Chapter 7 - The Unravelling Truth
For two days, Lily lingered in a deep, feverish coma. Ethan never left her bedside. He slept in the armchair, held her hand through the night, and personally wiped her forehead with cold damp towels, refusing to let any staff take his place.
On the morning of the third day, as the sun broke through the storm clouds outside the hospital window, Lily’s eyelashes fluttered.
She let out a soft, weak groan, her throat feeling like sandpaper.
Ethan instantly bolted upright. "Lily?"
Her pale green eyes slowly opened, unfocusing before finally resting on his face. She looked at his disheveled hair, his stubble-covered jaw, and the deep dark circles under his eyes.
"Ethan..." she croaked out, her voice barely audible under the oxygen mask.
"I'm here," Ethan sobbed softly, resting his forehead against her trembling hand. "I'm right here, Lily. You're safe. Nobody is ever going to hurt you again."
Tears trickled down Lily's cheeks. "I didn't... take it, Ethan... I promise... I didn't steal..."
"Shh," Ethan gently placed his thumb over her lips, his heart aching. "I know you didn't. I know everything. You don't have to defend yourself ever again."
While Lily rested, Marcus entered the room carrying an encrypted tablet. He motioned for Ethan to step into the hallway.
"We have it, sir," Marcus said, playing a video file on the tablet.
The video was taken from a hidden security camera that Richard Blackwell had installed in the main hallway years ago to monitor the estate's art collection—a camera Elizabeth had forgotten existed.
The footage clearly showed Elizabeth Blackwell creeping into Lily’s unattended room while Lily was scrubbing the conservatory floors. Elizabeth opened the drawer, pulled out the emerald brooch from her own pocket, and slid it neatly beneath Lily's mattress. Ten minutes later, another clip showed Victoria Sterling handing Elizabeth a small vial of sleep medication that had been secretly mixed into Jaden and Lily's evening meals to keep them too weak to fight back.
Ethan’s eyes turned to cold obsidian as he watched the footage.
"So," Ethan said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "It was a coordinated execution."
"Yes, Mr. Blackwell," Marcus confirmed. "Furthermore, Miss Sterling's family business is currently seeking a fifty-million-dollar credit line from Blackwell Development Group to avoid bankruptcy. That was her leverage to conspire with your mother."
Ethan handed the tablet back to Marcus. "Cancel the Sterling credit line. Put their firm on our blacklists globally. By noon tomorrow, I want the Sterling family ruined."
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"And your mother, sir?"
Ethan adjusted his collar, a look of absolute, merciless determination taking over his features. "Call a family gathering at Briar Glen tonight. Invite our legal team, the press, and the entire board of directors. It's time my mother learned what happens when you touch the woman who owns my heart."
