.”
Adrian stopped breathing.
Victoria froze.
“What did you say?”
Ethan looked frightened.
“Nothing.”
“No.”
Her voice changed.
“What did your mother tell you?”
The boy backed away.
“She said if anything happened, I should tell Daddy.”
Adrian entered immediately.
“Tell Daddy what?”
Both of them turned.
Victoria’s face went pale.
Ethan ran toward him.
“Daddy!”
Adrian caught him.
“What did Mommy tell you?”
The boy looked at Victoria.
Then whispered:
“She said not to trust her.”
Adrian looked at Victoria.
“Who?”
Ethan pointed.
“Her.”
Victoria immediately started crying.
“Adrian, this is ridiculous.”
But Adrian noticed something.
She was not asking Ethan if he was okay.
She was not comforting him.
She was protecting herself.
That was when something inside Adrian broke.
Because he realized…
Victoria had never once looked at Ethan like a mother.
Only like a responsibility.
That night, Adrian took Ethan to a hotel.
For the first time since Claire died, he kept his son away from Victoria.
Ethan slept beside him.
Holding the same toy airplane from the cemetery.
At midnight, Ethan woke up.
“Daddy?”
“I’m here.”
“Are you mad at Mommy?”
Adrian froze.
“No.”
“Are you mad at me?”
The question hurt more than anything.
“Why would I be mad at you?”
Ethan looked down.
“Because I told.”
Adrian sat beside him.
“Told what?”
The boy whispered:
“About Victoria.”
Adrian gently held his hand.
“Ethan, you did the right thing.”
“But Mommy told me not to tell unless I had proof.”
Adrian looked at him.
“What proof?”
Ethan reached under his pillow.
And pulled out a small object.
A necklace.
Claire’s necklace.
“She gave this to me before she left.”
Adrian stared.
Claire never took that necklace off.
Never.
“What’s inside?”
Ethan looked confused.
“She said Daddy would know.”
Adrian examined it.
There was a tiny hidden compartment.
Inside…
was a small memory card.
Adrian’s heart raced.
He connected it to his computer.
One video file appeared.
Created:
The night Claire died.
He clicked play.
Claire appeared on screen.
Her face was tense.
Her voice was shaking.
“Adrian…”
A pause.
“If you’re seeing this, something happened to me.”
Adrian covered his mouth.
Claire continued.
“I don’t know who I can trust anymore.”
She looked toward the camera.
“I found out Victoria didn’t enter our lives by accident.”
Adrian froze.
Then Claire said the sentence that changed everything:
“She came here because of Ethan.”
The screen went black.
Adrian stared at the frozen image.
Because now he understood.
Victoria was not only connected to Claire’s death.
She had a reason to get close to Ethan.
A reason nobody had discovered.
And the next morning…
Adrian would uncover the secret hidden inside Victoria’s past.
A secret involving money.
A fake identity.
And a plan to take everything his son was supposed to inherit.
May you like
Mình sẽ viết tiếp liền mạch CHAPTER 3 → CHAPTER 10, không hỏi lại, giữ đúng hướng trả thù gia đình mạnh + nhiều twist + Adrian lật mặt Victoria và cả thế lực đứng sau.
Do giới hạn độ dài một tin nhắn, mình sẽ chia thành các phần liên tiếp cho tới hết Chapter 10.
