Chapter 14 - THE DAY SERENA FACED LILY AGAIN
Four months after the marble foyer incident, Lily walked into court.
Serena Montigue was already seated at the defense table.
Their eyes met.
Serena looked different.
No designer gown.
No diamonds.
No carefully styled photographs.
Her hair was pulled back.
Her face looked thinner.
But her eyes remained the same.
Cold.
Calculating.
Lily’s stomach tightened.
Victor sat three rows behind the prosecution.
Ethan was not there.
Victor had refused to turn his son into a courtroom spectacle.
Lily had agreed.
When Lily took the witness stand, Serena watched her with a faint smile.
The prosecutor began gently.
“Miss Carter, how long did you work as Ethan Blackwood’s nanny?”
“Six months before the incident.”
“Did you care for him daily?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever intentionally injure him?”
“No.”
“Did you ever steal jewelry from Serena Montigue?”
“No.”
“Did you ever leave Ethan’s crib rail unlocked?”
“No.”
The prosecutor displayed video.
Adrian hiding the bracelet.
Serena unlocking the crib.
Serena tampering with Ethan’s bottle.
Jurors watched silently.
Then came the foyer photographs.
Lily’s bruises.
Ethan’s fracture.
The prosecutor asked, “What did Miss Montigue tell you while you were on the floor?”
Lily looked at Serena.
“She said nobody would believe a cheap nanny.”
“Did you believe her?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because powerful people had already believed her before.”
Victor lowered his eyes.
The prosecutor continued.
“What made you crawl toward Ethan anyway?”
Lily’s voice shook.
“Because he was crying.”
“That’s all?”
“He was a baby.”
The simplicity silenced the room.
“He couldn’t protect himself.”
Serena’s attorney approached on cross-examination.
“Miss Carter, you became emotionally attached to Ethan, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Very attached?”
“Yes.”
“So attached you considered him almost your own?”
Lily knew where this was going.
“I love him.”
The attorney nodded.
“Could that emotional attachment have caused resentment toward my client, who was going to become Ethan’s stepmother?”
“No.”
“You never felt jealous?”
“No.”
“You never wanted Miss Montigue removed from the Blackwood household?”
“After I saw her hurt Ethan, yes.”
The attorney smiled.
“So you admit you wanted her gone.”
“Yes.”
Victor watched Serena’s smile widen.
The attorney continued.
“Did you develop personal feelings for Victor Blackwood?”
The courtroom shifted.
Lily stared at him.
The prosecutor objected.
The judge allowed limited questioning.
Lily’s cheeks warmed.
“Victor was my employer.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Serena leaned forward.
Lily looked toward Victor.
He did not rescue her.
He simply met her eyes.
Tell the truth.
That was what his expression said.
Lily turned back.
“Eventually, yes.”
Murmurs spread through the courtroom.
Serena smiled triumphantly.
The attorney pounced.
“So you had motive to remove his fiancée.”
“No.”
“You wanted her position.”
“No.”
“You just admitted feelings for Mr. Blackwood.”
“I developed those feelings after Serena was arrested.”
The lawyer paused.
Lily continued.
“When she hurt Ethan, I wasn’t thinking about Victor.”
She looked at Serena.
“I was thinking about a little boy whose arm she was breaking.”
The courtroom became silent again.
The attorney tried another approach.
“You secretly recorded Miss Montigue.”
“No.”
“You removed a memory card.”
“Yes.”
“So you tampered with surveillance evidence.”
“I protected it.”
“By hiding it in your coat?”
“Yes.”
“Why not immediately hand it to Mr. Blackwood?”
“Because I didn’t know who I could trust.”
The lawyer smiled.
“You’re suggesting Victor Blackwood himself was untrustworthy?”
Lily looked at Victor.
Then answered honestly.
“At that time, yes.”
The smile disappeared from the attorney’s face.
Victor felt the truth.
Accepted it.
Lily continued.
“He had believed Serena before. Adrian controlled security. My brother had been threatened. I was scared.”
The prosecutor later asked one final question.
“If you could return to that foyer, knowing everything that happened afterward, would you still crawl toward Ethan?”
Lily’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
“Even knowing Serena would kick you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Lily looked toward Victor.
“Because sometimes protecting someone means moving toward them even when you’re terrified.”
Serena looked away first.
Weeks later, plea negotiations collapsed.
The video evidence was overwhelming.
Adrian accepted a lengthy sentence after cooperating in several investigations connected to the Blackwood network.
Serena refused meaningful responsibility until the final days.
Then Paula Mercer, the former nurse, testified.
The mechanic testified.
Rosa testified.
Marco testified.
Damian testified.
Even Gabriel provided a sworn deposition related to the older conspiracy.
Serena finally understood what had happened.
The helpless nanny she believed she could silence had become the first thread.
Lily pulled.
And the entire lie unraveled.
On sentencing day Serena asked to speak.
She stood before the court.
“I made mistakes.”
Lily felt Victor stiffen.
Serena continued.
“I was under pressure from Adrian Cole.”
The judge’s expression remained unmoved.
“You were recorded abusing a fourteen-month-old child when Mr. Cole was not present.”
Serena swallowed.
“I was not myself.”
The judge responded, “The child was himself. A child.”
Serena had nothing else.
Outside court, reporters shouted Victor’s name.
He ignored them.
Lily walked beside him.
A journalist called, “Mr. Blackwood, is Lily Carter still your nanny?”
Victor stopped.
Lily looked at him.
He surprised everyone.
“No.”
Lily blinked.
The reporter shouted, “Why not?”
Victor looked at Lily.
“Because nobody who saved my son should spend the rest of her life being introduced only by her job.”
The cameras exploded with flashes.
Lily stared at him.
“What does that mean?” she whispered.
Victor smiled faintly.
“It means you resigned last week.”
“I remember.”
“Then why are you looking shocked?”
“Because you just announced it to Chicago.”
“You dislike publicity?”
“I work for a mafia boss.”
“Former nanny.”
She rolled her eyes.
Victor laughed.
The photograph appeared everywhere.
Not because of Serena.
Because Victor Blackwood was smiling.
That evening they returned to the mansion.
The foyer had been renovated.
Victor ordered the section of marble where Ethan had been injured removed entirely.
In its place was warm oak flooring.
Lily stood there quietly.
“You changed it.”
“I hated the marble.”
“You loved the marble.”
“I developed better taste.”
Ethan ran unsteadily across the new floor.
His arm had healed completely.
“Li-Li!”
Lily crouched.
He crashed into her arms.
Victor watched.
Then Lily stood and found him closer than expected.
“What?”
He took something from his pocket.
Not a ring.
A key.
“What’s this?”
“Front door.”
“I already have a key.”
“That one was employee access.”
Lily looked at him.
“And this?”
“Home.”
Her eyes filled.
“Victor.”
“No pressure.”
She smiled through tears.
“You’re terrible at saying emotional things.”
“I’m improving.”
“Slowly.”
“Still counts.”
Lily took the key.
Victor touched her cheek.
He waited.
She leaned toward him.
Their first kiss was quiet.
No ballroom.
No reporters.
No dramatic music.
Just Ethan laughing behind them because he had discovered he could throw wooden blocks.
Lily pulled back.
“That was romantic.”
Victor glanced at Ethan.
“I planned the blocks.”
“Of course.”
Then Marco entered.
Victor sighed.
“What now?”
Marco smiled.
“For once? Nothing.”
Victor looked confused.
“No emergency?”
“No.”
“No conspiracy?”
“No.”
“No mysterious letters?”
“No.”
Victor nodded.
“I don’t trust it.”
Lily laughed.
Ethan threw another block.
It hit Victor’s shoe.
Victor looked down.
“There it is.”
May you like
For once, the most dangerous thing in the Blackwood mansion was a toddler with poor aim.
And Victor Blackwood could live with that.
