Chapter 5 - THE WAREHOUSE
Victor did not go to the warehouse alone.
Six vehicles surrounded the building before sunrise.
Cole entered first.
The place appeared abandoned.
Dust covered the floor.
Broken windows rattled in the wind.
Then one of the guards found fresh tire tracks.
Another found cigarette ash.
Someone had been there recently.
Victor moved deeper inside.
A metal door stood at the end of the corridor.
It was locked.
Cole forced it open.
Inside was a small office.
A folding table sat beneath a hanging light.
Photographs covered one wall.
Victor stopped.
Every photograph was of Ethan.
Ethan at the park.
Ethan leaving the pediatrician.
Ethan asleep near a window.
Ethan in Lily’s arms.
Some photographs had been taken months earlier.
Victor’s stomach tightened.
Someone had been watching his son long before Serena’s attack.
Cole opened a filing cabinet.
“Boss.”
Inside were copies of Victor’s financial records.
Trust documents.
Insurance information.
A photograph of Victor’s late wife, Isabella.
And a document labeled BLACKWOOD SUCCESSION TRUST.
Victor opened it.
The trust had been created after Ethan’s birth.
If Victor died before Ethan turned twenty-five, controlling interest in several legitimate Blackwood companies would transfer into a protected trust for Ethan.
Until Ethan reached adulthood, the trustee would exercise temporary control.
Victor already knew that.
But someone had highlighted one clause.
If Victor married, his legal spouse could petition to become Ethan’s guardian if Victor became incapacitated.
Cole understood immediately.
“Serena.”
Victor’s face hardened.
“She wasn’t marrying me for my money.”
“She was marrying me for access.”
A noise came from the hallway.
Everyone turned.
A man ran toward the rear exit.
Cole chased him.
Victor followed.
The man reached the alley.
Two guards blocked him.
He stopped.
Victor recognized him.
Marcus Vale.
His former financial adviser.
A man Victor had fired three years earlier after discovering missing money.
Marcus smiled.
“Been a long time.”
Victor stepped closer.
“Who is M?”
Marcus laughed.
“You already know.”
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
“Then say it.”
Marcus looked at the men surrounding him.
“You think Serena planned this?”
“She couldn’t plan breakfast without checking which camera was watching.”
Victor grabbed Marcus by the coat.
“Who?”
Marcus leaned closer.
“Ask who introduced you to Serena.”
Victor froze.
A memory surfaced.
A charity dinner.
Two years earlier.
Serena standing beside an older man.
The man who had encouraged Victor to meet her.
The man who had told Victor Ethan needed a mother.
Victor released Marcus.
“No.”
Marcus smiled.
“There it is.”
Cole looked between them.
“Boss?”
Victor stepped backward.
Marcus spoke the name.
“Michael Blackwood.”
Victor’s older brother.
May you like
The brother who had disappeared from Chicago five years earlier.
The brother everyone believed was dead.
