Chapter 1 - The Blinking Red Light
"Please, you are breaking his arm!" Lily screamed as fourteen-month-old Ethan cried helplessly on the cold marble floor.
Serena stood over them with a look of pure disgust on her elegant face.
She was supposed to marry Ethan’s billionaire father in just six weeks.
Instead, she was twisting the arm of a defenseless toddler just to prove a point to the hired help.
Serena leaned down, looking Lily straight in the eyes with a chilling smile.
"Who do you think he will believe?" Serena whispered maliciously.
"His future wife, or a cheap, replaceable nanny?" Serena taunted.
What Serena did not know was that Victor Blackwood had come home hours early from his corporate trip.
He was standing entirely still in the shadows of the grand hallway.
He was watching the woman he loved reveal her true, monstrous nature.
When Victor noticed his son’s injured arm and Lily weeping on the floor, he finally stepped into the light.
He asked only one terrifyingly calm question.
"What exactly happened here?" Victor demanded.
Serena immediately dropped her cruel posture and pointed a trembling finger at Lily.
"She did it, Victor, she attacked him!" Serena cried, her eyes filling with fake tears.
For a moment, nobody spoke as the heavy silence swallowed the mansion.
Then Victor noticed something hidden underneath the mahogany console table.
It was a tiny black digital recorder.
The small red light on the device was still blinking.
Victor walked over, picked it up, and pressed the play button.
Serena’s own arrogant voice filled the massive room.
"You think anyone will believe a cheap nanny over me?" the recording echoed loudly.
Serena's face went completely white as her perfect lie shattered.
Victor glared at her, realizing he had almost married a sociopath.
But just when Victor thought he had discovered the absolute truth, a terrified housemaid appeared at the top of the staircase.
She was crying and shaking violently.
"Sir, this was not the first time," the maid whispered.
Victor turned toward the stairs, his heart pounding with dread.
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The maid pointed a shaking finger toward the locked basement door.
"You need to see what she has been hiding down there before it is too late," the maid warned.
