chapter six
1851 Words
Lily stood frozen at the top of the stairs, still worried about the previous day's events.
Adrian Blackwood.
Sebastian’s elder brother.
. She still remembered his smooth, unnerving voice. How he moved about the house as though he had lived there at one time. And the way he looked at her--not like a stranger, not like an acquaintance, but like someone who had already anticipated what this would come to. She was still thinking about the talk she had last night with Sebastian.
Some truths are weapons. I am not ready to bleed. And Lily wasn’t either. But she had made a choice—she would not just stand in the shadows anymore. If Daniel’s survival depended on her staying in this contract, then fine.
But she would not stay blind.
By 8 a.m., Lily was out of the mansion. She’d told the driver she was heading to the hospital early—an unannounced visit. She wanted to find answers, and she wanted to find them before Sebastian could discover what she was up to. The car shot through the urban city like a phantasm. The skyscrapers were flying by, but the noise of the honking city was not as loud as the voice in her head. The hospital smell hit her in the face by the time she got there. This was no palace. This is the real world and people were bleeding and fighting and pleading for life.
Just like Daniel.
She went into the room and found her brother asleep. His face was pale, thinner than it had been two days ago. He heard some beeping machines around him. She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead, and a thrill went through her chest. He rolled a bit, muttered something inarticulately, and lay still.
She did not intend to cry.
Not now.
She closed the door behind her and went straight to the nurses' station. "Excuse me,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady.
‘I want to see Nurse Brenda. She was on duty the night my brother was admitted.”
The receptionist blinked. “Uh… Nurse Brenda is on her break, but I can let her know you are here—”
“No need. Where is she?”
The woman looked unsure but finally motioned toward the rooftop garden. “She usually takes her break up there.”
Lily said thank you and headed towards the elevator. The silence in the hospital corridors had a way of amplifying everything--her heartbeat, her thoughts, her gut instincts screaming at her that she was missing something important.
Something everyone around her already knew.
When she entered the rooftop, the wind pulled her robe a little. There were wooden benches along the edge and potted plants, though they did little to block the city view. A woman far away was staring into the clouds with a coffee cup. She was younger than Lily had imagined, maybe in her mid-twenties, with tired eyes and a kind smile, which faded when she recognized the voice. Oh yes, she said, straightening herself.
"Oh, yes," she said, setting herself. “Mrs. Blackwood. I didn’t know you were visiting today.”
Lily stepped closer. I just wanted to ask a few questions. About my brother.”
Brenda nodded slowly. “Of course. Everything’s stable. Dr. Lennox is reviewing the test results again this afternoon.”
“I know. But I’m not here for a medical update.”
Brenda’s eyes flickered. “Then… what?”
Lily paused. “Do you know a woman named Marianne?”
Brenda’s response was understated—but not unnoticeable. For less than a second, she stiffened, then managed a careless expression. “Doesn’t sound familiar.”
Lily stepped forward, her tone firm. “Please don’t lie. I saw your face. You know her.”
Brenda sighed. I don' t know what you heard, and it is not my business to discuss that.
‘I don't mean gossiping,’ I'm asking because my brother is sick, and Sebastian’s past with Marianne… somehow, I think it’s connected. I’m just trying to understand.”
Brenda hesitated, glancing around. She lowered her voice. “Okay, look. I did know her. Marianne went to this hospital a few years ago. Not as a patient—but for trial work.”
Lily’s brows furrowed. “Trial work?”
Brenda nodded. “She was part of a pharmaceutical testing project—something experimental. It was run under a private sponsor. We weren’t allowed to discuss much. But... I remember your brother’s name being on some of the extended lists.”
“What do you mean?”
There was a list of potential participants with rare conditions. Children. Mostly neurological cases.”
Lily’s stomach dropped. “Are you saying Marianne worked on a trial that involved Daniel?”
Brenda didn’t answer at first. Then, quietly: “It’s possible. But whatever it was—it got shut down after her death.”
Lily’s voice was barely a whisper. “Was Sebastian involved?”
“I don’t know,” Brenda said quickly. He never showed up here. But Marianne… she came often. Quiet, but driven. Like she had something to prove.”
Lily stepped back. Her head was spinning. “Can I see the records?”
Brenda’s eyes widened. “No way. That stuff is locked down tighter than anything. Even the head of department doesn’t have access. It’s marked as private, black-box level confidentiality. Whoever funded that trial—they had power.”
Sebastian.
It must be him.
Lily looked across the skyline, attempting to tame the turbulence within her head.
“Mrs. Blackwood?” Brenda said, softer now. Be careful. Whatever this is—it didn’t just end with Marianne. People got hurt. Things disappeared. Records were deleted. It was messy.”
“Why would she work on something like that?”
“She wasn’t trying to hurt people,” Brenda said. “I think she was trying to save someone.”
Lily blinked. “Who?”
Brenda looked at her, eyes filled with something like pity.
“Maybe someone like your brother.”
________________________________________
When Lily went home to the mansion that evening, her mind was set on one thing: to find the truth. Sebastian had lied--again
. Maybe not directly, but by omission. He knew what Marianne had been doing. He knew the risks.
And Daniel was somehow part of it.
She didn’t see Sebastian when she got home. Only the butler greeted her, and there was no sign of his presence anywhere. No car in the driveway. No coat on the hook. The silence of the house felt oppressive now.
The house was now oppressively silent. She went up, took a shower, put on something soft and gray and opened her laptop. She looked up the name of Marianne and associated it with the hospital, testing programs and the pharmaceutical board.
But every trail ended in a dead link. Every article had been pulled.
One name kept popping up though—Dr. Lennox.
And an address.
She could not comprehend what made her do this, but at 9 p.m., Lily was back in the car. She explained to the driver that she had to deliver something to a friend. She gave him the address and watched his eyes twitch in the mirror.
“That’s a bit far out, ma’am.”
“I don’t mind.”
The car rolled out into the dark.
________________________________________
Dr. Lennox lived in a gated residence an hour outside the city. The trees were great and shady. His house was modern and smooth, the glass walls and lights were glowing inside. Once, Lily pressed the doorbell. Footsteps. Then the door swung open, and a man in his fifties stood there, a sharp face and watchful eyes. How may I help you?
May I help you? She tried to keep her voice calm. "I am Lily Blackwood, she said.
,” she said, trying to keep her voice calm. “I’m Daniel’s sister. You’re his doctor.”
Dr. Lennox nodded slowly. “I wasn’t expecting visitors.”
“I just have questions.”
He studied her for a long time, then sighed and stepped aside. “Come in.”
The house was warm, and rather warm. There were piles of paper on the table. There was a fireplace crackling.
The man moved like someone who didn’t want to be watched.
“I know about the trial,” Lily said. “The one Marianne worked on.”
Lennox stiffened. “That was a long time ago.”
“But Daniel’s name was on that list.”
“I’m not at liberty to confirm—”
“Don’t lie,” she snapped.
Lennox looked at her, surprised by her tone.
“Please,” she said, gentler now. "I just want to know what happened." He sat quiet for a long while. He finally nodded, and he got up and walked over to his bookshelf. He pulled a file from between two volumes and handed it to her.
“No one should know this exists,” he muttered. Marianne came to me after her brother was diagnosed with a terminal condition. She was desperate. The trial was her idea, but it needed funding. That’s where Sebastian came in.”
Lily’s hands trembled. “He funded it?”
Lennox nodded. “Yes. But he wasn’t involved beyond the money. Marianne... she was the heart of it. She wanted to save children like her brother. Like your brother. But the trial was rushed. Incomplete. When she died, the program fell apart. Files vanished. We were warned not to speak of it again.”
“Why?”
“Because someone didn’t want it linked to the company Sebastian now runs.”
Lily felt her heart break in slow motion.
“Sebastian was protecting his empire,” Lennox added. But Marianne—she died believing she failed. Maybe she did. Maybe not. But your brother is stable. That’s what matters now.”
Lily stood slowly. Her hands clenched the file. “I’m going to find out what really happened to her.”
Lennox watched her with a quiet sadness. “Then be careful, Mrs. Blackwood. Because the truth? It has claws.”
________________________________________
When Lily returned home, Sebastian was waiting.
He was standing in the hallway, shirt undone, drink in hand.
“Where were you?”
She dropped the file on the table. “Visiting an old friend of yours.”
His jaw clenched. “You went to Lennox?”
“I needed answers.”
Sebastian didn’t speak. He just stared at her.
“You should’ve told me the truth.”
“You weren’t ready.”
“I’m ready now.”
He looked tired. “And what will you do with that truth, Lily? Leave me?”
She didn’t answer.
Instead, she walked past him and paused near the stairs.
“No,” she whispered. “Not yet.”
And then she walked up—each step carrying her further away from the girl she had been, and closer to the woman who would find out everything.
- Writer
