CHAPTER 5 – The Woman Who Came Back From the Dead
The abandoned train station fell into complete silence.
Even the men in black stepped aside.
The woman slowly stepped out of the limousine.
Elegant.
Confident.
Dressed in a black designer suit.
Her silver heels clicked against the concrete floor.
She removed her sunglasses...
And Ethan's entire world collapsed.
"...Sophia?"
His voice barely escaped his lips.
It couldn't be.
Eight years ago, Sophia Hart—the attorney who had handled Ethan and Lily's legal documents—had died in a car explosion.
At least...
That's what everyone had been told.
Sophia smiled calmly.
"Hello, Ethan."
"It's been a long time."
Noah looked confused.
"Dad... who is she?"
Ethan couldn't answer.
His memories crashed together.
Sophia had been the last person to see Lily before she disappeared.
She had also been the one who delivered the devastating news:
"Lily is gone. She doesn't want to see you ever again."
Ethan had believed every word.
Now...
She was standing right in front of him.
Alive.
"You Lied To Me."
Ethan walked toward her.
Every step was filled with eight years of anger.
"You told me Lily abandoned me."
"You told me my family was over."
"You watched me destroy myself."
Sophia didn't flinch.
"I did."
The words stunned everyone.
"But I never had a choice."
Ethan's fists clenched.
"You always had a choice."
Sophia slowly shook her head.
"No."
"Because someone else was holding the gun."
The room went silent.
Noah looked frightened.
"What gun?"
Sophia looked down at him with sadness.
"The kind that doesn't always shoot bullets."
The Video
Sophia pointed toward the videotape inside the box.
"Play it."
The old station caretaker led everyone into a dusty office where an ancient television still worked.
The tape began.
Static filled the screen.
Then...
Lily appeared.
She looked much younger.
But exhausted.
Her eyes were swollen from crying.
She smiled weakly into the camera.
"If you're watching this..."
"...then I couldn't stay alive long enough to tell you myself."
Ethan broke down immediately.
He reached toward the screen as if he could touch her.
"Lily..."
On the recording, Lily held baby Noah in her arms.
"He just fell asleep," she whispered with a smile.
"He looks exactly like you."
Tears rolled down Ethan's face.
Then Lily's smile disappeared.
"There are people listening to every phone call I make."
"There are cameras outside my apartment."
"I've tried to run..."
"...but they always find me."
Everyone in the room exchanged nervous looks.
Lily continued.
"Ethan..."
"I never stopped loving you."
"I never chose to leave."
"I was forced."
Noah covered his mouth.
His mother had never told him this.
Then Lily looked directly into the camera.
"If anything happens to me..."
"...don't blame your mother."
The room froze.
Everyone turned toward Victoria's investigation files.
What?
Lily continued.
"Victoria only followed orders."
Sophia slowly lowered her head.
She already knew what was coming.
Lily whispered the name no one expected.
"Your grandfather..."
"...Arthur Blackwood."
Ethan's blood ran cold.
"No..."
His grandfather had died twelve years earlier.
The founder of Blackwood Industries.
A respected billionaire.
A national hero.
Lily kept speaking.
"He built his empire on secrets."
"When he discovered I was pregnant..."
"...he promised that no woman from my family would ever become a Blackwood."
"He had people everywhere."
"Lawyers."
"Police officers."
"Judges."
"Private investigators."
"He said if I ever contacted you again..."
"...Noah would disappear forever."
The television suddenly filled with static.
Then...
A hidden camera recording appeared.
The date:
Eight years ago.
It showed Arthur Blackwood sitting in his office.
Across from him...
Victoria.
Sophia.
And another man.
Arthur calmly slid a suitcase filled with cash across the desk.
One sentence could be heard clearly.
"Separate them forever. The boy must never inherit this company."
Ethan staggered backward.
His grandfather...
had orchestrated everything.
Victoria burst into tears.
"I tried to stop him!"
Sophia nodded.
"She did."
"But Arthur controlled every cent of the family's fortune."
"If she disobeyed..."
"...he threatened to destroy all of us."
Noah looked at Ethan.
"So Grandma wasn't the monster?"
Ethan couldn't answer.
Years of hatred toward his mother suddenly became uncertainty.
But before anyone could process the truth...
The television screen flickered one final time.
Another message from Lily appeared.
This one had clearly been recorded just days before her death.
She looked directly into the camera.
"If you're seeing this..."
"...it means Arthur is dead."
"But someone even more dangerous has taken his place."
The screen went black.
A single line of white text appeared.
"Trust no one wearing the Blackwood name."
At that exact moment...
One of the men in black received a phone call.
He answered.
His expression changed instantly.
He slowly looked at Ethan.
Then quietly said,
"Sir..."
"...the new Chairman has arrived."
Ethan frowned.
"What Chairman?"
The man swallowed hard.
"He owns Blackwood Industries now..."
"...and according to the legal documents filed this morning..."
May you like
"...it's not you."
To Be Continued…
