Chapter 14: The Betrayal Begins
924 Words
The hidden camera continued recording beneath the rose bushes.
Every smile.
Every glance.
Every moment Ethan and Ava spent together.
Inside the surveillance van parked beyond the mansion walls, a man adjusted the camera lens and smiled.
"Perfect."
He selected several photographs and sent them to Victoria.
Only seconds later, his phone rang.
"You've done well," Victoria said.
"But photographs alone won't separate them."
"What do you have in mind?"
Victoria's voice turned cold.
"We're going to make Ava believe Ethan has been lying to her from the beginning."
---
The following morning...
The Blackwood Mansion was unusually peaceful.
Ava woke to the sound of birds singing outside her window.
For the first time since moving into the mansion, she actually felt at home.
She smiled without realizing it.
Then she caught herself.
"What am I doing?"
"This marriage isn't real."
She repeated the words several times.
But somehow...
They no longer sounded convincing.
---
Downstairs...
Ethan was already in the dining room.
When Ava entered, he looked up from his newspaper.
"Good morning."
She smiled.
"Morning."
Mrs. Wilson placed breakfast in front of them.
"You two seem happier today."
Ava laughed.
"Do we?"
Mrs. Wilson nodded proudly.
"You've started smiling at each other."
Ethan cleared his throat awkwardly.
"We're simply becoming comfortable."
Mrs. Wilson smiled knowingly.
"If you say so."
Ava noticed Ethan hiding a faint smile behind his coffee cup.
---
After breakfast...
Mr. Carter hurried into the room.
"Sir."
Ethan immediately recognized the serious expression on his face.
"What happened?"
"We've received an anonymous package."
Mr. Carter placed a large brown envelope on the table.
"There was no sender."
Ethan opened it carefully.
Inside were dozens of photographs.
His expression darkened.
Ava leaned closer.
The photographs showed them together in the garden.
Holding hands.
Smiling.
Talking beneath the oak tree.
Someone had been spying on them.
A handwritten note slipped onto the table.
It read:
"Fake marriages don't create real feelings... unless someone forgets the rules."
Ava slowly looked at Ethan.
Neither of them spoke.
Someone wasn't just watching them.
Someone wanted them to know they were being watched.
---
Across town...
Victoria entered a luxurious law office.
A distinguished lawyer stood to greet her.
"Miss Sinclair."
She sat confidently.
"I need divorce papers."
The lawyer looked confused.
"But you aren't married."
Victoria smiled.
"No."
"But someone else is."
She slid a photograph of Ethan and Ava across the desk.
"I want their marriage destroyed."
The lawyer frowned.
"That's not exactly legal."
Victoria calmly placed a thick envelope of cash on the desk.
The lawyer glanced at it.
Then sighed.
"I'll see what I can do."
---
That afternoon...
Ava decided she needed fresh air.
Ignoring the bodyguards' protests, she walked through the mansion gardens alone.
She stopped beside the old swing beneath the oak tree.
She remembered Ethan's story about his mother.
Without thinking, she sat down.
The swing moved gently.
"You seem happier."
Ava turned.
Richard Blackwood stood a few metres away.
"Good afternoon."
He smiled politely.
"Mind if I join you?"
She nodded cautiously.
Richard sat on a nearby bench.
"You know..."
"My nephew hasn't smiled this much in years."
Ava looked down.
"I don't think that's because of me."
"Oh, I think it is."
She laughed softly.
"We're only pretending."
Richard studied her carefully.
"Are you?"
She didn't answer.
Instead, she asked,
"Why do you and Ethan dislike each other so much?"
Richard sighed deeply.
"It's complicated."
"I have time."
He looked toward the mansion.
"I loved my brother."
"Ethan's father."
"When he died..."
"The family blamed one another."
"And eventually..."
"They blamed me."
"Did you kill him?"
Richard looked genuinely shocked.
"No."
"I've spent years trying to prove that."
"Then who did?"
Before he could answer...
Mr. Carter came running.
"Miss Ava!"
"There you are."
He looked relieved.
"Mr. Blackwood has been looking everywhere for you."
Richard stood.
"I suppose our conversation will have to wait."
As he walked away, he quietly said,
"Be careful who you trust."
"Sometimes the truth hides behind the kindest smile."
---
Inside the mansion...
Ethan looked unusually angry.
"Why did you leave without security?"
Ava crossed her arms.
"I only went into the garden."
"That isn't the point."
"It is when someone is trying to kill you."
His voice echoed through the hallway.
The servants immediately disappeared.
Neither wanted to witness the argument.
"I don't want to live like a prisoner," Ava replied.
"I'm trying to keep you alive."
"And I'm trying to breathe."
Silence.
Ethan closed his eyes.
When he spoke again, his voice was calmer.
"I'm sorry."
"I shouldn't have shouted."
Ava sighed.
"I'm sorry too."
Neither of them noticed Victoria's spy photographing the entire argument from outside the gates.
The man smiled.
"This is exactly what she wanted."
---
That evening...
As Ava prepared for bed, she noticed another envelope lying on her dressing table.
She frowned.
"I didn't leave this here."
Inside was a single photograph.
It showed Ethan embracing Victoria.
The picture looked intimate.
On the back were six handwritten words.
"Some people never truly let go."
Ava stared at the photograph.
Her heart sank.
She didn't know the picture had been taken years ago.
She didn't know it had been carefully edited to remove everyone else standing nearby.
She only knew what she saw.
And for the first time...
A seed of doubt began to grow in her heart.
Far away, Victoria smiled as she looked at the same photograph on her phone.
"The first crack," she whispered.
"Is always the easiest to make."
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