Chapter 3 - The Woman Behind the Curtain
Blackwood security searched every room.
Every employee was questioned.
Phones were collected.
Vehicles were searched.
Even the kitchen staff were separated.
Maya sat in the library with Adrien, surrounded by old legal books and security monitors.
“You suspect Vivian,” Maya said.
Adrien didn't answer.
“That means yes.”
“I suspect everyone.”
“You trust nobody?”
“Trust is expensive.”
“And distrust is?”
“Free.”
Maya looked at the monitor showing Lily's room.
“She could have died twice.”
Adrien's expression darkened.
“You saved her twice.”
“I only noticed the IV.”
“Exactly.”
Maya leaned forward.
“Who has access to medical supplies?”
“The hospital team.”
“Your staff?”
“Limited access.”
“Your family?”
Adrien went silent.
Maya studied him.
“Someone is lying.”
The door opened.
Damon Blackwood entered.
He was Adrien's cousin.
Tall.
Charming.
Smiling.
He wore a navy suit and carried a leather folder.
“Maya Sterling.”
She nodded.
“Damon.”
“You've become famous in this house.”
“I'd rather not.”
He laughed.
“I like you.”
Adrien's voice was flat.
“Leave.”
Damon looked amused.
“I only came to deliver records.”
He placed the folder on the desk.
Maya opened it.
Financial documents.
Medical payments.
Security contracts.
She noticed something.
“Why does Blackwood Holdings have a payment here to Northstar Medical?”
Damon's smile froze.
“An old vendor.”
“The account was opened last month.”
He recovered quickly.
“Administrative error.”
Maya flipped another page.
The same company appeared again.
She looked at Adrien.
“Have you seen this?”
“No.”
Damon's smile disappeared.
Maya pointed.
“This company is receiving payments from three Blackwood subsidiaries.”
Adrien took the folder.
His expression changed.
“Who authorized this?”
Damon shrugged.
“I'd have to check.”
Maya looked at him.
“You should.”
That night, Maya discovered something even stranger.
A security camera in the east hallway had been disabled for nine minutes.
Exactly nine minutes before Lily collapsed.
She showed Adrien.
“Who did it?”
The security chief shook his head.
“Only four people have the access code.”
“Names,” Adrien said.
The chief hesitated.
“Mr. Blackwood.”
Adrien nodded.
“Vivian Blackwood.”
Another nod.
“Damon Blackwood.”
Maya looked at him.
“And Lily.”
Adrien frowned.
“My sister would never.”
“I know.”
They looked at the monitor.
Maya suddenly remembered something from the alley.
Lily had not smelled like alcohol.
She had smelled like roses.
Strong roses.
“Adrien.”
“Yes?”
“Does Lily use perfume?”
“Usually.”
“What kind?”
“White rose.”
Maya's eyes narrowed.
She remembered the nightclub.
The alley.
The rain.
A man walking away.
She had ignored him because she was focused on Lily.
But there had been a scent.
Not white rose.
Something heavier.
Bitter.
Chemical.
“Someone was near her.”
Adrien immediately stood.
“Where?”
“The alley.”
“Describe him.”
“Gray coat. Black umbrella. I only saw his back.”
“Anything else?”
“He had a silver ring.”
Adrien froze.
Maya noticed.
“You know it.”
Adrien's jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
“A Blackwood ring.”
Maya felt cold.
“Who owns one?”
Adrien's answer came slowly.
“Every member of my family.”
The following morning, Lily was strong enough to sit up.
She told Maya she remembered being at the nightclub.
A party.
Music.
Champagne.
Then she remembered someone calling her name.
A woman.
“I thought it was Aunt Vivian,” Lily said.
Maya sat beside her.
“What happened next?”
“She handed me a drink.”
Adrien stood on the opposite side of the room.
His face hardened.
“What kind of drink?”
“Champagne.”
“Did you drink it?”
“I took one sip.”
Then Lily looked terrified.
“I remember tasting something bitter.”
Adrien's hand tightened around the back of the chair.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“I couldn't remember.”
Maya looked at her.
“Did you see who gave you the glass?”
Lily closed her eyes.
“I saw a bracelet.”
“What kind?”
“Gold.”
Vivian wore gold bracelets.
So did several other women at the party.
But Lily suddenly whispered:
“There was a blue stone.”
Adrien looked at Maya.
Vivian's signature bracelet had a blue sapphire.
An hour later, Vivian was summoned to the library.
She arrived smiling.
“You wanted to see me?”
Adrien placed the medical evidence on the desk.
“Lily said you gave her the champagne.”
Vivian laughed.
“Your sister was confused.”
Maya watched her carefully.
“Maybe.”
Vivian looked at Maya.
“You're surprisingly involved for a stranger.”
Maya replied calmly.
“I became involved when your sister almost died.”
Vivian's smile vanished.
“You don't know this family.”
“No.”
“But you will.”
She walked toward the door.
Then stopped.
“Be careful, Ms. Sterling.”
Maya met her eyes.
“Of what?”
Vivian leaned closer.
“Sometimes the person who rescues you is the person who wants to own you.”
She left.
Maya turned toward Adrien.
“Was that a threat?”
“Yes.”
“Then she's hiding something.”
Adrien nodded.
He looked at Maya for several seconds.
“You're afraid.”
“Yes.”
“Then why stay?”
Maya glanced at Lily.
“Because I don't leave people in danger.”
He stepped closer.
“You should.”
“Why?”
“Because people who stay near me get hurt.”
Maya looked into his eyes.
“And people who walk away?”
Adrien's expression darkened.
“They regret what they didn't discover.”
That night, Maya received an anonymous text.
YOU MISSED THE EXAM TO SAVE THE WRONG BLACKWOOD.
She stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
YOU THINK ADRIEN IS YOUR PROTECTOR.
A third followed.
ASK HIM WHY HE NEVER SAVED HIS MOTHER.
Maya's heart stopped.
She looked toward the door.
Adrien had never mentioned his mother.
And when Maya searched the Blackwood family records, she found something shocking.
Adrien's mother had not died from illness.
She had died in a house fire.
Fifteen years earlier.
The official report said accident.
But the file had one strange note.
Cause of fire: undetermined.
And one witness statement had been sealed.
Maya stared at the screen.
Suddenly, Lily's poisoning did not feel like an isolated attack.
It felt like a continuation.
May you like
A story that had started fifteen years ago.
And somehow, Maya had just stepped into the middle of it.
