Chapter 14 - The Last Blackwood Betrayal
Victor touched the blood on his shirt.
The bullet had grazed his ribs.
He remained standing.
Lily looked toward the broken side door.
Damon had escaped into the gardens.
The commissioner ordered his men outside.
Thomas checked the table.
“The transfer is gone.”
“It was unsigned,” Lily said.
Thomas shook his head.
“Your signature was already on the final page.”
Lily stared at him.
“I never signed it.”
“You signed the medical consent at the hospital.”
“They copied your signature.”
Victor’s expression hardened.
“Can Damon use it?”
“If he reaches a Blackwood bank before we invalidate the document.”
The commissioner contacted every branch.
One location did not respond.
The private Blackwood bank beneath the old courthouse.
Victor headed toward the exit.
Lily followed with Ethan.
“No.”
Victor turned.
“You are staying with the police.”
“Damon needs my identity verification.”
“That is exactly why you stay.”
“He may already have enough.”
Victor looked at Ethan.
The baby clung to Lily’s coat.
“You cannot take him.”
“I will not leave him here with another stranger.”
Serena was taken away by paramedics.
As the stretcher passed, she opened her eyes.
“The old courthouse has a tunnel.”
Victor leaned closer.
“Where does it lead?”
“To the river.”
“Damon built it for emergencies.”
The ambulance doors closed.
Victor, Lily, and the commissioner reached the courthouse before dawn.
The building appeared empty.
The underground bank vault stood open.
Damon was inside.
Stacks of documents burned in a metal bin.
The forged transfer lay on the desk.
He had not completed the transaction.
Victor raised his weapon.
“Step away.”
Damon laughed.
“You brought the child.”
Lily stood behind the commissioner.
“You lost.”
“No.”
Damon held up a second document.
“This is Elena’s original trust.”
Thomas had been wrong.
Damon had found it inside the bank archives.
He looked at Victor.
“Elena named Lily as acting trustee.”
“But she added one condition.”
He read aloud.
“If Lily Harper is unwilling or unable to serve, control passes to Ethan’s surviving biological parent.”
Lily’s blood turned cold.
“His parents are dead.”
Damon smiled.
“His mother is alive.”
A woman stepped from the shadows.
She was young.
Terrified.
And holding a gun with shaking hands.
Margaret whispered her name.
“Anna.”
Lily looked at her mother.
“You know her?”
“She was the girl who dated Noah’s twin.”
Anna stared at Ethan.
“They told me my baby died.”
Lily looked at Damon.
“You stole him from her.”
“Reeves did.”
“I simply found her.”
Anna’s gun remained pointed toward Lily.
Damon spoke softly.
“She wants her son.”
Lily looked at Ethan.
The baby stared at Anna without recognition.
Anna began crying.
“Give him to me.”
Lily’s arms tightened instinctively.
Then she forced herself to relax.
This woman had also been robbed.
Lily stepped forward.
“His name is Ethan.”
Anna shook her head.
“I named him Samuel.”
“He sleeps with a blue blanket.”
“He hates mashed carrots.”
“He reaches for the moon above his crib.”
Anna’s face crumpled.
Lily continued.
“He wakes when doors slam.”
“He holds two fingers when he is frightened.”
Anna lowered the gun slightly.
“His father did that.”
Damon’s expression changed.
He was losing control.
“Take the child.”
Anna looked at him.
“You said Lily bought him.”
“I said what you needed to hear.”
Victor moved closer.
“Damon used you.”
Anna turned the weapon toward him.
“Stay back.”
Victor stopped.
“You deserve the truth.”
Damon reached for her gun.
Anna fired.
The bullet struck the ceiling.
The commissioner moved.
Damon grabbed Ethan from Lily’s arms during the confusion.
He ran toward the tunnel.
Lily chased him.
Victor followed despite his injuries.
The tunnel ended at a narrow river dock.
A boat engine roared below.
Damon held Ethan over the edge.
“Stop.”
Victor froze.
Lily stepped in front of him.
“Damon.”
“You think I will not do it?”
“I think you wanted to be loved.”
His face twisted.
“Do not speak to me like you understand.”
“You spent your whole life beside a family you thought should have been yours.”
“It was mine.”
“No.”
“You could have had a family.”
“Elena treated you like a brother.”
“Victor trusted you.”
“Ethan would have loved you.”
Damon’s arms trembled.
“You chose ownership instead.”
Victor slowly lowered his weapon.
“Give him to Lily.”
Damon looked at Victor.
“You would forgive me?”
“No.”
Victor’s answer was immediate.
“But the child does not pay for our choices.”
Ethan began crying.
Damon looked down at him.
For one second, his grip loosened.
Lily moved forward.
Damon stepped backward onto the wet edge.
His shoe slipped.
He fell toward the river.
Ethan flew from his arms.
Lily caught the child.
Victor caught Damon’s wrist.
Damon hung above the water.
He looked up at Victor.
“Why?”
Victor strained to hold him.
“Because I am not you.”
Damon’s free hand reached inside his coat.
He pulled out a small knife.
Lily shouted.
Damon stabbed Victor’s hand.
Victor lost his grip.
Damon fell into the river.
The current pulled him beneath the dock.
Officers searched the water for hours.
They found his coat.
They found the knife.
They never found his body.
At sunrise, Anna stood beside Lily.
Ethan slept between them.
“I want him back,” Anna whispered.
Lily looked at the young woman.
“He deserves to know you.”
Anna nodded.
“But?”
“But he also deserves stability.”
Victor approached with his bandaged hand.
“The court will decide legal custody.”
Anna looked frightened.
Victor continued.
“I will not use my name to silence you.”
“You will have attorneys.”
“You will have protection.”
“And you will have access to your son while the truth is established.”
Anna began crying again.
Lily looked toward the river.
Damon was gone.
Reeves was in custody.
Serena would face trial.
The network’s records were being recovered.
But the most difficult battle remained.
May you like
It would not be fought with guns.
It would be fought over who had the right to call Ethan their child.
