The Billionaire Came Home Early and Saw What His Fiancée Was Doing to His Baby
“STOP! YOU’RE HURTING HIM!”
Lily Carter’s scream tore through the Blackwood mansion.
Fourteen-month-old Ethan was on the marble floor, sobbing so hard he could barely breathe.
And Serena Vale had his tiny arm twisted behind him.
“Please!” Lily dropped to her knees. “He’s a baby!”
Serena looked down at her as if she were something dirty on the bottom of an expensive shoe.
Her silk dress was perfect.
Her hair was perfect.
Her diamond engagement ring caught the afternoon light.
Only her eyes looked ugly.
Cold.
Flat.
Annoyed.
“He needs to learn,” Serena said.
“He’s fourteen months old!”
“He threw food at me.”
“He dropped a spoon!”
Serena tightened her grip.
Ethan screamed.
Something inside Lily snapped.
She lunged forward.
“Let him go!”
Serena shoved her so hard that Lily’s shoulder slammed against the leg of a dining chair.
Pain exploded through her back.
But Lily crawled right back.
“Please, Serena. Please.”
Serena finally released the baby.
Ethan collapsed against Lily’s chest.
His left arm hung strangely at his side.
Lily’s stomach turned.
“Oh God.”
She touched his wrist gently.
Ethan screamed again.
“You hurt him.”
Serena rolled her eyes.
“He’s dramatic.”
“He’s injured!”
Lily reached for her phone.
Serena kicked it away.
The phone skidded under the dining table.
Lily stared up at her.
“What are you doing?”
Serena stepped closer.
“You are going to calm down.”
“I’m calling Mr. Blackwood.”
“No.”
“He needs a doctor.”
“And he’ll get one.”
Lily hugged Ethan tighter.
“Then let me call.”
Serena crouched in front of her.
The smile she gave Lily was quiet and terrifying.
“You really don’t understand how this works, do you?”
Lily said nothing.
Serena glanced toward the security camera mounted in the corner of the ceiling.
The little green light was off.
It had been on ten minutes earlier.
Lily noticed.
So did Serena.
“Victor loves me,” Serena whispered. “We’re getting married in six weeks.”
Lily’s throat tightened.
Serena tapped one manicured finger against Lily’s cheek.
“You’re an employee.”
“Don’t touch me.”
Serena smiled wider.
“A nanny. A cheap one, actually.”
Lily’s eyes burned.
“You think anyone will believe a cheap nanny over me?”
Neither woman saw the man standing beyond the open doorway.
Victor Blackwood had come home three hours early.
His private jet had landed ahead of schedule.
He had told no one.
He had entered through the west entrance because he wanted to surprise his son.
Instead, he had heard screaming.
Now the billionaire stood in the shadows with one hand still gripping his briefcase.
He had heard enough to make his blood run cold.
But not enough to understand everything.
Then Ethan cried again.
Victor stepped into the room.
“What happened here?”
Serena froze.
Lily’s face went pale.
Victor’s eyes moved from his fiancée to the nanny.
Then to his son.
Ethan’s cheeks were wet.
His arm was swelling.
Victor dropped the briefcase.
“My God.”
He rushed forward and took Ethan carefully.
The baby screamed when his left arm moved.
Victor’s face changed.
He looked at Lily.
Then at Serena.
“What happened to his arm?”
Serena answered before Lily could speak.
“She did it.”
Lily stared at her.
“What?”
Serena pointed at Lily.
“She lost her temper. I walked in and found her grabbing him.”
“You liar!”
“Lily,” Victor snapped.
The single word silenced the room.
For one horrible second, Lily saw exactly what Serena had predicted.
Doubt.
It was there in Victor’s eyes.
Not certainty.
Not accusation.
But doubt.
And that hurt almost as badly.
Lily slowly stood.
“I did not hurt him.”
Serena pressed a hand to her chest.
“She’s trying to protect herself.”
“You shut off the camera!” Lily cried.
Serena looked offended.
“I don’t even know how to operate the security system.”
Victor looked toward the corner.
The camera was dark.
His jaw tightened.
“Why is that camera off?”
Nobody answered.
Victor pulled out his phone.
“I’m calling Dr. Patel. Ethan is going to the hospital.”
Serena moved toward him.
“Victor, I can explain—”
“Don’t.”
Something in his voice stopped her.
He gently handed Ethan back to Lily for half a second while he picked up the diaper bag.
Then he saw something beneath the dining table.
A small black object.
Barely larger than a thumb.
Victor bent down.
It was a digital voice recorder.
A red light was blinking.
Recording.
Serena’s face drained of color.
Lily stared at it.
“I’ve never seen that before.”
Victor picked it up.
He looked at Serena.
She took one step backward.
“Victor…”
He pressed PLAY.
At first, there was static.
Then Ethan’s cry.
Then Lily’s voice.
“Please! He’s a baby!”
A few seconds later, Serena’s voice came through clearly.
Cold.
Mocking.
“You think anyone will believe a cheap nanny over me?”
Nobody moved.
The recorder continued.
Serena’s recorded voice filled the massive dining room.
“Victor loves me. You’re replaceable.”
Victor stopped the recording.
His eyes rose slowly.
Serena’s lips trembled.
“It’s not what it sounds like.”
Victor stared at her.
“Then tell me what it sounds like.”
Before she could answer, a noise came from the staircase.
A gasp.
They all turned.
Maria, one of the housemaids, stood at the top of the stairs.
She was gripping the railing with both hands.
Her face was wet with tears.
“Sir…”
Victor frowned.
“Maria?”
She looked at Serena.
Then at Ethan.
Fear took over her face.
“This wasn’t the first time.”
Serena’s expression changed instantly.
Not shock.
Not confusion.
Rage.
“Maria, shut your mouth.”
Victor slowly turned toward the woman he was supposed to marry.
Then back to the trembling maid.
“What do you mean,” he asked, “this wasn’t the first time?”
Maria swallowed.
And whispered four words that changed everything.
May you like
“There are other children.”
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